How tight is too tight? (under quilt primary suspension)

[Guinea Pig]

Hey all,
I have recently received my new under quilt, and am still trying to figure out the mystique that surrounds it. I have never had one before, and to say the least, it is rather frustrating.

I think I may have finally dialed it in, but am a little concerned with how tight the primary suspension is. From what I can gather, people say to tighten the primary suspension more than you think. And so, I did just that. I kept tying knots roughly every 6 inches until it seemed to hug me. All in all I think I took about 4 feet out of the shock cord (primary suspension), and it is very tight. Any looser, though, and the under quilt has a significant gap between my butt and mid-calf on the left side. This is the only tension that seems to make it hug me at that point.

Anyway, below are pictures of the under quilt at the very tight tension. There is very little give in the primary suspension's shock cord when loaded. Also, the picture with the two shock cord pieces is both the primary and secondary suspension. I believe they are both the same diameter shock cord, however, the very thin one (because it is stretched) is the primary suspension.

Do you think this is too tight, and I'm doing something wrong? Or is this normal?

Thanks!
IMG_0356.jpgIMG_0357.jpgIMG_0362.jpgIMG_0375.jpgIMG_0376.jpgIMG_0377.jpgIMG_0378.jpg

[Pennsy Camp and Canoe]

i too was surprised how tight i had to have my primary, i ended up using a carabiner attached to my ridgeline to hold the foot end shock cords up.

[Shug]

It should lift your hammock up in the air without you in the hammock.
Here is some UQ intel that may give you some insight.....https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...mBYSPGHjdyGqsL
Carry forth.
Shug

[arcana73]

Shug to the rescue!

[Guinea Pig]

Thanks for the replies all,
I just want to be clear, though. I have watched all of your video's shug (all excellent), and have done just as you instructed. I have tightened the primary suspension considerably, put my foot shock cord above my foot, etc.
The problem, though, is that I have tightened the suspension to the point where the under quilt seemingly hugs me at all points and the bottom of the under quilt is at roughly my waste height when unloaded, however, there is little to no give in the shock cord. Also, the under quilt is bringing up the hammock considerably. I am wondering if that is bad, or if the primary suspension shouldn't be that tight.

[Shug]

Thanks for the replies all,
I just want to be clear, though. I have watched all of your video's shug (all excellent), and have done just as you instructed. I have tightened the primary suspension considerably, put my foot shock cord above my foot, etc.
The problem, though, is that I have tightened the suspension to the point where the under quilt seemingly hugs me at all points and the bottom of the under quilt is at roughly my waste height when unloaded, however, there is little to no give in the shock cord. Also, the under quilt is bringing up the hammock considerably. I am wondering if that is bad, or if the primary suspension shouldn't be that tight.

Yes, it should lift it.
It looks fine to me in the pix with you laying in it.

[leiavoia]

For what it's worth, this problem is the inspiration behind the Get A Clew thread. If it continues to bother you, you might consider modding it.

[sqidmark]

When we first hung our LLG UQ's the top edge was just below my chin (i'm not very tall). Though it seemed to work ok, we didn't care for the excess side pressure. Also, it flattened the insulation on our butts. Eventually I began experimenting with various length dogbones and mini-biners to lessen the tension. We got it to the point that the suspension still lifts the hammock, just not to ridiculous levels, the down is nearly fully lofted in the butt area, and the side pressure is far lower. Trying to get every last puff of airspace out by increasing the tension to such high levels may just bring you beyond the point of diminishing returns.

As you've already surmised, "needing" to max out the primary is telling you something's not quite right.

EDIT > I agree, I also prefer clews over standard suspension.

[Campdavid]

For what it's worth, this problem is the inspiration behind the Get A Clew thread. If it continues to bother you, you might consider modding it.

This! Although I don’t use quite as many lines (only five on each end) this has made all the difference for me. The whole idea is really quite brilliant. If you want my take on the clew system, let me know. Happy to send pics and such. Not quite as fancy as leiavoia but I’m lazy.

Oh and....now that I am officially a “crabby old guy”.....the whole set up will feel MUCH better after a good haircut and shave. Been there, done that. :-)




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[arcana73]

From looking at your final phot (7 of 7) it looks like part of your suspension is not attached to your S-biner. I had this issue when I set up mine for the fist time. Both large shock cord pieces should be attached to your S-biner. OR you can you use something like the Tato Gear quilt hanger to attach to the shock cord that is not knotted onto the S-biner. That is what I use for my quilt, as it brings the quilt up higher and makes it stay more centered.
Of course, maybe I misjudged your photo and all of my comments are moot, but heck, couldn't hurt to mention.