Underquilt Suspension Disaster!

[WanderingKansas]

I took out my DIY Gemini for its maiden adventure in mid-August. It was a two-night trip through the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. Below is my setup for the first night.
DSC00287.jpg

As I got in for the night, I laid my weight on the UQ suspension instead of my hammock! One clew was completely ripped up. I rigged some extra cord through a few of the loops and made it work the rest of the trip. I don't think it was held tight to my body the way it should have been, and I was cold on my underside at about 40degF.

Here is my second night's setup:
DSC00380.jpg

And a few others from the trip:

DSC00265.jpg
DSC00300.jpg
DSC00330.jpg
DSC00382.jpg
DSC00389.jpg
20767842_10100570188889031_1150690283373184800_n.jpg
DSC00404.jpg

[ocnlogan]

Other than the unfortunate mishap of the whole "sitting in the UQ instead of the hammock", it looks like it should have been a great trip .

Did you have the clews attached via sewed loops on the UQ, or did you use the snaps? Just curious, as you'd think that perhaps the snaps would let go before there was damage, but now you have me curious.

Also, maybe the scale is off in the image, but it seems to me like you're hanging quite high off the ground. How off the ground are you? Do you feel that the height was a contributing factor to you getting into the UQ instead of the hammock at all?

I'm just curious here, as I typically have hung much closer to the ground (I find it easier to get in/out personally), but know others prefer otherwise.

Either way, congrats on getting out. Its been far too long for me, so I enjoy seeing others enjoying awesome scenery .

[leiavoia]

I'm afraid sitting in your quilt voids the warranty ;-)

I'm also curious about the snaps. What went first? Snaps or cord? and what gauge cord?

[MAD777]

Sat in my underquilt a couple of times. Always around 3:00 am, returning from a bathroom break. Only my ego was damaged.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[WanderingKansas]

Most of the 1/32" shock cord loops gave before the snaps.

It was a great trip, including a very tough second-day climb and descent for this flatlander.

[Need2noCallahan]

Have you done anything to remedy the sit-u-action? Ever thought about incorporating some bungee cord at the end of the clews?

Awesome pics too!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jellyfish]

Those snaps are very strong. I hope you didn’t land too hard.

[WanderingKansas]

The landing was a little scary. I didn't know how far I might tumble in the dark. That fear was followed by the fear of not having adequate insulation to make it through the two-night trip.

[professrh]

This reinforces my interest in developing a modular clew system, where the nettles are individual loops of braided mason's line (for example) lark's-headed to a key ring, and connected to the UQ with a section of shock cord (maybe another loop w/ lark's head). I dummied up something a while back, but never swapped it out for testing and tweaking. This inspires me to get back on it.

Glad you're okay, WanderingKansas!