A Blast from the (UQ) Past!

[BillyBob58]

This 1st picture just popped up randomly on my log in page. It appears to be about the introduction of War Bonnet's new UQ, new as of the date 12-16-07, which is when it was added to the HF gallery, over 10 years ago! You can see the bats of CS XP in the background. I have recently posted in another thread a picture a forum member testing the prototype in his Dad's backyard in Denver at Christmas right after these pics were taken, temps close to zero, no tarp with new blowing snow piled up under this quilt, actually looks like it might be touching in one area. His only protection from that cold and snow was his Dad's old synthetic bag, this UQ and probably some sort of foot pad(maybe his pack?). And he was fine, though a self proclaimed hot sleeper.

This GREAT UQ was either a first, or maybe tied for 1st, in a number of areas. I'm not certain, because I know JRB was neck and neck with timing for some of these developments:
1: First torso sized UQ, which soon became the down filled Yeti when WBG had trouble getting enough CS,
2: first differential cut UQ(JRB either 1st or at almost the exact same time? Not sure, memory fails)
3: First UQ suspension that went around the perimeter of the UQ in channels on it's edge, allowing adjustment of position once inside the hammock. I'm pretty sure this was a first
4: Without question the 1st and only: Designed for the addition and removal of bats of CS which were each(until trouble getting it developed) 4 separate layers of 2.5 osy CS, for a total of 10 osy as used in the prototype test in the Christmas test at about zero.(maybe a little above zero, like 5 - 10F?, but later successfully used below zero) If you wanted an UL summer weight quilt good to 50 or in my case just a bit below, just remove 3 layers leaving only the single layer of 2.5 oz that was permanently sewn in, and you now had an approx. 10 oz UQ! Is it going to be down near freezing? Add 1 or 2 layers adding 2.5-5 oz. Deep winter? All 4, adding another 7.5 oz for a total of 10 oz insulation, total quilt weight of about 18-20 oz. Or as I discovered with my own, there was even room under that last layer for me to stuff a down vest, adding several inches of loft for almost unlimited cold. This UQ was totally unique in this ability.

I still have mine, the last one ever sold I think, all these years later and it still functions perfectly. I just wish I had got the optional sil-nylon sack that covered it inside and out, supplying both an UQP and a VB at little cost and weight. I have never got around to making one.

I was always amazed there was not more demand (once CS became available again) for this UQ. Every one i knew who had one(not many before it was discontinued) really liked it. I always felt the same about the Speer Pea Pod. Is there any one here that uses one of those? You never hear about them. Maybe because, just like this UQ, they work so well, so trouble free?









How to vent:


First big test:

[Eidson]

That's really cool. I'll sometime browse the gallery just looking for past ideas when the gallery was heavily used and the primary way to get pics on your thread. I always start on the opening page just to see what 3 random images I'll see and if any look neat enough to follow.
Surprisingly, I had never come across this WB quilt before. How are the layers of CS attached/stacked to each other? Were they just sheets of CS, or were they fabric covered on both sides?

Thanks for pointing out this interesting piece of history.

[Hangdang]

What is CS?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

[Eidson]

What is CS?

Climashield insulation.

[BillyBob58]

That's really cool. I'll sometime browse the gallery just looking for past ideas when the gallery was heavily used and the primary way to get pics on your thread. I always start on the opening page just to see what 3 random images I'll see and if any look neat enough to follow.
Surprisingly, I had never come across this WB quilt before. How are the layers of CS attached/stacked to each other? Were they just sheets of CS, or were they fabric covered on both sides?

Thanks for pointing out this interesting piece of history.

You are welcome!

They are indeed just sheets of CS. They do not have any fabric covering, the only fabric is the top and bottom shell of the UQ to which you add- or remove- these sheets of CS. The shell itself I think weighs in the area of 7 or 8 oz. The torso sized (neck to upper thigh, just below the butt)sheets of CS are approx. 1 square yard each, so each 2.5 oz. sq. yard(osy) sheet literally give you a total 2.5 oz of insulation. I have in my tests found that single sheet(sewn to the inside/top shell) to be surprisingly warm, a bit below 50 for me even sleeping in only a cotton T shirt. And that was in maximum humidity just a few feet from a lake.

The shell has a zipper on the foot end. You can see it if you enlarge picture #3 from above. If you open that zipper, even if all 4 layers are already inside, I usually always find that there is at least a little room under the last layer for stuffing something like a down vest to add some more loft. Not that I have ever had to do that, not at all, but if a person found themselves trying to push it well below it's rating ( 5F? can not remember for sure, but it has been used with success well below that temp by some), that was something that would help.

But just open the zipper, reach in and turn the quilt inside out. The first layer is permanently attached, a 2.5 osy layer. Then you just add another layer over the 1st one in a manner which will not result in compression when this outer layer- further from your back- is pulled into a U shape around your back, and loosely quilt(?) or sew(?) this new layer to the old layer. Not to the shell, just new layer of CS to old layer of CS. I do this by running a piece of thread through the edge of the new layer and then thru the edge of the old layer, than back up from 1st layer to new layer, and repeat this- with 1 long piece of thread- all around the perimeter. It does not take near as long as it sounds like it might. Plus, if you know you are going to need 2 or even 3 layers added because it might be single digits, you just add multiple layers all at one time. Some one here- sorry can't remember who- used to keep 2 layers on year round, and had 2 other layers sewn together as a single layer, and just attached that extra 5 oz worth when it was really cold.

How do I keep the outer layers from being excessively compressed compared to the inner layers? Since they are being stretched across a larger perimeter, being on the outside of the U shape compared to the next to back level? Really not hard. I either:
1: Quilt them on with the edge of the new layer about .75"(? have not done this way in a while) away from the edge of the layer it is being added to. This appears to be excessively loose until you snug it around your back, then it snugs right up. Or,
2:my usual way: lay it inside out on an ironing board, with the ironing board substituting for my back, with the quilt draping around the board and down, snugged up nicely against the board. Then just lightly lay the layers on, see how they fit, and attach at the edges. Seems to work pretty good.

Or, here is a picture I just took. You can see the zipper tab on the right. The against the back/inside layer is at the bottom, the quilt is upside down in this pic. Because mine was the last one made and he was out of 2.5 osy CS(barely had enough of anything to make me one), my added or subtracted layers were CS Combat rather than XP, and were more like 3.5 ozy than 2.5. I have 2 layers added in this picture, but that would be more like the permanent 2.5 layer + 3.5*2= 2.5+7= 9.5 oz of total insulation, plus shell = about 18 oz total weight. And very, very warm! And pretty darn resistant to moisture. (the Combat was not quite as warm for the weight as the XP, but close enough, just a few % different in CLO value, and the added weight of each sheet dwarfs that difference)

As you can see, after 10years of light use, and stored uncompressed, still quite lofty. But the sweet thing is that if this synthetic had lost too much loft, I could just order a couple of sq. yds. of some brand new CS Apex for very little $, and pop them right in there.

IMO, this was a brilliant design, that always worked from the get go. One way to know how great it was: you know how we see so many threads for when people get their new 20F UQs, and then are having trouble keeping warm at 30 or even 40F? (more often with full length iMO) Well the first time w used this in the field was on a fall 1 week hike into the Bridger Wilderness of WY's Wind River Mountains. My son was on his first ever hammock hang with his Claytor No Net. I used my Speer Pea Pod and he borrowed my CS Yeti UQ, never tested yet in actual cold more tham maybe 40F. We agonized about how many layers to add, but settled on 3, like you see in this picture. From the 1st night in the 20s using his Cat's Meow bag as a TQ, until our last blowing snow night, he was toasty. I sometimes think he was the warmest one on the trip, though we all did fine. So that made for a great 1st ever hammock experience, and most especially a COLD weather experience(unlike my 1st ever try!). He has used it a few times since and was always plenty warm. And all of that was before I even added a secondary suspension!

[BillyBob58]

Edison, I got the UQ out to take a picture to illustrate the answer to your question. This made me decide to just go ahead and do some seasonal adjustments and remove a layer or two. So, here is the UQ turned inside out, with 3 layers( 1* 2.5 osy, 2* 3.5 osy. 9.5 oz total insulation plus shell) installed for a total weight of between 17 and 18 oz:


Here is a different view of same:


Here it is with the 2 extra layers removed, with a total weight of about 10 oz, and 2.5 oz total insulation, just before I turned it right side out and went out and hung in it:

[Eidson]

This continues to fascinate me. Thank you for taking the time to post all of these details and pictures on this quilt.

I agree with you that this was a brilliant idea. It might not be for everyone, as some may be, for lack of a better word, intimidated by opening their quilt and fiddling with the attachment of additional insulation layers. However, for those who enjoy the diy side of things and don't mind a little fiddling, this would be a great modular quilt. No doubt owning quilts for many temperature ranges is the easiest option, but having a single quilt that is adjustable to your needs or specific outing is a pretty amazing option.

It seems that the quilting loops would be a perfectly easy manner of attaching the layers and like you said, probably doesn't really take that long to do. I know modular quilts have been discussed on the forum before, but this seems to be a much more polished idea. Yes, it would be a little work each time you felt the need to adjust, but I think it could be well worth it for some. All of the climashield I have worked with has that great innate ability to stick to itself well enough that I imagine the basic stitches/threading are plenty to hold it in place, unless of course someone were really rough with it.

The zippered end is what I didn't originally think of when trying to envision how this worked. A simple, but effective method for sure. I had to laugh at myself for getting trapped in the idea that every quilt has to have cinched ends to keep drafts out. Although I don't knock the helpfulness of the cinched ends on a GE quilt, I do remember times staying plenty warm without them in my older diy quilts. With this being a torso length quilt, I think this even further alleviates any usefulness of having a cinched end and makes the zippered end a completely sufficient method.

Although it grows much more rapidly in size than it ever decreases, a project like this is definitely going on my DIY list. I own quilts that effectively cover the temperature ranges I hang in, but this is a unique one for sure and has just kind of drawn me in. Like I said, it seems more polished than some of the other insulation stacking modular quilt ideas that I have come across before and I could see this being one of those fun projects.

[BillyBob58]

This continues to fascinate me. Thank you for taking the time to post all of these details and pictures on this quilt.

I agree with you that this was a brilliant idea. It might not be for everyone, as some may be, for lack of a better word, intimidated by opening their quilt and fiddling with the attachment of additional insulation layers. However, for those who enjoy the diy side of things and don't mind a little fiddling, this would be a great modular quilt. No doubt owning quilts for many temperature ranges is the easiest option, but having a single quilt that is adjustable to your needs or specific outing is a pretty amazing option.

It seems that the quilting loops would be a perfectly easy manner of attaching the layers and like you said, probably doesn't really take that long to do. I know modular quilts have been discussed on the forum before, but this seems to be a much more polished idea. Yes, it would be a little work each time you felt the need to adjust, but I think it could be well worth it for some. All of the climashield I have worked with has that great innate ability to stick to itself well enough that I imagine the basic stitches/threading are plenty to hold it in place, unless of course someone were really rough with it.

The zippered end is what I didn't originally think of when trying to envision how this worked. A simple, but effective method for sure. I had to laugh at myself for getting trapped in the idea that every quilt has to have cinched ends to keep drafts out. Although I don't knock the helpfulness of the cinched ends on a GE quilt, I do remember times staying plenty warm without them in my older diy quilts. With this being a torso length quilt, I think this even further alleviates any usefulness of having a cinched end and makes the zippered end a completely sufficient method.

Although it grows much more rapidly in size than it ever decreases, a project like this is definitely going on my DIY list. I own quilts that effectively cover the temperature ranges I hang in, but this is a unique one for sure and has just kind of drawn me in. Like I said, it seems more polished than some of the other insulation stacking modular quilt ideas that I have come across before and I could see this being one of those fun projects.

Just a thought about cinching the ends: if I leave the zipper wide open, with the outer shell hanging down loose, however many layers of the insulation are installed are secured to the dif cut inner shell, and along with that shell, snugged tight up against my back, butt and upper legs. So it does not make much dif if it is cinched, zipped or wide open. The only dif it might make is by way of whatever bit of wind resistance that thin piece of breathable nylon shell might provide. I'm not sure that would make much dif, maybe a little. But if the wind is well blocked via a tarp, or a separate wind resistant UQ protector, that insulation would still be doing it's job of slowing down heat loss from your body, even if wide open. I think.

If you ever decide to make one DIY, I think you will be the first. This idea just seemed to die out 100% once WB switched this UQ to down. So I hope you make one someday!

[GreatBigDave]

Flip Phone!

[RoyBuc]

Hey BillyBob, I bought a Speer Peapod in 2005 to go with my Speer hammock and used it alot until 2 years ago when I cut it down smaller to make a topquilt. I liked the peapod, very well made but I started camping in colder temps and always had to supplement it with a pad and light bag. Also the long strip of velcro on it seemed to stick to everything! As for my Speer hammock, I bought it at a local store after trying out all their other hammocks on a stand they set up for me. I was lying in the Speer when a man came up to me and asked how I liked it. Great I said , but he insisted I try out the other hammocks and proceeded to give me a lot of advice. After I settled on the Speer, he took a book on hammocks out of his bag, signed it and gave it to me with a big smile. It was Ed Speer! Great guy.