The Up Loft Underquilt (ULU)
Need your collective brains on this one, its a crazy sacrificial lamb of an idea that I want to throw to the lions.
Underquits, nearly all quilts work on the Down Loft principal, the quilts are suspended in various ways from the top surface of the quilt and the bottom is free so they loft down to provide the insulation.
The trick is to match the top surface of the quilt with the under surface of the hammock precisely to prevent air gaps. Now this is all fine with clews or secondary suspension etc but can be tricky and can be difficult for first timers. Also this means the quilt has to be designed from the beginning with the suspension style in mind.
ulu1.jpg
What would happen if we created a Loft Up Underquilt. So the quilt is suspended from the bottom surface of the quilt and then it lofts up to perfectly match the under surface of the hammock.
ulu2.jpg
This could be done in many ways but one way could be a nano noseeum hammock that is suspended below the main hammock with a gap for the underquilt. It would have to be very light and a bit stretchy and set right not to compress the quilt and allow loft up.
Or another simpler way could be like a section of the hammock has a nano noseeum part underneath it with an adjustable gap connected to the edge seam of the hammock, so no suspension needed and lighter easier to adjust. This would also automatically conform to the shape of the hammock with the person at a diagonal.
ulu3.jpg
One advantage would be that the underquilt is then a much simpler design just a plain rectangle that sits there, so easy to change and also use other things like a old sleeping bag unzipped or other things that are just a rectangle of insulation. Or modular like maybe thin underquilts and different numbers of for different seasons. You could also get away with very thin fabric like membrane 7 as it will have no loads on it.
So this is separating the suspension of the underquilt from the quilt itself.
What do you think, possible ? worth exploring ? too many issues to overcome ? interesting discussion at least
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