Climashield for winter UQ

[SteelPlayer]

I made a 3 season UQ this summer using 3.6 Climashield and was happy enough for my first try at a DIY UQ. I was comfortable down to the high 40's and even mid 30's using the quilt plus a pad.

I'm ready to try a winter quilt. I no longer can backpack so car camping is my only option. This means weight and space is of less concern. I liked working with Climashield due to the simplicity and ease of use.

Will Climashield be adequate for temps down to low 20's? Is there any advantage to using a single vs double layer? If I wanted to use say 7.5 oz to get to 10° should I use one 7.5 oz baffle or a double layer 3.6 oz?

[littleblkdog]

Check out Ripstop by the roll. They have temp versus weight recommendations for Apex.

I bought some 10oz for a winter quilt using their pattern/kit.

According to their data 7.5oz will get you to 10 degrees. Seems pretty warm but I haven’t tested the limits.

https://ripstopbytheroll.zendesk.com...mashield-Apex-

2.5 oz - 50o F
3.6 oz - 40o F
5.0 oz - 30o F
7.5 oz - 10o F
10 oz - -5o F

[Cbenzy]

Steel,
I have a DIY 5.0 under quilt, I’ve had down to 30deg and was warm. Although my Butt started to chill in the morning. Nothing a sit pad wouldn’t correct. I also have a 7.5 diy top quilt with zippered foot box with shock cord closure. I have had the 7.5 down to 23deg and was plenty warm. I also have a shock cord closure at the top that closes around my neck. I think that is critical to keeping warm. I also would recommend making a hood out of the apex with your scrap. If you make the hood long enough it will tuck into the top of the quilt. The biggest thing in my opinion is to make sure you are sealed up tight once it drops below 30deg. So any modification you can think of during construction to aid in that it helps. Good luck!

[jgreenewv]

For what it's worth, I ordered one of the 7.5oz kits from Ripstop by the Roll and made an underquilt for my 13 year old son. So far he's only used in in the cold one night (around 22 degree low, good wind blowing, no tarp) but he reported he was quite warm all night.

[sidneyhornblower]

2.5 oz - 50o F
3.6 oz - 40o F
5.0 oz - 30o F
7.5 oz - 10o F
10 oz - -5o F

Based on my limited experience I'd say those temps in the table above are right on the money. I made the full length quilt using RBTR kit and 5.0 oz Apex. Down to 30 F it's fine, and I've even pushed it into the 20s, but it's noticeably cooler on my backside below about 25 F. I've been experimenting in the back yard with that quilt, trying to make it fit my bridge hammock without a lot of success. I bailed out a couple of nights ago when the temp hit 23 F. It's more a matter of not being able to fit the quilt to the bridge than anything wrong with the quilt itself. It works much better, seals up better I suppose, on the netless GE hammock.

[BillyBob58]

For what it's worth, I ordered one of the 7.5oz kits from Ripstop by the Roll and made an underquilt for my 13 year old son. So far he's only used in in the cold one night (around 22 degree low, good wind blowing, no tarp) but he reported he was quite warm all night.

No tarp in with a noticeable wind blowing? Was the wind mostly blocked by some structure? If not, that is actually a very impressive result.

[BillyBob58]

Based on my limited experience I'd say those temps in the table above are right on the money. I made the full length quilt using RBTR kit and 5.0 oz Apex. Down to 30 F it's fine, and I've even pushed it into the 20s, but it's noticeably cooler on my backside below about 25 F. I've been experimenting in the back yard with that quilt, trying to make it fit my bridge hammock without a lot of success. I bailed out a couple of nights ago when the temp hit 23 F. It's more a matter of not being able to fit the quilt to the bridge than anything wrong with the quilt itself. It works much better, seals up better I suppose, on the netless GE hammock.

I wonder what temp it might be adequately comfy to on that bridge? Because obviously an excellent fit is paramount on any UQ, so f you are getting by anywhere near 30F- with a poor fit- that speaks highly of the insulation qualities of the CS.

[BillyBob58]

Here is 10 osy CS XP ( the best CS before Apex ) being used at about 5F by a guy who used to post here. (he later took it below zero with the luxury of a tarp) He reported being plenty warm, but he called himself "the human furnace", so the average Joe might not be able to do as well. Especially with no tarp! He is asleep inside this hammock, you can see the spot where his breath is melting the snow on the net. His Dad took the picture when he got up that Christmas morning)

[BillyBob58]

Here is 10 osy CS XP ( the best CS before Apex ) being used at about 5F by a guy who used to post here. (he later took it below zero with the luxury of a tarp) He reported being plenty warm, but he called himself "the human furnace", so the average Joe might not be able to do as well. Especially with no tarp! He is asleep inside this hammock, you can see the spot where his breath is melting the snow on the net. His Dad took the picture when he got up that Christmas morning)

OK, I looked up that old post in the archives, and one thing: he was not sure of the temp because his thermometer crapped out in the cold. Forecast low was 8, but by the time his thermometer started working again it only showed 13F. ( one nearby weather station showed a low of 10F) But main thing is: he was using a liner sil-nylon liner that used to come with these WB CS Yetis, so that was a VB. That no doubt added some warmth. ( BTW, he had NO CONDENSATION using the VB ) Here is a copy of home of his report:

This was my first opportunity to really test this new UQ. A word of waring here: I am a warm sleeper; always have been. Please remember that if you are trying to draw a comparison. Overnight temps were forecast to be 8F with a light breeze. I have not yet got a top quilt so I had to make due with an old Coleman bag. My initial plan was to use the Gossamer Gear 1/8” ‘hammock pad’ that was waiting for me. But, being the pad-hater that I am I thought I’d try without it on the first (and coldest forecast) night of the week.

Here’s what I had:

Warbonnet ElDorado
Warbonnet Torso Length UQ w/sil liner
ULA Catalyst
Coleman Bag (probably rated to about 40 back in the day)
Thermal undies
Hoodie Sweatshirt
Fleece Pullover
Wool skully cap
SOCKS! Yes, that is plural. One set of liners and two pairs of mid-weight wool hiking socks. (I've got sissy feet)
1/8” pad for back-up if needed.

I went to bed about midnight(ish) with temps right around 20F. I had decided to use the sil liner that WBG sent because there was a breeze forecast and the only place I could set-up didn’t offer me the option of being able to easily deploy a tarp and I wanted some wind protection. I had a fence on one side so it really wasn’t much of a concern, just a good excuse. Colorado is so arid that condensation really didn’t concern me too much.

Since the WB UQ is a torso length, you must have something under your legs/feet. The UQ goes from just above my shoulder to just below my bum. This is the main reason for a pad; it gets folded and goes under my legs. However, Cannibal hates pads so I figured I’d just throw my empty pack in under my legs. I sometimes use it as a leg rest anyway, so this was no big deal. I did keep the pad somewhat close by….just in case. I opened up the bag to use ‘quilt style’, grabbed my digital thermometer and off to la-la land I went.

I didn’t wake-up until Mama Nature came a knockin. I got out of the hammock and took care of business, but when I got back into the hammock I couldn’t get warm. I have no idea what the temp was because it was cold enough that the LCD on my thermometer was not working; just a blank screen. I have no idea if it was still reading or not; hopefully Grizz will chime in with that fancy weather site he uses and I’ll see what the temps actually dropped to last night. I decided to close up the bag and hope that I’d be able to build up enough heat that way instead of going for the pad. It worked! Next thing I know I was being attacked by my Pop’s ferocious dog in the morning. Who by the way, loved hanging-out in the hammock; smart dog.

The thermometer was working again and reading a ‘low’ of 13.3F. I suspect it got a couple of degrees cooler, but don’t know for sure. I was warm all night except for about 10 or 15 minutes after the bathroom break. There was zero condensation on, or in, the UQ/liner.

But here was a later update. I don't know if he had added a tarp or not. But he was cold at this temp just before dawn. However, it sounds like it was more a problem with top insulation. But it still sounds like he was warm enough on the bottom, at an incredible minus 5F using 10 oz CS with about a 17 oz total weight UQ. But don't forget: he had that sil-nylon liner that would have acted as both a VB and UQP, no doubt in my mind adding at least 10F of warmth.

Holy Crap it's cold!

Wow! I found the limits of my current set-up last night. Here is the link to the weather station closest to my Pop's house. I woke-up just before 6:00am cold; I wasn't shivering, but it wasn't far off. I slept fine the rest of the night, but apparently -5F is my limit. If I put my face out of my bag, every time I'd breathe I could count to about 7 and I'd feel 'snow' falling on my face. I guess the moisture in my breath would freeze and fall back down.

Since my RMS is waiting for me in Florida (don't know why Pops sent it there instead of here) I am still using an old Coleman bag. I wasn't really feeling a lot of cold from underneath so I think this Warbonnet UQ could go a few degrees colder, but not with that Coleman bag on top!

Off to make some hot cocoa; wonder where they hid the peppermint schnapps?

[sidneyhornblower]

I wonder what temp it might be adequately comfy to on that bridge? Because obviously an excellent fit is paramount on any UQ, so f you are getting by anywhere near 30F- with a poor fit- that speaks highly of the insulation qualities of the CS.

It's definitely the fit and not the properties of the Apex itself. On my GE 30 is easy to achieve, and I've gone to 21 (not on purpose, forecast changed on me). But that RBTR chart above is going to be pretty close for most folks, at least for the 5.0 Apex. I consider it a 30 degree UQ and am happy to know it'll go a few degrees lower.

The issue with it on my bridge is that both are DIY pieces not made to fit together, and so they don't very well. It could probably be remedied but would require so much work that it's not worth it. For bridge insulation I'll use the AHE Jarbidge which fits and seals better.