Synthetic or down UQ for AT thru-hike?

**Dave556** · 08-29-2019, 23:27

[QUOTE=Clisbyclark;1984427]Bottom line, IIRC, was that he had no issues with his down quilts but if he were to do it over again, he'd probably carry along an Underquilt Protector...

@Clisbyclark - Thanks for the link. I watched Frozen's adventures on the AT - great info, seems like a good dude, and his "Big 3" video contributed to going down the path of synthetic v. down for my spring/summer UQ. Well...also one of my shake-down hikes, Caratunk to Monson (ME). On the last morning of my hike I woke up to a patchy, but heavy dew/fog and everything was covered by moisture - the forest was beautiful! My winter/20* down UQ was not soaked/compromised, but I wondered what would happen if this situation would repeat for several days in a row (thinking spring months in Georgia, NC and Virginia).

One thing I can share from that hiking experience...my UQ was 4.2 oz heavier after that hike, as compared to when I last weighed it (in prep for my hike). I assume the 4.2 'extra' oz came from dew, sweat, body funk, or ???? Dunno...

**Dave556** · 08-29-2019, 23:38

Thanks for the feedback and sharing your experiences! This forum and the members have been a great source of information and helped me get into hammock camping last year. Been lurking for a long while, but decided to speak up for help on this topic...

I'm still researching, reading posts and developing ideas. At the moment, leaning heavily toward a synthetic UQ for summer. I plan to keep all my down quilts; 2 winter, 1 summer TQ, so I still need/want a summer UQ. Really like the Trail Winder Asym UQ by Simply Light Designs.

Dave

**sidneyhornblower** · 08-30-2019, 05:12

Originally Posted by BillyBob58

Sidney, you have taken that not quite full length Jarbidge to 18F with no problems, right?( I have seen similar claims by other folks, even lower I think) Do you think you were at the absolute limit before getting cold?

Selectively quoting for brevity.

Probably yes, that's close to the limit IMO. To give a few more details: I was using my bridge hammock that night and added the underquilt protector to help seal everything up on the bottom side. I was tucked into the side of a ridge, downhill from the top to avoid the strong winds and had the tarp absolutely as low and tight as I could pitch it. I used booties for my feet, wore a balaclava on my head and supplemented my top quilt with a poncho liner tossed over the top. I had a small piece of CCF pad under my butt. If memory serves, it's the pad that comes with my GG Mariposa backpack. Otherwise, just the Jarbidge and the UQP underneath the bridge hammock.

I've tested that setup in my back yard in the mid-to-low-20s and knew it would do okay but 18 on my thermometer next morning was a bit of a surprise.