Taking a cue from the minimalist secondary suspension system on the Jacks R Better Greylock, I did a very simple modification to my Loco Libre 50° Operator Series Habanero UQ. As stated in the product description, this UQ does not have any secondary suspension. However, by simply re-rigging the quilt's existing lines and hardware, a rudimentary secondary suspension can be added. Doing this was completely free, didn't add a single gram, and only required one tool. If I didn't already have the tool, a simple piece of steel wire about 2' long, bent in half would probably work as well. This is also just a "soft" modification to the quilt and could be completely undone just by reversing the steps.
To do this modification, I untied the stopper knots for the four end cinches and removed the mini cordlocks that adjust them. I then removed the mini carabiner at the head end of the primary suspension and untied the knot that joins the left and right suspension lines. Next I removed the primary suspension shock cord from the quilt channels. At the foot end of the quilt, I installed two of the mini cordlocks, one per line, then rerouted the shock cord through the channels using the loop turner. At the head end of the quilt, I installed the two remaining mini cordlocks, then re-tied the knot that joins both lines at the end and reattached the mini carabiner. Lastly, for each of the end cinches, I routed the shock cords through the cordlocks at their respective corners and retied the stopper knots.
Now the cordlocks can be positioned along the primary suspension, which acts as a secondary suspension and keeps the quilt from bunching toward the center of the hammock. The end cinch adjustments are not particularly affected by moving the position of the cordlocks.
Jacks R Better Greylock UQs have almost an identical setup, but the cordlocks are this type and are sewn to the quilt fabric with a small loop of grosgrain through the slot in the cordlock. Otherwise, the concept is the same. I think the sewn-on concept is clearly better, but I was able to try this out without purchasing anything or doing any permanent modification to the quilt.
Thoughts? This doesn't seem to negatively affect fitting the quilt to the hammock, and it doesn't seem to be stressing anything, plus all the cordage is elastic. The Greylock 4 and the Operator Habanero are the only UQs I've ever used that have side-channel suspension but don't have the more elaborate secondary suspension with separate lengths of shock cord and LineLocs for adjusting the tension. I was curious if this is an older concept, or if it's common in the DIY realm.
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