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  1. #1
    Senior Member
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    School me on top quilt use!

    I get it... the progression from pad to UQ and from sleeping bag to TQ but I’m a bit stuck. I sleep cold, like ridiculously cold. I’ve been using my HG under quilts for a few years now and love them, but with a sleeping bag. I got a 20 degree TQ last spring and finally had a chance to use it a couple of weeks ago. The TQ is definitely lighter than my bag, almost 2.5 lbs lighter and I’ve been backpacking so that is significant and so nice!

    It was supposed to be about 30 degrees that night. I’d loaned my bag to a buddy who needed one and planned on using my TQ. It worked fine but it ended up being much warmer than originally forecasted, about 45 degrees. Anyway, I cinched up the TQ around my neck a bit and snapped the collar. It was comfortable and plenty warm as long as I didn’t move. I do tend to roll around a bit which of course would let in cold air unless I readjusted. Since it was so warm I slept fine but how do you deal when it is really cold? If it is going to be really cold do you revert to a bag in lieu of a TQ or are you stationary enough it doesn’t matter in your TQ? Thoughts?
    The deep mystery gives rise to the spirits -Charc

    Always strive to be the best but never believe you are - Juan Manuel Fangio

  2. #2
    Senior Member
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    Jun 2018
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    North Chelmsford, MA
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    Big Guy Bridge
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    CRO Winter Haven
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    The HG Econ Burrow I got both long and wide. When it's cold, I tuck it under my hips and shoulders and pull it up over my head. Never been cold until I have to water the bushes.

    You didn't mention how you dress for bed, but I wear clean, dry socks and a balaclava. I like to sleep late, so I also use earplugs and a blindfold. Most of my camping is out of a kayak, so I can carry some luxuries.
    "God never sends us anything we can't handle. Sometimes I wish He didn't trust me so much." - Mother Teresa.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
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    Clean dry thermals and socks for me plus down puffy coat and hood. It works but I was surprised how easy it was to create a gap and have cold enter!

    Is it the consensus that a bag is warmer but heavier or I’m just not “good at” the Tq yet?
    The deep mystery gives rise to the spirits -Charc

    Always strive to be the best but never believe you are - Juan Manuel Fangio

  4. #4
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Nov 2017
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    Ossining, NY
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    Quote Originally Posted by Skytow View Post
    Clean dry thermals and socks for me plus down puffy coat and hood. It works but I was surprised how easy it was to create a gap and have cold enter!

    Is it the consensus that a bag is warmer but heavier or I’m just not “good at” the Tq yet?
    Definitely takes some getting used to... happens sometimes to me and I just squiggle around and tuck it back in without giving it much thought.

    However, if you end up wanting 360° coverage that isn't too heavy, consider a Zpacks sleeping bag, which is really a hybrid design that is as light as many quilts... but be prepared for a little sticker shock.
    Last edited by cmoulder; 12-27-2020 at 15:48.
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
    “If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Sep 2019
    Location
    Long Island, NY
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    HG Wanderlust
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    EE TQ, HG UQ
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    I roll around a lot in bed, so I'm used to moving my sheets and comforter with me as a roll side-to-side. I probably move less in the hammock but I still occasionally have to tuck the TQ back under my shoulders or hips; it becomes second nature. I think this is where having a good UQ compliments the TQ. My first time out in a hammock, before I had the UQ, those little gaps that you describe were noticeable to me..."ooh, I've got a draft." I haven't really experienced that since adding the UQ. It looks like (from your profile) that you've got your UQ game sorted, so now you just have to train yourself to move the quilt with you as you turn.

  6. #6
    cougarmeat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
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    Bend, OR
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    WBBB, WBRR, WL LiteOwl
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    skytow, there are accessories like an underquilt protector (UQP) that ride up on the hammock sides a bit give additional blockage to wind robbing heat. But in your case, it’s that “cold spot” that happens when you’ve shifted your TQ too much. If a “do over” is a possibility, Hammock Gear has “Wide” option that provides more material to tuck in. I’ve found it difficult to “shift out” of the wide TQ. One of the benefits of using your sleeping bag in a hammock is you won’t shift out of it. But there are several disadvantages too (weight, fuss of getting in and out, zipper, etc.

    With the regular TQ, I really tuck it in (under me) when I get in. Yes, it is a little game as you get it to your shoulders if your arms are out and that whole clipping the head snap and ducking your head under maneuver. Then getting your shoulders covered back up. So I get the head end setup, the TQ on my shoulders, then, keeping my arms inside the TQ, I pull the sides under me.

    Checking my Fitbit watch, I apparently fall asleep much faster that the average Joe or Jill. But if I feel a chilly spot because I’ve shifted too much, I just grab the TQ (from the inside) and pull it under again.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  7. #7
    Senior Member TrailSlug's Avatar
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    That's just the nature of a top quilt. I too get wide quilts to help with this issue as I flop like a fish on a dock when I sleep.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Nov 2016
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    SE WI...just a bit outside...
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    WBBB XLC; WBRR
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    Wooki UQ Mamba TQ
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    722
    When you have a TQ that is wide enough, but properly shaped to your hammock, gravity is your friend as the TQ will want to work its way underneath you while you sleep. When tucked under properly, the cold drafts don't invade the TQ. The colder it gets, the less I move during the night.
    The game is the best teacher.

  9. #9
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Jersey Shore, NJ
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    Dutch PolyD
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    HG Winter Palace
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    I didn't have much of a transition from sleeping bag to TQ. I mean, a sleeping bag is a pain in the butt when you're in a hammock.
    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Ga.(Macon area)
    Hammock
    11 Ft Dutch Hexon 1.0 Sidezip
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    12 ft HG Quest
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    Spiderpolybeetles
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    For me the most important thing to remember is to "migrate the down" before going to bed.This would include both quilts.Adjust the underquilt to that the left shoulder is more prone for the quilt to slip off of so I can open my net and reposition it with my right hand because you cant do that on your right shoulder in a side zip hammock with just the one zipper.I am a SUPER COLD sleeper,even at home, so I bundle up a bit more in winter than the average bear and use a top quilt rated higher than most would consider necessary.For instance,I will be out next week in about 33 degree weather with a 20 degree uq and a 0 degree HG top quilt.And I always have some reflectix and sometimes a piece of open cell foam pad to position as needed in the event of a cold spot.Last thot-surrendering to "the downy goodness" is not cheap but it's some of the best bang for the buck I have experienced yet.....

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