Ideas on underquilt material

[peeeeetey]

This weekend I had a problem with condensation between my underquilt and the protector. It is made from waterproof material and was wondering if a breathable material would be better. The temp was in the 20's. I had ice on the bottom of the uq as well as ice on the protector.

[Shug]

Yessir...make one out of a ripstop. The UQP need to breath as your UQ does.
Dutch uses Argon. https://youtu.be/fuFkAB3GjXg
Shug

[cougarmeat]

Early on, 2QZQ had a breathable/non-breathable option. I tried the “waterproof” model and exchanged it for the breathable model the next day. That’s not to say it wouldn’t work - it would give protection - on warm summer nights. Especially if it were loosely hung with good ventilation under the tarp. But in below freezing environments, “waterproof” is a synonym for “condensation".

It took a while, but now I think about each piece of equipment’s job. It’s the tarps job to keep me dry. It’s the UQP’s job to keep the bottom of the UQ a bit cleaner from rain spatter and when the UQ falls on the ground because it was on the hammock when the suspension slipped out of my hand. And it adds a little more warmth as a windbreak. But if you look at windbreaker nylon shirts, they offer a barrier, but are breathable.

If I were camping in a temperate rainforest, my choices would be different. Waterproof has its place. But once you get below freezing temperatures, you have to change your game. Ventilation is key. The challenge is, allow enough ventilation to stop or minimize condensation without allowing so much airflow that you loose too much heat.

An equation to keep in mind is, “WaterProof + Freezing Temperatures = Condensation”. And condensation is not a bad thing; it’s just a thing. I’d be real happy if I woke up from a winter night and all the condensation was on the underside of my tarp - not on my bag (not under my bag either). So maybe the goal isn’t to stop condensation (and all that’s required to do that), it’s to control where it will form.

My reason for using a UQP is I switch between hammocks and UQ’s. If I had just one set, I could configure it for a perfect fit. But I don’t. Quantum Theory aside, because I mostly setup alone, it’s difficult to get “the best” fit because I can’t be in the hammock, and outside to check for any gaps, at the same time. The UQP compensates for less than perfect UQ setups.

[Need2noCallahan]

I have one from 2QZQ and have never had an issue.


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[DrPhun]

I made one out of silnylon. The first cool, humid night I used it to test it out I found a couple tablespoons of water collected in it the next morning from condensation. My interest in a uqp is to block wind. I had noticed on windy, cool nights I could feel gusts through the underquilt. I bought some calendered ripstop to try again.

[Hang Williams]

I have the warbonnet UQP to go with my BBXLC. It's breathable 20D nylon. I had a small bit of condensation between my quilt and UQP on my last trip, but have never had any other issues. I found this thread afterwards.

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...pping-Moisture

I don't think I'd hung mine particularly more tight than normal (it's kind of hard to change how you attach it), but the dew point on that trip was 1* below actual temperature according to the weather station at the trailhead, so not hard to imagine my moisture addition on a dead still night made the difference. The underside of my tarp was also drenched from condensation. I think my takeaway was that, unless it's actually raining or windy enough that I need the temperature boost, I'm leaving my UQP in my pack; however, given the reference in cougarmeat's post above, I'll add a question: is the UQP in situations like this moving the condensation location to between the UQ and UQP when it would otherwise condense inside the UQ itself? In other words, is it a good thing sometimes to have condensation between the quilt and protector?

[peeeeetey]

Thanks everyone. I will change to a breathable fabric which is what I originally thought after what happened with the ice. I like Shug's comment that he doesn't really use one except for certain circumstances. We were in a hot tent which broke the wind anyway.

[rmcrow2]

I am a firm believer in underquilt protectors.
But they are these suspenders to my belt.

They are for severely nasty weather that is whipping around a tarp no matter how low and tight I put it. Or to give a bit of temperature buffer.

In a perfect world you would never ever use one. You would have your tarp pitched so that it blocks all wind and spray. And you would only leave the house with the appropriate insulation properly affixed to your hammock.

The reason I started with that was so you have a little bit better idea of what you're looking for in a fabric

You want something very lightweight it is mainly there to stop spray and strong gusts of wind. Since it's a just-in-case you want a very lightweight fabric that won't take up much room in your pack because you do not expect to use it every time you go out.

Ponchos are great, custom made ones are double duty gear.

I think the first one I had was a Dome Tent rainfly that I turned upside down and gathered up and whipped the ends and then just plumped-up underneath my hammock cuz I couldn't afford a big enough tarp. And I didn't know how to pitch the one I had right.

If you are wanting one for extending the range of an UQ in case of bad weather or to avoid buying a new quilt for only one or two trips a year you might want something different. I have an "Insulated UQP" for sudden cold snaps.

It is a 50° DWR nylon UQ that I will use for that and for trips with possible bad storms in spring and fall.
About 1.25# and maybe three liters in a stuff sack.

But not something I take regularly at all.

And if you're just worried about a little light spray and, you have a nylon fabric for your under quilt that is not water repellent. You can also just spray a little bit of waterproofing spray on there long as it's the breathable kind.

You can also get a $20 dome tent from Walmart. Use the rain fly from that. Once you cut and sew that you can reuse the hardware for your suspension.



我宁愿在山上。