Newbie Hammock Setups.

[rhotic]

Yes, the learning curve is steep, and just graduating from daisy chains is taking a while. There are just too many ways, products, situations, weights and weight capacities to consider.
Do you think the 25F underquilt is the perfect temperature rating for California? (I am also short and sleeps cold, and will be hanging around Bay Area). I am trying to decide on a versatile temperature quilt set for California nights, which is still relatively cold during the summer. Do you have a matching temperature top quilt to go with it? I do not own any camping equipment, well until last week, but still time to change my mind.

Yep! PM me if you want campsite recs for the Bay Area

I seem to run ~15-20F colder than average, so 20-25F insulation is perfect for me. The typical camper who isn't a winter mountaineer will rarely ever be at sub-freezing temps in California. Nights are often around 40-50F. Most of my friends can get away with much less burly insulation. But yeah if you sleep pretty cold, it's definitely worth going for 20-25F insulation, and you can always vent it when you get too warm.

My top layer is a 20F youth sleeping bag from REI. It's way heavier than a topquilt, but it's what I already had before getting into hammocks. I don't bother buying separate summer-weight stuff, I just use my beefy insulation for everything and vent or unzip if it's too warm.

I made my DIY costco UQ as a test before buying the Jarbidge because I already had the blanket around. It's only good to ~55F for me, but it'll go further for a lot of people on these forums. If you can do a backyard test sleep with a DIY UQ made out of whatever blankets you already have at home, it's a decent way to get a sense of your comfort range before you invest in gear.

But for real, if you're a short, cold hammocker and you have $100 to spare, you won't find a better deal than the Jarbidge UQ.