Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12
  1. #1
    Member JDA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Ashland, WI
    Hammock
    DIY gathered end
    Tarp
    DIY silnylon
    Suspension
    Whoopie
    Posts
    67

    make a UQ from an old sleeping bag?

    I've been curious about how well UQ's work compared to a regular old sleeping pad. I've been using a pad mainly because I'm on a very tight budget and I already had one. But I have been increasingly bummed about how fidgety it is to get everything situated when you lay down. And then you have to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and start your fidgeting all over again when you lay back down. Getting an UQ situated once and then pulling up a top quilt whenever you lay down seems really nice. Maybe it's different than this - I have never actually tried one.

    Anyway, I have an old 20 degree sleeping bag that I almost never use. Are there any instructions out there already for converting a synthetic mummy bag into and UQ? By no means am I a sewing machine expert but have made quite a bit of gear and feel like if it doesn't get too fancy that this is solidly in the "doable - but probably not with a real pretty finished product" category.

    I know very little about UQ's having not actually laid eyes on one. What I'd do right now (not having any advice about how to really do it): lay the bag open, rip off the zipper, cut to extend the zipper opening so I can use most of the footbag, cut off the bottom of the footbag and hood, cut it to size (as wide as my hammock [which is 5']?), sew channels on the sides (to adjust the UQ along the length of my hammock) and sew channels along the two ends so I can cinch things up to eliminate drafts, I'd put shockcord in all the channels. Missed anything that will keep this improvised UQ from performing well (I probably have)? (Nothing fancy just want a decent UQ)
    "The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know." - Michel Legrand

  2. #2
    New Member Hangingten's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Hammock
    WBBB
    Tarp
    DIY
    Insulation
    Pads
    Suspension
    Whoopies
    Posts
    8
    I am not dissing pad users in any way, shape, or form, but since my first hang last Friday night in the basement (+/- 50 *F) using my newly DIY'd UQ, I am at a loss as to why I should stick to pads. Now, my UQ is about as "frankenbuilt" as you can get. I basically bought the cheepest Walmart bag on the shelf, around $20 and rated 40*, sewed a couple of grosgrain loops in each end - I barely know how to use the wife's thread injector - and attached it to my WBBB suspension with some small Sbiners and prussiks. I used some old tarp clips to close up the gaps, didn't even remove the zipper. Know what? No more cold clammy backside when I get up to pee at 1am, no more fiddling to get the pad in the right place, etc etc.

    Bottom line - go for it! No more pads for me. The frankenbuilt will do for now while I save for a "real" UQ. Now to figure out how to cure my aching neck, but that's for another post...

  3. #3
    Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Hamburg, PA
    Hammock
    Hammeck Netty
    Tarp
    Yukon Walkabout
    Insulation
    UQ/TQ
    Suspension
    Whoopie slings
    Posts
    54
    Images
    26
    I am curious as well. Somewhere, I think in my sisters basement is my old sleeping bag. Granted, I am still contemplating winter hanging but I think I will sick to the 3 season hanging for now. I haven't really looked in the diy section to see if anyone had instructions. I am not comfortable with a thread injector yet (all I have ever sewn was buttons back on my shirt and that was done by hand!)

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    N.E. Indiana
    Hammock
    DIY Insulated 3.5 season
    Insulation
    Boreal Beast UQ
    Suspension
    Straps and rings .
    Posts
    673
    Im quite new to hammocking . I wanted an underquilt that would take me down to zero for less then a hundred bucks . Weight , I thought would not be an issue .Well weight is an issue since I want to keep my toboggan below 50 pounds but I did create an extremely warm UQ . I took the M1949 down and feather bag which is rated down to about 10 degrees and stuffed it with a couple of extra pounds of down and feather mixture. This I felt would bring it down to at least zero or below .

    That particular bag had eyelets every foot or so along the zipper so I just tied loops in each eylet and ran bungee cord thru the loops . I next cut off the foot box which projected about 16 inches past the zipper . So now the foot end was wide open and I could still zip up the bag since I left the zipper intact .
    On the head end I cut a slit under the hood and ran my hammock thru the slit . This alows me to use the hood at night . I sewed collars made of an old wool coat on each end with cord in them to tighten down the openings .
    The result is a cocoon like mass of down and feathers that almost completely surrounds me . I have only had the oppurtunity to test it down to 10 , it is extremely warm but heavy . I use another M1949 with zipper and hood removed ,and foot box intact for a top quilt .

    I paid 50 bucks for the one M1949 from Armygear.net and 25 for the other one that is smaller and lighter for some reason from EBAY . I use the light one for a top quilt .
    I also made up an underquilt protecter ( think bag with bungee cords on the edge ) and then a snow poncho over the top to create a sock . Overall an extremely warm setup that I keep together and then just feed them out of an army duffle bag .
    To me one of the nicest things is the two bungee cords left and right that actually act almost like ridge lines and hold the edges of the underquilt above the edge of the hammock . I had a small UQ before that was always slipping off the side of my butt and Id have to keep adjusting it thru the night .
    This all weighs in at about 30 pounds which doesn't leave me a lot of room on the toboggan weightwise but its kinda worth it when I want to sleep in for a couple of extra hours in the AM .


    Edit .... You probabley could do this if you only wanted the bottom end to be about 10 degrees without the extra stuffing . This could make your under quilt about 6 or 7 pounds . Still not light .


    Edit Edit ... Forgot I had pics . If you don't want to do much sewing , I think those cords looped with the bungee cord thru them work just as well , if not better .





    Last edited by riverjoe; 03-09-2014 at 21:51.

  5. #5
    Member JDA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Ashland, WI
    Hammock
    DIY gathered end
    Tarp
    DIY silnylon
    Suspension
    Whoopie
    Posts
    67
    Thanks for the encouragement. I'm gonna go for it. I'll post some pics when I do.
    "The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know." - Michel Legrand

  6. #6
    Senior Member CountryRoads's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Northampton, MA
    Hammock
    DIY 10' Hexon gathered end
    Tarp
    DIY Xenon 10'x12
    Insulation
    DIY down Argon UQ
    Suspension
    Whoopies & Dutch
    Posts
    806
    For a while, I used an old north face down bag as an UQ. I didn't want to destroy the bag though, so I got some silnylon and made sorta a hammock for the bag with channels on all 4 sides, ran shock cord through them, then spread the bag out in there and clipped the edges of the sleeping bag to the sides of the rectangle. It worked brilliantly, used it down to 17 degrees.

  7. #7
    Member JDA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Ashland, WI
    Hammock
    DIY gathered end
    Tarp
    DIY silnylon
    Suspension
    Whoopie
    Posts
    67
    Quote Originally Posted by CountryRoads View Post
    For a while, I used an old north face down bag as an UQ. I didn't want to destroy the bag though, so I got some silnylon and made sorta a hammock for the bag with channels on all 4 sides, ran shock cord through them, then spread the bag out in there and clipped the edges of the sleeping bag to the sides of the rectangle. It worked brilliantly, used it down to 17 degrees.

    Good to see that this works well. I've started deconstructing my old sleeping bag in order to reconstruct it as and UQ. So far so good.
    "The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know." - Michel Legrand

  8. #8
    Senior Member CountryRoads's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Northampton, MA
    Hammock
    DIY 10' Hexon gathered end
    Tarp
    DIY Xenon 10'x12
    Insulation
    DIY down Argon UQ
    Suspension
    Whoopies & Dutch
    Posts
    806
    Quote Originally Posted by JDA View Post
    Good to see that this works well. I've started deconstructing my old sleeping bag in order to reconstruct it as and UQ. So far so good.
    Yeah, I don't know why but just couldn't bring myself to destroy it, even though it would have been more useful to me if I had. And I guess it wouldn't be destroying, but repurposing. Good luck and post some pics for us.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Drybones's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Gadsden, AL
    Posts
    242
    Quote Originally Posted by CountryRoads View Post
    For a while, I used an old north face down bag as an UQ. I didn't want to destroy the bag though, so I got some silnylon and made sorta a hammock for the bag with channels on all 4 sides, ran shock cord through them, then spread the bag out in there and clipped the edges of the sleeping bag to the sides of the rectangle. It worked brilliantly, used it down to 17 degrees.
    That's a great idea, I may try doing the same until I'm convinced I will like hammocks better than tenting. I don't mind spending money on quilts as long as they see good use after I buy/make them.

  10. #10
    Member JDA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Ashland, WI
    Hammock
    DIY gathered end
    Tarp
    DIY silnylon
    Suspension
    Whoopie
    Posts
    67
    It's almost done. It should be functional (if not all that aesthetically pleasing). I'll post pics of the finished product.
    "The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know." - Michel Legrand

  • + New Posts
  • Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

    Similar Threads

    1. Has anyone tried to make a pod from a 2 person sleeping bag?
      By chapmage in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 8
      Last Post: 10-19-2013, 06:45
    2. Replies: 30
      Last Post: 11-29-2012, 15:08
    3. who knows how to make a Sleeping Bag into a UQ
      By default in forum Bottom Insulation
      Replies: 11
      Last Post: 09-14-2011, 12:30
    4. can i make a uc out of old sleeping bag
      By reggie151 in forum Under Quilts
      Replies: 7
      Last Post: 03-05-2009, 19:31
    5. Video: We Don't Sew... We Make Gear! Part 10 Make It Your Own
      By Ramblinrev in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 1
      Last Post: 01-17-2009, 13:55

    Tags for this Thread

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •