Cheapie UQ Idea...

[billygoatA]

I use a similar idea for my underquilt. Took old synthetic 40* sleeping removed the zipped and put grommets 4" apart all along the perimeter of the unfolded bag. Then I ran 4 separate piecesof paracord, 1 on each side to be able to adjust the height and length. For cold weather, below 30*, I add an emergency blanket between the hammock and UQ and attached to UQ by little pieces of Velcro along the perimeter of UQ. The emergency blanket is very light weight and gives 15* extra. Total cost of project.$20 for paracord and grommets. Already had the old bag.

[Detman101]

I use a similar idea for my underquilt. Took old synthetic 40* sleeping removed the zipped and put grommets 4" apart all along the perimeter of the unfolded bag. Then I ran 4 separate piecesof paracord, 1 on each side to be able to adjust the height and length. For cold weather, below 30*, I add an emergency blanket between the hammock and UQ and attached to UQ by little pieces of Velcro along the perimeter of UQ. The emergency blanket is very light weight and gives 15* extra. Total cost of project.$20 for paracord and grommets. Already had the old bag.

Oh wow! Now I'm wondering if I should have bought that 40 degree bag that I saw on the internet instead. It was much smaller than the one that I bought off the craigslist guy. I could have packed that one down to fit in my pack....but I'm sure it would'nt be near as warm as this fluffy big one that I picked up. Well, I'll just have to see how warm it will be since I found out after washing it that it is NOT down. There was a small tear on the edge of the bag and when I peered inside I saw what looked like fiber-fill...definitely polyester of some type.

Thanks for the reply, what you did is exactly what I plan to do! I'm leaving the zipper in mine though. After I finish this underquilt and test it out...and also If I can get clearance from the wife....I'll get that other packable sleeping bag off of amazon.com and duplicate my efforts with it. Maybe that will be my +30degree underquilt and the first one my "below freezing" underquilt.

Hey, you're from maryland too, Awesome! If you're ever looking for someone to hike or hammock camp with please contact me. Not trying to be weird or anything, but I'd love to learn some of this from someone with experience and knowledge. I usually hike at Gambrill State Park or Cunningham Falls, but I've been trying to get out to Seneca Creek State Park one day. All my guy friends aren't into outdoor things and It's been a bugger finding like-minded people out here in Frederick that aren't just hunters.

Thanks again!

[Detman101]

UPDATE:

Well, I finished my underquilt over the Columbus Day holiday.
Pics Below...

Shortly after finishing this side. I sewed on loops of 1-inch webbing on each corner of the open side and one in the center.


On the foot end, I put two webbing loops on each corner and one in the center. When it's folded in half it will have two loops on one side, one on the other.


As seen here...


I ran the paracord through the sleeping bag rather than tying on loops all the way around it. That way the cinch cords don't get in the way if I want to open this up and use it as a top-quilt or sleeping bag.

Foot end...



How I originally thought I'd hang it...Using one carabiner on each end. I quickly learned that doing it this way didn't allow for usage of the cinching ability to adjust the underquilt.





Once I figured out that I'd need a carabiner for each corner, things started shaping up good.
Here's a shot of it hung with 4 carabiners (unevenly I might add) and the cinch locks at their open position. (That's my Hellcat inside it...for weight.)
I had to adjust the lengths of the paracord on each of the 4 corners to get it all even so that I could properly cinch the ends.


slightly uneven on this side...easily remedied.


Test run with the ends cinched.


Better...




The cord-locks are on the corner on one side so adjustment from inside the hammock is as easy as reaching up to one corner on each end and cinching as needed.



WONDERFUL!!!


Now, One thing I can say about this mod....IT'S HOT!!!
I mean, sweaty hot.
It was about 68 degrees outside when I tried this out and I started sweating after about 3 minutes of lying in the hammock in my shirt, pants and boots with the sky open above me and windy.
I reckon the temperature in the hammock had to be close to 80+...or at least it was on my back. I couldn't feel the wind AT ALL! I would still like to try this with a smaller sleeping bag because this old coleman sleeping bag is BULKY! It's either rebuild with a thinner sleeping bag or find a better compression sack. The one that came with this sleeping bag/UQ is about the same size as the MSS...lol.


The only negative that I found was that if the length lines are too tight, you can say goodbye to your diagonal-lay...lol.
I had to get the length of the paracord strands right so that I could stretch out proper while using the cinch locks at the ends to take up the proper amount of slack at the ends where my feet are.

Overall, I'm highly impressed at the amount of heat that this creates. Once I pair it up with one of those aluminized car sun-shades I should be able to go to freezing temps!

[Detman101]

Well, today I decided to take the Underquilt out to test again with it open instead of folded in half (Standard closed sleeping bag configuration).

I wanted to see how warm it would still be if I opened it up and allowed it to come further up the sides instead of mostly covering only the bottom of the hammock. With the bag open, it still allowed for warmth and coverage, but also allowed for a niiiiiice diagonal lay! I constructed it so that the cinch cords and carabiner connections work both ways.




The first negative i found was that you have to cinch the ends pretty far to get the ends closed up. There is also a LOT of open air space under the hammock when used this way. While I was toasty warm, if I didn't cinch the ends up tight the wind would blow in there and freeze my underside. I still question whether or not this open space would cause cold air eventually after enough time passed by.



I also have been severely disappointed with the huge size of the packed underquilt. It's, literally, larger than my backpack height and I'm considering rebuilding this project with a smaller and lighter sleeping bag.



pic links

[Detman101]

One proposed solution to bring the height of the underquilt up and get rid of the dead space between it and the hammock was to lengthen the support straps for the underquilt and attach the carabiners for it to the hammock suspension carabiner at the tree. That would raise it up high enough where it would completely surround the hammock and allow for a completely womb-like experience WITH a diagonal lay!
However, I'll have to come up with a better method than using paracord to implement that one. I may wind up just buying 4 adjustable straps, trying to rig the lengths with paracord and taut-line hitches just won't work...

[Detman101]

Also, check out FLRider.

He uses a poncho liner with a space blanket as a garlington-like UQ. This may also help.

In light of the failure of the previous model, I am going to try making one with a Woobie this spring.
I will be able to keep that in my MSS carrier with my shelter equipment.