Fixing an Underquilt Cold Spot

[BillyBob58]

Hey all! I am a relatively new hanger and trying to figure out my UQ. I am 6'6" tall and have a New River UQ from Arrowhead that is 84" long, 50" wide, and is rated down to 25 degrees F. Using it in the upper 30's I felt a continual cold spot under my behind, even after getting in and out and fiddling with things several times. I know the UQ is good and the cold spot had to be the result of user error.

In the morning, I had someone take a picture of the foot end of my UQ while I was in the hammock (attached to this post), and I can tell from the picture that the cold spot is coming from a gap on the foot end. I can't figure out a what to get rid of that gap. I have tried tightening the primary suspension and tightening the horizontal cinch channels, but haven't been able to get rid of that pesky cold spot.

Can anyone tell from the photo what I am doing wrong?

Do I just need to pull the primary suspension tighter? Do I need to worry about damaging the shock cord because of pulling it too tight? My hammock is 12' long and 72" wide. I am wondering if the hammock length could be causing the UQ suspension to pull too horizontally and not enough vertically? Or is the width of the hammock causing me to lay too diagonally for the UQ width, and that is somehow creating this gap? The UQ's primary suspension is made of one piece of shock cord on each end (one goes from one top corner to the other top corner, and the other goes from one bottom corner to the other bottom corner), so I can't really get it diagonal to match my lay. Could this be part of the problem?

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

This does not 100% apply to you, since this UQ is not quite full length(but almost for a lot of folks). But, it might still contain some very useful info from the manufacturer of your quilt. Pay special attention to the foot end adjustment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFzMVW-8TOc&t=5s
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Is it ONLY your butt that is cold, and not your legs also? I would think a draft coming in from the foot end would also lead to cold legs and feet.

In general, UQ success for me has come from leaving the end/side to side adjustments wide open, then adjusting the main suspension to lift the unoccupied hammock a few inches or MORE. Then adjusting the ends so that they just barely touch the occupied hammock. ( NOT Pro Tip: when alone, after adjusting the main suspension to lift the unoccupied hammock, place a weighted pack into the foot end of the hammock and adjust the side to side foot end as needed, usually to just barely contact the foot end of the hammock)

You should have no worries about damaging the UQ or suspension as long as, AFTER you have tightened enough to lift the unoccupied hammock, you still have enough suspension shock cord stretch to easily push the UQ another foot or 2 towards the ground. And I always do, and so should you, no problem. Also, I find that the little black push button locking thingies(what do you call them?) on the suspension tend to slip before damage can be done. Assuming of course I don't back the lock up with a knot to prevent slippage.

One caution: the whole "lifting the unoccupied hammock with the UQ" concept is based on the UQ having a differential cut. The JRB, WBs, HGs, and UGQ dedicated UQs all- I'm pretty sure, have differential cuts. I have never been able to determine if my AHE synthetic UQs have a dif cut or not. I'm pretty sure the one specifically for the WB Ridgrunner does(though maybe not, since it can't be adjusted too tight or at all, thus may not even need a dif cut) but fairly sure my AHE Jarbidge does not. But I don't really know. But here's the thing: as you tighten any UQ that does NOT have a dif cut, past the "just barely in contact with the occupied hammock" point, you start compressing the loft. Potentially down to NO loft. It will fairly quickly reach the point of tighter = colder. This will most quickly become noticeable in the point of max compression, the low point, the butt.

Cation #2: when warning against over tightening the foot end side to side cordage, it is also possible to be way too loose. Leaving a big old gap for cold air to creep in and sink towards your butt. In you picture, it looks like your occupied set up has a pretty good gap(I'll take another look). In that case, I would think that rather than loosening, you might need to snug it up a bit with the foot end adjustments. To where it is just barely in contact with your lower legs/feet. Just avoid tightening so much that you create creases which can act a highways for cold air to travel down to your butt.

Finally: I know you want to get your UQ to work as expected, we all do. But when it comes to not being able to sleep due to a cold spot, don't forget your sit pad, or even a cut down pad just barely long enough for butt and legs, or even a pack. These smaller pads are much easier to handle even in a gathered end hammock, and can absolutely save the cold night. Sometimes even when the adjustment is perfect, but the temps have dropped below the UQ's rating. I used to routinely sleep (in late summer or early fall down south) with NO insulation under my JRB bridge hammock, just a TQ. When I would wake up about 4 or 5AM to pee AND from a cold back, I would just slip my torso sized cut down WM blue pad into the pad pocket of the JRB hammock. Then go back to sleep for a few hours TOASTY warm. I could never tell the pad was there except for the added warmth. (It was usually a bit too warm to start with the pad at bedtime, being down south and all)

Hang in there, you will get it! Many a person has used these AHE quilts BELOW the 25F rating and been warm enough, or been toasty at or above the rating. But UQs, especially on GE hammocks, can be tricky rascals with a pretty good learning curve. As evidenced by many, many threads like yours over the years. But most of us figure it out, with help from other users, sooner or later.