UK hammocks top quilt

[Dosferra]

So I tried to do some research about the quality of the UK hammocks quilts but could not find any reviews on them.

I read a few things on forums, both good and bad. Bad mostly being some guy got a quilt much heavier then first agreed on. Other have been have with them.

I want an ultralight quilt with a sewn footbox and a lightweight zipper. I talked to him and he said he could make one but the total weight seemed more the 100g below most other quilts for that temp rating.

Anyway, does anyone here got a quilt from UK hammocks that can say something about the quality of the stitching/weight/over all quality of the quilts?

Thanks in advance, Lukas

 

[C_Claycomb]

Same question as here?
http://www.trek-lite.com/index.php?threads/uk-hammock-top-quilt.3972/

I too was going to ask about Scotty.

A couple of years back I had quite a few chats with Mat, we share a mutual friend, and I traded him a knife for a winter under quilt, and later I bought a Cat tarp. I also had him add more down to my Jacks R Better Sierra Sniveller (could have been as much as 200g more). I was happy with all those transactions. I admit that I haven't been over the under quilt with a magnifying glass, but nothing about it jumped out as poorly made. I haven't had close up looks at a lot of other under quilts but based on pictures it seems that the UKH version is a fairly basic design, no sculpting on the one I have. I was very happy with the job done on the JRB quilt, not only could I hardly tell where it had been opened, but the extra down made a huge difference to the loft and usability. When new the JRB smelled of duck, for which JRB cust.service made no reply, and despite the temp rating of -4C it was always cold anywhere lower than +4C.

So, despite JRB's reputation, I found that UKH produced a significantly less expensive quilt using noticeably more and better down. That was all at least 18months + ago, and since then there have been too many people posting problems to ignore.

You mention weight. UKH site currently quotes their winter underquilt as 770g. I weighed mine and it comes in at 913g. I didn't record what the site said when I got the quilt, but I know it weighed more than the site quoted. This doesn't bother me since it does what I want it to do, but I can see that it could bother some people.

I am wondering whether individual experiences are going to be fairly worthless since the overall picture since I had my positive experience has been one of inconsistency. Some have had good experiences and been happy with their products while others report pretty dire experiences regarding waiting times, and mistakes with how things are put together. Mat no longer does all the sewing himself and is periodically (maybe even regularly) away running expeditions. My suspicion is that it is the time and focus that these expeditions require that pulls him away from the comparatively mundane work of sewing and checking quilts, hence the variability people experience through the year.

Best of luck what ever you decide!

Chris

 

[sunndog]

Couple of years ago i would have reccomended ukhammocks no probs. They seem a bit hit and miss more recently

Cant reccomend scotty enough though. Absolutely top bloke to deal with and quality on par with any of my other kit. Good prices too

 

[sunndog]

Funny about your Sierra Sniveller chris. I find mine bang on for temp, wonder if it got short filled for some reason
the poncho function is pure indulgance on cold lazy mornings....love it

 

[Dosferra]

Thanks for the replies.

You said "and since then there have been too many people posting problems to ignore." Is there one or more forums threads you could direct me to?

 

[C_Claycomb]

http://bushcraftuk.com/community/index.php?threads/ukhammocks-top-quilt-and-other-problems.141036/

That thread kinda ran on an on.

I don't think I have ever used the poncho function! My friend Stuart used his a fair bit like that (always reminded me of a child in a brussel sprout costume) but I think I would have been happier without it. Maybe it had low fill, site says should be about 680g and mine weighed 623g. Had plenty of chances to find it was cold, and went so far as to record min night temps when I was using it. Mat reckoned that JRB didn't use quite as good a down as they claimed, maybe that is why it smelled of wet duck for months after I got it. Either way, I won't buy a quilt from them again. It was my experience with that quilt that made me so interested in the UKH stuff.