A 2/3rds Pertex hammock underquilt is born......

[Teepee]

I finished my latest underquilt last night and took it for some testing today in my local woods. I've not made a shorter UQ before, so this was a little bit experimental. I wanted something smaller and lighter for the next few months that will keep me warm in my hammock down to around -10 or so. A shorter Underquilt like this will insulate from shoulders to knees, leaving the head and lower leg uninsulated. I always carry a hat and pillow which will keep my head warm. I also use a small foam pad in my pack to act as a backrest. This will be placed under my stinking plates and calves to keep them warm at night-removing the need for a full length underquillt.
This UQ is differentially cut so that the down insulation is not compressed (the bottom layer is bigger than the top) and it follows the shape of my body in the hammock. The curve also eliminates air gaps which create cold spots. Darts create the curve and these are differentially cut too(bigger and longer on the top than bottom).
The UQ measures 107cm x 130cm. Made from rain resitant Olive Pertex and 800 fill down, the mesh baffles are 50mm high and 127mm wide on the top and hold 22g of down for each chamber. 5mm shockcord holds the quilt up which are tied to mini krabs (waiting for my mitten hook order to turn up which will replace the tied on krabs). Shockcord channel exits are lined with green grosgrain to prevent wear. The ends of the quilt are curved inwards so that a cinch cord isnt needed for the head end, but after testing, I'll be adding a cinch to one end as there was a small gap at the foot end (see pics)
It holds 6oz of down and weighs 364g including hardware. The loft is about 75mm fluffed and 40-60mm when the hammock is occupied Now I know the pattern is right, I can crack on with my 2 friends requests for shorter underquilts.
It feels really warm and fits well laying diagonally and banana style. All in all, I'm well happy with it. I'll make some improvements for the next 2, using more grosgrain, adjusting the curve for thier smaller frames and altering some of the finishing touches.
Hope you like

The beginning...

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Sewing the baffles on

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One side nearly finished

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All the down portioned out and a proper mess made

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Its snowing inside again

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The UQ fitted to a DD travel hammock

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The small air gap at foot end, should be reduced by using the foam pad and cinch cord

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The quilt laid out with stuff sack

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The quilt packed

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My suspension method; Vectran core tree straps with dutch clips, to loop shackle, to whoopie style adjustable loop through the channel. Made from English Braids 2mm dyneema dynamic line. Sorry for the bad focus

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Thanks for reading
Pete (hopelessly addicted to making down filled gear)

 

[resnikov]

Well done mate, thats a good looking underquilt. You going to release the plans for it or are they a trade secret?

Where did you get the down from ?

Also you might want to check your down, I think one pic shows something a bit odd growing in it.

 

[Eragon21]

I am looking to have a go at one of these, any plans or guidance would be great help, a step by step guide would be fantastic. I do have a sowing machine and the pics you have shown are a great help but what would be good for me is if you can tell me what is done at each stage and the reason behind it i.e. the sown in bits on the pertex.

You have a skill there one which I would really like to learn.

 

[Teepee]

Well done mate, thats a good looking underquilt. You going to release the plans for it or are they a trade secret?

Where did you get the down from ?

Also you might want to check your down, I think one pic shows something a bit odd growing in it.

Just a bit odd mate??? Thats the nicest thing said to me all week

Plans to follow mate, there looks to be some interest.

@ Aregon; Thanks Gareth, glad you like. I'l get some guidance sorted out but in the meantime, theres loads of info on Hammock Forums with plans and dimensions. I got most of my info from there. These baffled UQ's aren't actually too hard-just time consuming.

The mesh baffles are there to keep the down in place and keep a consistent thickness of insulation underneath, as opposeed to sewn through which can lead to cold spots. The 'Darts' are just angled pleats sewn in-the greater the angle of dart, the more curve is imparted to the fabric. This can be altered to suit the application and user and the desired quilt length. I'll expand on this later.

 

[Eragon21]

Thanks for that I will have a look on the Hammock forums and hopefully start to make one soon

 

[Teepee]

I took it for a hang in the peaks this weekend on my wide DIY hammock and it works and fits. Laying at 45 deg caused no problems either, I slept well. It got down to around 5c with a good breeze and I was tarpless.

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