Quilt for Group Buy Underblanket

[Wayland]

<snip>
Of course I have to say the gratitude and attitude of members in general far out weight this small and infrequent niggle.

I've never organized a group buy but I've benefitted from several. Both of you have done a great service to the community here that is difficult to repay.

I have not added much to the discussion here but I have followed it with interest. My main thought is that the design sounds interesting and I don't have any real suggestions to improve it.

I often use a woolen blanket in my hammock. It's heavier than a quilt would be but it gives me enough material to tuck around my shoulders.

If the quilt is wide enough for that I can't see any problems.

 

[gunnix]

Thanks wentworth for your post. I did notice most commercial quilts or top bags come at high prices.

So the quilt would look something like this:
http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html -> go to sleeping section nr2 "Light Quilt"

Looks good, I'm sure you'll design a fine product.
Definately interested.

I guess you'd make different lengths for different people? Like 160cm, 180cm, 200cm. Or just one which is long enough for everyone.

 

[wanderinstar]

That looks a very handy site Gunnix. Will have a look at it later. The prototype quilt will be 18" wide at feet, 34" wide at hips, 40" wide at shoulders and 84" long. There will be a 9" wide flap 24" long at each side at hip position to tuck under you. It may seem a bit on the long side but we have to think about tall people (MK).. The extra length will also cover your head. There will only be one size, to avoid complications.
Will have to wait and see what Red has to say about it when he gets it for test.

 

[British Red]

Looking forward to it Ian!

I'll sling a hammock locally for a couple of others to contribute feedback

Jon Pickett has been threatening to camp here for a while so "two birds" springs to mind!

Red

 

[wanderinstar]

Very good Red, the more the merrier.

 

[Neanderthal]

Ian,

Could you post the weight and pack size when you get the prototype?

Cheers
Stu

 

[Too Much Kit To Carry]

Looking forward to it Ian!

I'll sling a hammock locally for a couple of others to contribute feedback

Jon Pickett has been threatening to camp here for a while so "two birds" springs to mind!

Red

Room for a little one?

Phil.

 

[Graham_S]

It looks like I'm going to the moot again this year. need a demonstrator again?

 

[wanderinstar]

Graham, I don't think Red will part with it once he gets his hands on it.

I called into Snugpak today to pick up sample. One big problem they had made it too short. When I said I wanted it 84" long, they made it that length before they turned the bottom up to make foot pocket. So it turned up being 72" long. Oh well good things are worth waiting for.
One thing they did that I didn't ask for, but I'm glad they did, was to quilt the side flaps. Should be easier to handle and position the flaps than if they were just single layer of material.
So will have to wait for about another 10 days. Apart from being longitudinally challenged, it looked the business. Can't wait.

 

[Aliwren]

Any test results yet?

 

[Wayland]

I had a look at the prototype this weekend. It looked good.

 

[wanderinstar]

No test results yet. I only picked it up Thurs. Pack wt is 1.2kg, size is about 3" shorter than underblanket. I tried it out last night, but I am biased. But put it this way, the prototype will not be for sale unless a group buy goes ahead. I will definitely be wanting it back.
Neanderthal is testing it first and then it is going down to Red.

 

[wentworth]

One thing they did that I didn't ask for, but I'm glad they did, was to quilt the side flaps. Should be easier to handle and position the flaps than if they were just single layer of material.

By quilt do you mean that the flaps are insulated like the rest of the quilt?

 

[wanderinstar]

Yes that is correct.

 

[wanderinstar]

Have finally worked out a total price for the Quilt. It will be £48.67. Unfortunatly when I had it out last w/end I forgot my camera and Stu has quilt at the moment for a review. Hopefully he will be able to get some photo's of it in use.
If there is anything I have not covered, feel free to ask.

 

[swyn]

I have been watching this thread with interest too and would love to be able to be part of the 'pass-around'. I normally use my sleeping bag opened out like a quilt when the weather is warm. Sometimes this is still too hot.
It would be nice to have a smaller item to drape over ones self when trying to sleep. Hence my interest. Plus I'm one of Wanderinstars fans with regard to the underblanket.

The main part of this for me is this has to do two sleep systems. One, I know it will work well in is what it has been designed to do, ie the hammock. The second one for me is to work well on the ground and in unusual circumstances, ie the bottom of a boat. This will swing the deal as far as I'm concerned because I can then leave my sleeping bag at home and use the quilt instead.

Please let me know if I can try this prototype for 24 hours. (After Red of course)

Cheers from Swyn.

 

[Neanderthal]

Tried the quilt out last night in the garden with underblanket.

At 11pm it was 20 degrees and only cooled down to about 13 by 5:30 this morning. Consequently I was very toasty in shorts and T-shirt.

First impressions:
Very snuggly and the foot bucket is a great feature.
Compared to battling with a sleeping bag the quilt is excellent as it is just a case of putting feet in the end, tucking the side bits around you and pulling the quilt up. There was plenty of quilt to wrap around my neck and shoulders.

I've just had a thought that I could use the quilt with a karrimat for summer camping instead of a sleeping bag.

The quilt measures approx 100cm wide by 200cm long.

Packed size compared with Underblanket on the left.

Off to do the Plantlore course at Woodsmoke this weekend so I'll try it out then and post more details.

Thanks Ian for the chance to test the prototype.

Stu

 

[Neanderthal]

First chance I've had to post since going to Woodsmoke.

We had a great time on the course and the quilt worked well. Heavy rain during the night and some rain during the day but the temperature was quite warm. Tried it one night without underblanket as wife had forgot her thermarest. Just a bit cold underneath where the quilt didn't quite wrap round, a wooly jumper covered the gap underneath though.

The 2m length is long enough to pull over your head should you want to, but means there is a fair amount of material to create a fluffy collar to wrap around. There was plenty of quilt to wrap around my legs especially with the side tabs, although I managed to curl up and pull my feet out of the foot bucket on occasion.

One thing I'd do is put a mark on so that I could easily see which is the top end and upper side of the quilt, maybe the BCUK Logo could go here?

This weekend I was staying in a climbing club hut in the lake district and used the quilt in my bunk instead of a sleeping bag. It worked well and was slightly cooler as expected. One comment though was that the material was a bit noisey.

Next weekend I'm off backpacking with the tent so I'll be taking the quilt instead of my 3 season sleeping bag.

In the meantime I'll have a think about possible ways of wearing it in some kind of quilted cape configuration. Any suggestions please post.

The verdict so far: I'd buy one.

Stu

 

[gorilla]

wanderinstar - well done mate - great looking design! i'm 6' 4" and 19 stone (hence my username, though my mates tend to just call me ape), and sleeping bags make me feel like i've been mummified alive!
stick me on the list buddy, i'll defo want one!

 

[wentworth]

In the meantime I'll have a think about possible ways of wearing it in some kind of quilted cape configuration. Any suggestions please post.

The verdict so far: I'd buy one.

Stu

A head hole situated in the middle, closed with velcro is easily done.
Also, uninsulated flaps that run 3/4 the length of the quilt would reduce bulk and drafts.
To further reduce weight, the foot end could be tapered.

Looks like a nice design though.