Review on Unsponsored Underquilt

[Thijzzz]

Hi guys,

Here's a short review of a custom down UQ from Unsponsored.

Length: 190 cm
Rating: 3/4 season.
Inner material: black Pertex 4
Outer material: green ripstop Pertex with breathable waterproof coating.
Filling: down 800 fill, all feathers removed manually. Weight to follow.
Suspension: shockcord running the length of the UQ. Channels on head- and foot side for extra schockcord for gathering the ends.
Extra's: 4 small loops sewn-in at each side to offset the UQ for asyymetrical hammock like Hennessy's.
Tab on each corner.
Weight incl. drybag: 1067 gr.
Packing size: stuffed into a 8 L drybag.
Freshly compressed = 25 x 19 x 17 cm
After half an hour = 29 x 19 x 19 cm (drybag lets in air)
See bottom pic of the blue drybag to get an idea.


Workmanship: perfect, very neatly done.
Especially since the first one sent cam back to Unsponsored looking like "it had been in a combine harvester", and he recollected all the down and made me a new one - in 1 day!

Tip: if you buy from anyone in Great Britain, pay extra for parcel services like UPS or DHL. British Royal Mail has been on strike etc. and is getting a bead rep with me. (Another package was ripped to pieces and returned to sender.)

Suspension and "hang": fits on both my TTTM and HH. Added my own suspension to the tabs that are sewn at each corner. Because of the weight it works very well with standard shock cord. Tightening 10 cm on the lengthwise cords lifts the sides up 10 cm immediately.

For asym hammocks there are extra loops sewn in at each side. I clip a small biner to the loops and hook it onto the HH tie-outs. Loops could have been a bit bigger to make clipping a biner on easier.

Loft: Shake well before suspending and rearrange the down if needed. Let it hang for half an hour: it will loft like a goose coming out of the tumble dryer. I kid you not.

Warmth: has kepth me nice and warm for 2 nights, and a little nap in the woods this afternoon without a sleeping bag. Will test it this winter, combined with a Alpkit Skyehigh 1000 which rates to -16C.

Price: very fair. Since I do not want to undermine anyone's pricing strategies I won't diclose the price, but let's say it's a LOT closer to a SnugPAK UQ then to a SnugFIT.

Seller: communication and service were good. Not a very chatty guy in PM's though

Conclusion: Excellent "no-frills" UQ for a very decent price. Can recommend this to anyone!

Thijs


Some pics:


Unsponsored Underquilt by Thijzzz, on Flickr



Unsponsored Underquilt by Thijzzz, on Flickr



Unsponsored Underquilt by Thijzzz, on Flickr



Unsponsored Underquilt by Thijzzz, on Flickr

 

[Shewie]

Good review Thijzzz

Very happy with mine although I'm just moving over to my Speer Snugfit now for the cooler months

 

[unsponsored]

Down used was 800 fill. No feathers as my UQs are hand filled and any rogue feathers spotted are removed.

The black pertex for the inner was pertex 4. The outer was a green ripstop pertex with a breathable coating making this shell material waterproof.

 

[Highbinder]

Posted over on HF but I'll add here: What volume does the UQ pack down to? Presumably doesn't come with a stuff sack so I'll have to buy one (and get one for my tarp, sleeping bag and hammock while I'm at it probably eep!)

 

[Shewie]

Posted over on HF but I'll add here: What volume does the UQ pack down to? Presumably doesn't come with a stuff sack so I'll have to buy one (and get one for my tarp, sleeping bag and hammock while I'm at it probably eep!)

I think mines a similar size to Thijzzz's, I use an XS (6/2L) sea-to-summit eVent compression bag. It squashes right down to the ends of the straps so it must be near 2L.

 

[unsponsored]

Highbinder, your best bet is a an Exped small roll top dry bag (5L). Plenty of room to compress your UQ into without going mad. It will go in an XS (orange one), but will be tight.

Alpkit silnylon ones are also very good and cheap

 

[Clueless Turtle]

Received mine today also.

quality looking bit of kit

unfortunately I wont get to try it out for a few days.

 

[Grizzlyscott]

where can you get 1 of these UQ's??

scotty

 

[The Big Lebowski]

Send unsponsored a PM for requirements... he's post #3 on this thread.

TBL.

 

[Highbinder]

Well I had a wee play around with mine this afternoon. Got to say it's pretty spiffy! Got to ask though, whats the best way to set it up? I was using the cinched shockcords tied in a knot at the tip (to form in effect a big loop) which I hooked into the binesr at the ends of my hammock. Seems to hold in place well and once I'm in and laying down I just needed to reach over to pull the side over my shoulder. Or would it be better to use the tabs along the sides and run the ends up to the biners? Would that keep the sides 'up' better?

 

[Thijzzz]

I attached 1 long piece of shockcord to the tabs. I made them adjustable at the tab side, and threaded a biner on the middle part.
Biner clips onto end of hammock, and the cord runs freely through it.
That way it will stay offset if used on an asymm hammock, provided you attach the side tabs.

I prefer suspending it from the tabs on the corners because it just hangs better and closer to my hammock.

You can see this in this picture:
Unsponsored Underquilt by Thijzzz, on Flickr