UQ and pad??

[Cave.Goose]

I feel like my JRB 3/4 UQ always has a cold spot no matter how much adjusting I do. My emailed question to JRB was responded with "Our UQs are intuitive." (Yeah, big help!) So I've wound up using a small sit pad in any hang below 50F.

I've been modifying a cheap closed foam pad by cutting and taping. I now I have pad that is plenty long and wide and weighs 11.2oz (UQ is 16oz).

Of course, it's July, and I'm not getting any cold hangs to test with. My question: should I plan on both a pad & UQ in subfreezing temps, or should I dump the UQ altogether?

[The Old Boot]

While a lot of Hammockforum.net people also hang out here, you'll get much better response from the multitude of JRB users over there.

[Fog Horn]

I might be over analyzing the placement of your wording, but are you proposing to hang in subfreezing temperatures with just a sleeping pad, or are you proposing to dump the UQ you have and replace it with another one for those temperatures?

I think the only way you are going to know if just a sleeping pad would work for you in such low temps is truly to wait out the weather and try it in colder climates.

[Cave.Goose]

FogHorn, I've taken my UQ down to 23F with a sit pad added. I'm wondering if I have a pad that fully covers my shoulders & hips if I can get to a similar temp rating.

[Cave.Goose]

Old Boot, I'll check there hammock forums when I get home. I posted here not only to get an answer, but to test my new WB phone app.

[kayak karl]

when you do post on HH add. Which JRB quilt (temp rating)? what temp you were hanging in? WHERE is the cold spot? i have 5 JRB quilts and others. never had a quilt with a cold spot even to -10 degrees. are you suspending it right and have tension in all the right points?. 2/3 and 3/4 quilts can be tricky if you haven't been hanging long.

[Cave.Goose]

I just wanted to correct something I said about JRB. They did provide me with a longer email explaining how to set it. The way I posted earlier was really unfair to their customer service.

[dla]

I just wanted to correct something I said about JRB. They did provide me with a longer email explaining how to set it. The way I posted earlier was really unfair to their customer service.

There two main types of cold spots: air leaks and insulation compression.

Air leaks - Assuming your particular JRB quilt is differential sewn, then you start by figuring out how to get it snugged up against the bottom of the hammock. One way to do this is to get a friend/wife/SO/etc. to get into the hammock into your sleeping position. Then you walk around looking for sags and loose spots. Or put your video camera on the tripod and crawl in to your favorite sleeping position. Point is that you need some extra eyes. You might have to add some 1/8" shock cord to spots to get them to snug up. I have shock cord that I use up and over my ridgeline to fix leaks on my full-length UQ.

Insulation compression - you've got the right solution IMO. I sleep on my side, so I've my hip or knee that forms a point compressing the down. So it is easiest just to have a small chunk of 1/4" CCF that I can position where I need it. JRB sells just such a thing. I have a double-layer hammock so it stays put during the night.

I think once you get the kinks worked out of your UQ setup you be happy. I think going to a pad only is a step in the wrong direction.

[leaftye]

It'd be better to figure out how to hang your quilt so you don't get a cold spot, but I don't think carrying around a small foam pad is a bad thing. I'd use that pad for a sit pad. I love sit pads. It's nice that it can add insulation where it's needed most when you sleep.

[kidchill]

Yah, if I had to guess I would think it's probably from compression. I started my thru hike with a foam pad and quickly realized that it was nowhere near the insulation needed in a hammock...but, I have seen people using just pads underneath them. It may help if you have a full-length UQ vs the 3/4. I rocked a 3/4 from Hammockgear and found that I did have a little bit of compression. During the colder temps on my thruhike, I really had to find trees that were distanced properly to make the UQ work the best. I also found and cannibalized a thermarest pad for extra insulation...on that note, though, I was using an UQ/TQ that was rated for 40degrees and sleeping in 10 degree weather (10deg was the coldest, 15-20 was kind of the norm).

[bigfoot2]

I started off using Jacks R Better UQ's and they are made like sleeping bags, with side to side baffles, and not length-wise baffles. They are also not differentially cut, so the inner is the same dimensions as the outer, meaning that the insulation shifts more and is compressed more than other UQ's from different makers.

BF

[mattyoc20]

where is the cold spot that you are getting. Maybe switching to a full length underquilt would help

[Deacon]

I started off using Jacks R Better UQ's and they are made like sleeping bags, with side to side baffles, and not length-wise baffles. They are also not differentially cut, so the inner is the same dimensions as the outer, meaning that the insulation shifts more and is compressed more than other UQ's from different makers.

BF

That's not true of their M. Washington 3. under quilt. It is differentially cut.