Chilly weather UQ and use report

[Gadgetgeek]

So I finished my outdoor rec TAFE course this week! the last field trip was to Mt Barney Lower portals to Junction campsite, and down the creek to the lower portals return. So I needed to finish my 6oz apex UQ. It looks like temps dropped to 4C at least according to the nearest stations.
Its a 7/8s length quilt, 1x1.7m or so. 6oz Apex. Square, with line-locks in the corners 3mm cord to hang, nothing in the long sides, and 2mm end cinches. Stitching would be a D in a home ec class, but I smashed it out in a couple hours, (and that was after finding out that machine 1 ate its foot pedal, so I had to use the backup.) Pretty much I just picked the length based on the roll width of the apex, since my other attempts to quilt it hasn't gone the best. There is a bit of differential between the top and bottom fabrics, I hope enough to keep the compression to a minimum, without getting too floppy. Its also 1.7 nylon, so its a bit heavy, but its what I had on hand. The upside, is I shouldn't loose much heat via convection. I don't think I'd save much weight by doing Argon, although I would have liked to.
Also strung some 2mm into the end of my 2oz top quilt for a footbox. I used that with merino thermals(baselayer.com kosi, merino buff, wool socks), UQP. I didn't need the worst case, heat-sheet bivy, which is the backup. I did wake up cold a few times, and had to visit a tree due to the effect of the cold, but it was just cold enough to wake me up, not enough to really worry about it, and not enough to engage my hypothermia plan. Granted, I get cold pretty easily, and due to my upbringing and conditioning, I wake up well before I'm really in trouble. Also adding to that was a steady cold breeze all night, decently high humidity, and the light weight TQ. But it worked enough to get a good night's sleep, and keep my pride in front of my shivering classmates, so that works for me.

A normal human could probably take this gear quite a bit colder, I've got the natural insulation value of a wet mouse, so as soon as I stop moving, I chill down pretty fast.


Also testing this week, my new straps which are a hybrid, Dutch G-clips, with descender rings stitched to the end of the straps, and the hennesy rope. should cover me for really big trees and really far apart trees. They worked perfectly. By using the clips to make my straps just long enough to wrap the trees, it was far easier to center my hammock, and its a zero wear system. And it was easier to set up than the old straps.

[ErichFromm]

Thanks for the detail. What about some photos?