What fabric for DIY Woobie/Doobie?

[crmiller84]

I'm figuring on going with a MultiCam exterior fabric, but a little torn on what weight fabric. I want to be able to use it in the field as well as in my shelter, and will probably make it into a quilt-type setup. My original thought was 1.9oz DWR coated nylon for the exterior with 1.1oz uncoated and calendared nylon for the interior with 7.5oz Apex insulation. Sound about right, or should I go heavier/lighter?

 

[WoodBow]

I think 1.9 is excessive for the exterior. The same 1.1 is probably fine. However, there isn't enough yards of fabric in a quilt to make much of an impact on weight with 1.1 vs 1.9.

Id guess mine at about 1.1-1.3 inside and out. And i wouldn't hesitate to use it as a woobie. I made it square rather than tapered for that very purpose.

 

[crmiller84]

I think 1.9 is excessive for the exterior. The same 1.1 is probably fine. However, there isn't enough yards of fabric in a quilt to make much of an impact on weight with 1.1 vs 1.9.

Id guess mine at about 1.1-1.3 inside and out. And i wouldn't hesitate to use it as a woobie. I made it square rather than tapered for that very purpose.

Thats good to know.I guess I was just concerned about using it while glassing or stand hunting if I need that extra bit of insulation. Maybe I'll split the difference. RBTR has a 1.55oz MultiCam nylon.

 

[WoodBow]

I think that would be a solid choice.

 

[wasatchcomm]

the Dwr finish won't breathe and if wrapped up in it it will not allow condensation to escape, so it will get wet from sweat
if you try to use it like a quilt, as long as you have some air flow it will be perfect though
i made a similar blanket using calendared Hyper D for exterior, (keeps drafting down) and uncalendered Hyper D for interior with 5oz apex
turned out great
super warm
but my intention was not to use as a blanket without a shelter
this will be used inside a shelter
let us know how that 7.5 sews up, the 5oz was tricky, its so thick!

 

[crmiller84]

the Dwr finish won't breathe and if wrapped up in it it will not allow condensation to escape, so it will get wet from sweat
if you try to use it like a quilt, as long as you have some air flow it will be perfect though
i made a similar blanket using calendared Hyper D for exterior, (keeps drafting down) and uncalendered Hyper D for interior with 5oz apex
turned out great
super warm
but my intention was not to use as a blanket without a shelter
this will be used inside a shelter
let us know how that 7.5 sews up, the 5oz was tricky, its so thick!

Thats a good point on the DWR, I may look at the HyperD also. I don't really intend on using it w/o shelter, just for glassing and stand hunting. I will definitely have a small tarp with me in case of inclement weather, so perhaps I won't need the DWR after all.

On the 5oz, how warm would you say that is? I may switch to that if it would add enough warmth to my planned system (20* bag with bivy, 4+ R-value pad, and this woobie/quilt, down to 0*)

 

[wasatchcomm]

im not exactly sure on the temperature rating,,, RSBTR says 5oz is a 30* rating, not sure how accurate that is...
i have not spent any time in the one i made. but in the house it is WARM
with your current bag and adding this to the system i bet it would be warm enough especially wearing a wool base layer in the bag as well
i used the newspaper trick to sew it up.
it was so cheap to make too
i bought enough apex and hyper d to make a few quilts or whatever, very cost effective..

 

[wasatchcomm]

here are a couple pics of the hyper D woobie i made, the orange/grey is 5oz apex, the coyote/robin egg is 3.5
orange is 72", coyote is 84" both are about 55" wide
after making the orange/grey first and seeing how light it was i wish i made it larger, but oh well, it can be a house blanket if need be
i was going to make these with draw strings and such but i just figured you can tuck it under yourself all around and like woodbow mentioned, being rectangle its more versatile, as a blanket, quilt, whatever.
i think it will be perfect for my kids, super light, and very warm...

 

[crmiller84]

Those look great. You wouldn't happen to have a finished weight on them, would you? Thanks.

 

[Kawabunga]

Those look great. You wouldn't happen to have a finished weight on them, would you? Thanks.

I have the same question and also how small do they compress? Would love to make a warmer weather quilt, and they do look great.

 

[wasatchcomm]

i will try to get a weight on them tomorrow
they compress really well
not as well as down, but very well, i think they would make a great 3 season quilt, layering will help on the cooler nights, but I'm planning on testing them out tomorrow night, lows are too be 44* so not terribly cold, but should give a good idea.
i will try to get some compressed pics as well tomorrow morning

 

[WoodBow]

I made mine with 10 oz apex and there is a very small difference in weight between mine and my buddies EE down quilt. The biggest difference is how small they compress. The down is probably 3/4 the size. Maybe less.

Here is a link to mine with a compressed pic w size reference.
http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?41955-DIY-Apex-Quilt-Complete&highlight=quilt

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Nice job.

 

[flyinsquirel]

For those of you contemplating making one for yourself, you can just do the math based upon the fabric/insulations weight per sq yard and get really close to what yours will weigh when finished. I've made a couple and my pre-calcs were always very close to the finishe'd product.

 

[LBFowler]

the Dwr finish won't breathe and if wrapped up in it it will not allow condensation to escape, so it will get wet from sweat

It might not breath quite as well, but nearly every outdoor product (sleeping bags, clothing, etc) has a DWR now and I'd guess calendaring has a bigger affect on breathability then DWR. Are you thinking of coated fabrics?

As for OP, I'd say 1.1 is plenty for a quilt. I made mine by serging 3.5 sides leaving a small space to turn the whole thing. If you can find an industrial serger in town, do whatever it takes to borrow it! it will be the easiest quilt ever.

 

[Kawabunga]

It might not breath quite as well, but nearly every outdoor product (sleeping bags, clothing, etc) has a DWR now and I'd guess calendaring has a bigger affect on breathability then DWR. Are you thinking of coated fabrics?

As for OP, I'd say 1.1 is plenty for a quilt. I made mine by serging 3.5 sides leaving a small space to turn the whole thing. If you can find an industrial serger in town, do whatever it takes to borrow it! it will be the easiest quilt ever.

I just made a bug/splash bivy bag and topped it with the 1.1oz. ripstop from RSBTR uncalendered I believe with dwr and I can blow through it if I press it against my mouth, wondering how breathable a really breathable fabric should be. I can put it under a faucet and the water just rolls right off, I got water to go through if I blew it through, once it got wet then it would drip.

 

[wasatchcomm]

you are correct LB, i meant the coated fabrics,
sorry if i caused confusion
DWR will breathe
calendaring will help with drafts, is about the only positive from it, is why i only used calendared on the exterior of my quilt,
1.1 is for sure plenty of fabric, i used 1.0 and it is plenty strong and still soft to touch
Kawabunga, the dwr is just spray on coating, it needs to be reapplied after a few washes and uses, it is designed to cause moisture or water to bead up and roll of , so as not to saturate the fabric, but it will wear off in time, and needs to be re applied. yo will know when it needs this.
the more you wash , use, get dirty the fabric the more often it will need the DWR reapplied.

 

[wasatchcomm]

did you make one?

 

[crmiller84]

Haven't yet. Getting a materials list together for all my projects (woobie, shelter addition, various pockets/pouches). It tends to take me a while to get it all together because I hate running out of things and paying shipping more than once lol. Work has been busy too, of course

 

[wasatchcomm]

ya
I've made that mistake a few times myself