I took my Hammock gear UQ out for a test run yesterday. I ordered it a while ago but never had it out under 23*. Here's the results from yesterdays 9* hang. I used my most minimal gear in the test to really see what it could do.

First of all, the gear:
-Warbonnet Blackbird in 1.1 fabric with a double bottom.I figured it was breezy and I wanted to not block any wind and without using my heavier fabric 1.7oz hammock
-Marmot Pinnacle 15* down bag loose on top of me like a quilt.
-I had on a baselayer only with a knit cap. No gloves, no down booties and just a normal pair of socks.
-I had my Hammock Gear 20* incubator (full length) with a 2oz. overstuff.

Weather:
- Sunny, nine degrees with a steady breeze making it 1-3* above Zero for the entire test.
- No tarp used because I did not want the wind blocked. I wanted the worst conditions knowing how wind robs the heat.

Now, I'm a cold sleeper normally and usually take along extra for the weather knowing this. I've been a pad user down to 10* for ten years and this is my first UQ.
I spent almost 3 hours in the hammock and had no trouble settling in. The UQ went right to work as they do sending up the warmth. Once in a while I felt that cold blast that comes in from the foot or the head end. In this case, it was just down my neck. This would take a simple adjustment of the draft collar on the UQ to fix and if I was dressed for an actual night out, I probably would have been fine.

It has been my long experience of over 3 decades of gear that you get what you pay for. I've been lucky at getting gear that has always functioned flawlessly with just two exceptions in that time. This piece of gear from Hammock Gear is one of the finest. There is no doubt that I could have stayed out all night with little more than I set out with on my test.

I liked it so much, I ordered another one yesterday. I now have a 0* incubator on order as my average nights out are usually below 40* and with proper UQ venting, it could be used for most of the year or dead of winter camping, which I also enjoy.

Thanks for the report.
I have a torso length UQ from warbonnet (yeti) also 20 deg with 1 oz of overstuff.
I haven't used it in the winter yet, and only in temps as low as 24deg but found it plenty warm.
I may get a full length UQ from warbonnet or hammockgear at some point.

I can only see me sticking with the full length UQ's. I tried the 3/4 sleeping pads years ago backpacking and hated them personally. I would shove extra clothes and my empty pack trying to insulate from the calves down. I really don't want to mess with that in a hammock again.

I guess it would be different in warmer temps, but my average night temperature is too low to even mess with it. I could see a 3/4 UQ working for me just to take the chill off the back, but once it would get below 40-45*, I know I would want a full length.

My first purchase was a torso length U/Q. I got so tired of all the adjustments that I purchased a full-length twenty degree U/Q. Love it.

quote OBX2Kayak: "My first purchase was a torso length U/Q. I got so tired of all the adjustments that I purchased a full-length twenty degree U/Q. Love it."

Me too. I also got Dutch Quilt hooks and sewed them on to my black bird. I spent a half hour or so getting it all dialed in and now its a simple clip and its done.

Stay tuned guys....the 0* Inky is in and I plan o testing that one too.

I just need some cold weather. Teens don't quite cut it for testing such a piece of gear.

I think it's meant to get cold next week. At least in MN.

Had -4F this morning when I woke up! Central MN.
not thinking it is going to get any colder now with upper 30's and 40's in the next few weeks.