UGQ Zeppelin Fabric Comparison (MRS10 VS M10T)

[Christos K]

Hello Hammock Forum,

First, let me wish everyone a great new year with lots of learning, growth and adventure.

The reason I am seeking your help today is related to hammock underquilts and specifically the UGQ Zeppelin.

My main concern and the topic I want to know more, is the fabrics the company provides.

The company provides MRS20 (20D), MRs10(10D) and M10T(10D) fabrics. Thickness and durability goes from left to right, with MRS20 being the thickest and M10T thinnest.

I ended up having to do a more detailed comparison about two of the fabrics due to absence in a specific color in the MRS10 fabric.

I am kind of trying to stretch the durability factor as much as possible whilst keeping the weight & bulk as low as possible.

I therefore thought to go with the M10T for Inner fabric and MRS10 for the outer fabric. However, I quickly realised that the color I wanted was not available in MRS10, and now I am left with the choice of considering the M10T for outer or switching the initial color combination over. Although, I prefer the outside of the quilt to be the dark one and the inner being the brighter one. The desired color combination will be Purple MRS10 (outside) and Orange M10T (inside).

The questions now are:

• Realistically, how much of a difference the two fabrics have between them (MRS10 VS M10T) in terms of durability?

I did read the detailed description on the website and thus decided the MRS10 will be ideal for me, as I will prefer to save some grams but not lose much on durability. The MRS10 had the best of both worlds.

• For example, how often do people use the M10T as an outer fabric when buying their/similar underquilts?

As I have not yet used an underquilt when hammocking, I am not really aware of the possible wear and tear from use, and thus cannot easily come to a conclusion. At this point I can only assume that wear and tear of an undeguilt will be different to a normal quilt, due to the difference in friction/rubbing against other surfaces.

Where one (top quilt) is constantly coming in contact with another surface under pressure and moving from place to place, thus higher levels of wear and tear VS the other (underquilt) which simply hangs above ground with minimal rubbing from the bottom of the hammock and thus lower levels of wear and tear.

Therefore, I can say for example that if I am being extra careful when handling and setting up the quilt, then there should be no problem with a thinner fabric.

My main concern however, is the situation where that thinner fabric gets caught up in some kind of sharp edge or branch etc, and causing damage to the fabric whilst setting up or handling the quilt.

• How prone are these fabrics to tearing and ripping? Are these fabrics ripstop?
• Will I be sacrificing a lot of wind and weather resistant going with the M10T?

I will wait for your advice and explanation on the above before putting the order in.

If I consider the M10T to be too thin to be used on the outside of underquilt I might just reverse the color combination and it should work fine. Although I really prefer the inner side of the quilt to be the brighter one and the outer side to be the dark one :p.

Thanks for your time and help in advance

 

Chris

[Hoosier T]

I’ve made quilts with both materials. I’ve had zero durability issues with the taffeta, including fairly aggressive stuffing. In the hand, the 10rs does indeed inspire a bit more confidence in durability. However, I’ll tell you right off the bat that the extremely high wind resistance of the RS also means it take waaaay more effort to get the air out when stuffing it. So much so in fact that the buddy I made that quilt for only brings it when he feels he absolutely needs the temp rating because he finds it so obnoxious to stuff. Hope that helps. If you’re going to go with the RS, use it on the outside without a doubt. Myself, I’d recommend just going with taffeta for both and just be mindful.

[Amber]

I agree with the above. I don’t have any experience with those particular materials, but I’ve made both an underquilt and a top quilt out of Argon 67 and 90. For my UQ, I was also concerned with durability and chose to use the more ‘durable’ fabric for the outside. In practice, however, I realized that I mainly did this because I’d heard I should. Since I use a lazy slug tube for my hammock (it only adds 2oz to my pack weight, but it’s way worth it in convenience), my UQ is already attached, and I have little opportunity to snag it on anything in the field. Even if that weren’t the case, I’d be attaching it while my hammock is suspended, and I’d just be careful to keep it from dragging the ground. In general, it’s  been my personal experience that a heavier fabric isn’t necessary, but if it gives you peace of mind, the extra weight of the heavier fabric is negligible. They’re all pretty lightweight, after all.

[Christos K]

Hey Amber and Hoosier,

Thank you guys for your help.

I am already careful in nature when handling my gear therefore I do not see the chance of it happening. And if it did, aw well I will find the way to fix it, not the end of the world.

Now I have another debate :p.

Whether to go 55” or 66” in length. I initially thought that 66” will be somewhere between the short and full length and that best of both worlds. You would know both negative and positives that come with middle lengths i guess, so am not going to write in detail.
The main reason I was thinking of going 66” is solving the weight and potential cold feet problem in cold weather.

But now my question is: will I end up partially solving each problem and not really fully solving the weight & bulk problem? which is my main concern?

So kind of not solving any of the two problems really, and thus carrying the extra weight potentially without a need?

Cause the point of the 3/4 is to carry the extra pad in case of need. What if I still need to carry it with the 66”? hahahhaa am going crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

To note, the difference between 55” and 66” is 2oz (56gr), which is not much, but what is If i still need that pad? Then I got another 2oz extra.

I always come back to: You would never know until you try! :)

[Author]

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