i love hammocking as you all know,but i believe more people will get into it
when they find out that conventional gear they already own is all they need,under quilts and over quilts are not mandantory,a good pad from wally world and a good properly rated bag works,not every hammocker is a gram weanie
i love my gear and i dont need an under quilt:cool: neo

I couldn't agree more!!

I'm a newby. I made a test hammock and couldn't get comfortable in it. I boufht a Byer's mosquito Traveler and couldn't get comfortable in IT. Then I listened and added lots of sag and got comfortable.

I've been hanging on the back porch for the last week. I use my Mummy bag and a thermorest. I just stick my feet in the bottom of the mummy bag and use the rest, unzipped, as a top quilt.

Every night gets better. My stiff back is better in the morning than after a night in the regular bed.

I am looking for some cheap ripstop nylon to make an SPE (segmented Pad extenders). That's the one thing that's different. The 20inch Thermorest is too narrow to hang.

I bought a 24 inch WalMart pad to try, but it doesn't work out well with my angled position either.

Tom

Neo, how cold have you gone w/just the pad and sleeping bag? And of course, my next question would be, what are you wearing, what is your bag rated, etc.

teblum - try trimming the corners off the foot of the 24" pad, and a bit of the corners off the head end. that'll help it stay diagonal with no real loss in coverage.

Even with that, I doubt 24" will be wide enough unless you're really thin. Keep looking for SPE material or make an insulated hammock. Walmart has some cheap battling that's good enough for prototyping...no light or compressible, but it doesn't need to be if it's on your back porch!

Neo, how cold have you gone w/just the pad and sleeping bag? And of course, my next question would be, what are you wearing, what is your bag rated, etc.

i am very hotblooded i have slept down to 18 degree's with my wally world
pad and a 30 degree quilt and a micro fleece quilt liner,just my regular winter cloths,i can sleep well below ratings with no problem compared to most people:cool: neo

About to order a SG "Neo" 9x9 Tarp. I've got a JRB 8x8 but would be cool to have the option of camo and bigger size.

About to order a SG "Neo" 9x9 Tarp. I've got a JRB 8x8 but would be cool to have the option of camo and bigger size.



:D awesome dude,i got rid of my jrb tarp long time ago:cool: neo

So far, I have to agree with Neo. I have been using a 3/8 ccf pad with a partially inflated InsulMat Max-Thermo and homemade SPE. Temps were down to 35 this past weekend. I was snug, and so warm I slept with my bag open most of the night.

i am very hotblooded i have slept down to 18 degree's with my wally world
pad and a 30 degree quilt and a micro fleece quilt liner,just my regular winter cloths,i can sleep well below ratings with no problem compared to most people:cool: neo

Shoot, I was hoping you'd tell me you always have cold feet and hands and have to wear 3 layers to stay warm. Oh well....wishful thinking. I'm gonna have to stay w/my pad/underquilt/sleeping bag set-up for now, unless my metabolism suddenly decides to go back to the speed it was at in my early 20's! (highly doubtful) :D I do, however, like having an excuse to eat a Snicker's Bar right before bedtime though!

My lowest temp in my hammock is around 30 F with a blue Walmart pad cut down so it was only al long as mid thigh and my Western Mountaineering Apache 15. I was wearing those cheap Wal-Mart waffle thermal top and bottom. I was quite warm and I did end up keeping my bag open most of the night. I got a little chilly just before dawn, mainly in my legs where there was no pad but nothing unbearable.

On my next time out I am going to try and use my Big Agnes Air Core pad. I have left it at home because I figured it would be cumbersome in my HH. Anyone ever used the Big Agnes Air Core in a HH?

I've used an Exped inflatable pad. It does a good job of holding the hammock open, but makes me sit up higher so the bug net is closer to my face. No big deal.

people talk about the CCF blue pads from wal Mart being 24" wide. All I have ever seen is the 20" wide ones. Is there than much of a difference between the two. Does that extra 4" make a difference? (waiting for a comment on that...lol)

The 4" does make a difference, but it isn't the difference between needing a SPE or not, IMO. Whether I use a 20" or 24" inch pad, I still need something extra on my shoulders and hips.

The difference between them is about $6. <sarcasm>. It's under $5 for 20 inch and over $11 for the 24 inch.

In use,in a hammock, neither is very successful. The extra 4 inches probably has value for someone on the ground.

I'm in the process of making an SPE. I'm going to add four segments (two wide and two long) on each side for 42 inches total. (eight segments total)The segmenting is especially important so that the pad doesn't buckle in the compound curves.


I have been running a 20 inch pad crossways, folded double (36 inches) to get wider coverage at at midbody, it almost works well. Except that the pad moves around as you clamper in.
Tom

I use the 24" ccf wally world pad and have found that if it's cold enough for me to be using it, it's cold enough for me to be zipped up completely in my sleeping bag. I fit on that pad (shoulders and all) if I'm zipped up in my mummy bag, but I am a woman and don't have as broad shoulders as you guys. When I roll over on my side, I grab the side of the pad (through my bag) and it helps me stay right on top of the pad when I move.

I think for me, it will work "good enough" and I'm sure a SPE would be more comfortable, but this is just less complicated. I don't think, however, I'd stay entirely on a 20" pad, so I do think that 4" makes a big difference.

I am with you on that one Michele. I don't like to use a pad, but I am fine with the standard width. Maybe that should tell me that I need to work out more or something.

I have been bitten by the gear making bug and I am going to see if I can make a Garlingtion Insulator taco thingy. That alone or combined with the nest may get me cold enough that I will not need a pad that much.

Michelle,

I saw the picture of you ,all tucked in, on your recent outing. It looked like you sleep straight up and down the hammock.

I can't get comfortable that way, but if I could, I think the 24 incher would work. I sleep as diagonal as I can get. The pads just won't cooperate.

Tom

Tom,

You're right, I don't sleep as off-centered as some people do, I think it's because I'm only 5'6". I was, however, scooted up a little farther than normal for some reason, in that picture. I may have had my foot end up a bit too high. I do think I sleep more off-centered w/out the pad, but I really agree that I can't see that pad working very well for someone who sleeps on a big diagonal.

It is also a little more work getting situated in a HH w/the pad inside, but I actually don't mind, because it helps me build up some body heat right before I crawl inside my sleeping bag, so it all works out.

I have been bitten by the gear making bug and I am going to see if I can make a Garlingtion Insulator taco thingy. That alone or combined with the nest may get me cold enough that I will not need a pad that much.

Watch out for condensation if you use silnylon. It makes sense that the condensation will rise and won't "go down" through the Nest, but Ray Garlington says he often gets some condensation inside his Taco underneath his bag o' feathers...meaning the condensation does actually travel down through the insulation to get out of the hammock.

So a silnylon Taco will block a lot of wind, but it also will prevent the Nest from breathing. A wpb fabric (like the JRB Weather Shield) may be a good trade between reduced breathability (it'll still reduce it some) and added protection. OWF sells microporous polypropylene, which is what the Weather Shield is made from. Not sure if it's the exact fabric, but it's the same type. That's the most breathable waterproof material I've used so far.