Pea Pod for BMBH ?

[shout out] BillyBob hope you will have an answer for me [/ shout out]

I would like to try to rig a peapod for my BMBH as a test to see if I like that strategy for cold weather.

I have:
MARMOT mummy 15*F down bag
BIG AGNES semi-mummy 15*F syn bag
JRB Hudson River quilt
Old Rag Mountain quilt

Nesting the two bags and using both quilts as UQs has worked very well with the exception of the efforts it takes to get into two sleepings bags while in the hammock.

Would the peapod need to encircle the hammock at the o-ring at the top of the web triangles?

Would the ends need to be insulated?

Would I need to hang "peapod support ridgeline"?

Thanks.

I'll take a stab at this

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Originally Posted by tjm

[shout out] BillyBob hope you will have an answer for me [/ shout out]

I would like to try to rig a peapod for my BMBH as a test to see if I like that strategy for cold weather.

I have:
MARMOT mummy 15*F down bag
BIG AGNES semi-mummy 15*F syn bag
JRB Hudson River quilt
Old Rag Mountain quilt

Nesting the two bags and using both quilts as UQs has worked very well with the exception of the efforts it takes to get into two sleepings bags while in the hammock.

Would the peapod need to encircle the hammock at the o-ring at the top of the web triangles?

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No, but that would probably be the easiest way to do it. Your main problem will be finding anything long enough/wide enough to work as a peapod on this hammock

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Originally Posted by tjm

Would the ends need to be insulated?

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It depends on your question above. If you dont take the pod to the outer ring then you would need to cover the ends for maximum efficiency. Then agian, if you do go all the way to the outer ends that creates a lot of dead, cold, space between the o-ring and the hammock ends.

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Originally Posted by tjm

Would I need to hang "peapod support ridgeline"?

Thanks.

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Probably not. The hammock sides should be high enough that it keeps it off your face.

Honestly, I think a UQ, with some homemade end covers and a homemade top cover would be your best bet.

Hey there TJM!

Are you talking purchasing a PeaPod, or trying to rig a pod with the gear you have? As for the actual PeaPod that is for sale,I recently posted this:

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...069#post393069

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Comparatively, a Peapod is 72 inches at the widest point, though much more narrow than that on the ends. Also it's 9 foot length allows you to close it off pretty close to the end with most hammocks, without stretching it too tight and reducing internal room. Even beyond the ends on the Claytor expedition. but once you get serious about stuffing other insulation in there with you – and if you're pretty big boy – then the Polar Pod ought to get the job done. With this extra 1.5 feet of length and width! If I have the specs right, 90 inches of girth! That should swallow everybody and their hammock and some extra insulation, other than maybe a bridge hammock. (actually, I just got up and went outside and measured on my bridge hammock: 77 inches circumference around the outside of the hammock meeting in the middle (need a couple of inches more to cover the spreader bars). 73 inches around the middle including going around my under quilt, though I pulled it tight enough to compress most of the down. So it looks like something of about the size of the Polar Pod might even be somewhat usable with a JRB Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock!

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So, my BMBH measured around the curve on the hammock bottom, and across the air space to meet in the middle ( not trying to drape down to the bottom where you would be laying) was 77" on the ends. Plus a little more if you try and cover the spreader bars.

My PeaPod is 72" in the middle, so it is not happening as a true pod approach. Not with the commercial Speer/TTTG PeaPod. To make matters worse, the PeaPod tapers towards the ends (just like a WB/HH/Claytor etc) and is significantly more narrow there. Even in the middle, where the BMBH is only 73", that is still wider than the pod's 72, so it is not closing in the middle. Now a Polar Pod is a different story at 90" wide in the middle. But, still, the ends will be maybe too narrow? I have never seen one so I don't know for sure.

Now as for rigging all the bags and quilts you listed, to work together has a pod, I really don't know. But a huge benefit (IMO) of a pod is being really well sealed off on the ends, plus no air leakage on the sides because the pod drapes over the edges of the hammock. So you can be, if needed, pretty much the same as inside a mummy bag on the ground, as far as preventing drafts. So I think you will need something really wide on the ends so you can close it on both the ends and the middle.

It seems like a lot of trouble for the BMBH. As crazy as I am about PeaPods, it's not like it can't be done with other approaches. First, say an JRB MW4 ( maybe plus a space blanket or VB for below zero, or maybe inside a MMG sock?) You will never manage to roll off, or slip a shoulder off of, or develope a gap under that MW4 on a BMBH, IMO. It is solid. Personally, I use some shock cord/grip clips to pull the center edges together enough so they touch the sides of the hammock. I have never been able to tell if it is really needed.

Then a single really thick( or thick enough for the temps) TQ that is plenty big and wide enough so that there will be no trouble staying wrapped up in it, even if you have on lots of warm clothes. If it is thick enough and stays sealed around your neck/shoulders/sides well enough even when you move, it will be as good as a pod on top.

All that is left is the head. Which will call for a really thick hood that closes down real well on your face, to match a PeaPod, or at least pretty darn close. I have a Marmot Dry Loft down hood that does real well at this. But, it is still hard to match the PeaPod in the head/face/neck/shoulder area. I think it is still easier to obtain head warmth with my PeaPod alone than with the hood alone. But it can be done with the hood. And you don't feel as closed in, which would be a big advantage for some folks!

Thanks for the replies.

Presently I nest the mummy bag into the syn bag . I am very, very constricted and the twisting it takes to get in both bags and then get them both fully zipped is a PITA. That is what I am trying to fix.

Based on what you wrote, I think what what I need to do is start saving up for a minus 20 deg F sleeping bag.

Under me I know I am all set, I layer the HR and ORM together with a z-rest and BA aircore in the pad sleeve. I put my puffy jacket at the foot end and use the partially attached bug netting to keep the puffy jacket from being kicked out.

BTW, I have thought of making some type of shockcord at the two connections along the quilts edges. Something that unhooks easily since I would want at least one shockcords open to get into the hammock.

Thanks again.

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Originally Posted by tjm

Thanks for the replies.

Presently I nest the mummy bag into the syn bag . I am very, very constricted and the twisting it takes to get in both bags and then get them both fully zipped is a PITA. That is what I am trying to fix.

Based on what you wrote, I think what what I need to do is start saving up for a minus 20 deg F sleeping bag.

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I could not stand that either, and I concur that a warm ( and large) enough single bag would be WAY more comfortable. I am not way claustrophobic compared to some, but I can not stand being "hemmed in" inside one bag, much less two. I've got to have a little wiggle and elbow room even if zipped up in a mummy bag.

And it seems to me that multiple bags or liner bags or vapor barrier sacks always seem to work against each other, with things getting twisted up and all that.

But, have you considered a top quilt? I see you already have some TQs in the form of the ORM. For that matter, if temps allow, just using your marmot and big Agnes bags as quilts. Now I realize there is often a warmth advantage (similar to a Peapod) to being zipped up inside a sleeping bag, draft wise. Not to mention the use of the hoods and draft collars. However, I have found that I can use my North face synthetic bags as quilts to pretty good effect, and I actually think it works even better in the Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock. For one thing these bags are a good bit wider than most top quilts (and of course much heavier). But if I lay on my side I can drape the hood over my head leaving a small breathing hole to the side. This really works super well. Or, maybe you could be inside – say for instance – the big Agnes bag, while just draping the marmot bag over that quilt style. All you have to do is put 1 foot box inside the other foot box.

I guess if you need your Old Rag Mountain as an under quilt, then you can't really use it as a top quilt. Too bad, it would really make an excellent one. But there's a reason so many people are crazy about top quilts in hammocks. Sheer comfort, though you do have to be able to control drafts. At least it is a potential problem you have to watch out for (and be skilled with controlling) more so than if you are zipped up inside a mummy bag or closed up inside a Peapod. But if the top quilt is plenty wide enough for you and all of your clothing, controlling drafts becomes much easier.

Thx again.

I will try the down mummy as a top quilt layered over me inside the zipped up BA Encampment model semi mummy bag which has tons of internal room [almost too much].

That should be a lot easy to settle into and is an easy experiment.

My brain just seems to want the down bag inside the syn bag for better condensation protection.

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Originally Posted by tjm

Thx again.

I will try the down mummy as a top quilt layered over me inside the zipped up BA Encampment model semi mummy bag which has tons of internal room [almost too much].

That should be a lot easy to settle into and is an easy experiment.

My brain just seems to want the down bag inside the syn bag for better condensation protection.

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Good luck, hope that works good for you. If it is warm enough I'm sure it will be otherwise more comfortable. If it is not cutting it, then try zipping up in one and draping the other one over as a quilt. And if you side sleep, try one of the bags with the hood pulled over you. You will just need some fleece to catch the frost and keep it off of your hammock as you breath out to the side.