Insulation Consultation

For some upcoming cold weather hangs, I need to upgrade my stock Hennessey's insulation capabilities. I've grown strong in the ways of DIY, so I am ready to undertake the next level of do-it-yourselfery. That said, I'm a tad unsure of how to approach this project.

I haven't yet decided if I want to modify the Hennessey for this, since a new hammock is in the works, as well. Regardless, I'll be using an underquilt and a top quilt (as opposed to sleeping bag). This seems the lightest/smallest way to accomplish my goal of a warm nights' sleep.

Based on a given fill material (down, let's say), insulation rating is basically dependant upon thickness, right? For temperatures down to 10 degrees, and a wind-sheltering tarp, can the minimum down/insulation thickness for my needs be calculated, or is there more to it?

I've seen a couple different methods for attaching underquilts; everything from bungee cord suspension, to velcro, buttons, and even magnets. Is one significantly better (more durable, lighter, more reliable) than the others? And the top quilts I've seen folks make appear to simply sit atop the occupant; are they in fact secured in some way?

The design I envision is a fitted quilt attached to the outside of the hammock by buttons every foot or so in a grid, all the way up the sides to the edge of the netting. On the inside, a top quilt is attached in some way at the edge of the netting as well, overlapping with the outer quilt. Velcro or something would allow me to open the top quilt enough to lean forward and step out of the velcro fly, and through a tensioned slit in the underquilt. Is similar to what other people have done, or am I just over complicating things:o (or over simplifying them :lol:)?

TCB

Buttons, hooks, or the current Leighlo underquilt system of Hangnout, popularized as "triangle thingies" for the UQ.

For the TQ: Folks assume feet are warmer warming each other, so the traditional footbox of mummy sleeping bags is used. Works for me as a kind of anchor, too, against which to pull and tuck the TQ around me. Just now I'm using for a TQ a top-only-filled sleeping bag. Intended use was atop a pad, but these haven't done so well in the SB market the last decade.

Per suggestions on the RAB top quilt discussion here a year or more ago, I slit the fabric back much of the way, but not to the neck, and just to the foot box that is sewn in. So, I both step into it, and pull the neck as a collar over my head. Then, my hands complete the tuck on the sides.

If you permanently attach buttons to the underside of the hammock i assume you would feel them in your back? Id go with the shock cord method, allows adjusting as needed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by blackd

If you permanently attach buttons to the underside of the hammock i assume you would feel them in your back? Id go with the shock cord method, allows adjusting as needed.

---

Not if the buttons (or snaps, or hooks) were located up on the gunwales --the outer seams -- of the hammock.

I am shock-corded, myself, with too much gear and too many combinations. But, I have used stick-through earing-buttons to direct the UQ suspension cord better. If I didn't swap stuff in and out, I might commit to a single combo of UQ and hmmk, in part to reduce the amount of cord hanging off the rig. Buttons, hooks, or snaps can give you a tidier set-up.