Back to the womb experience
Having done a lot of research on this site, and getting tired of seeing all of my buddies in the air while I went to ground during the winter, I finally pried open my wallet and slapped down my hard earned pay pal for an Incubator.
I got my package from Stormcrow last Friday just in time(minutes) before leaving for our Winter Camporee. When we arrived, there was still about 8" of snow on the ground. Nighttime temps were predicted to be in the high 20's with substantial winds.
I sleep in an eno single. On site was the first time I had attempted to attach any underquilt to the hammock. The suspension made such perfect sense, no instructions were necessary. I clipped it right on and cinched it up. I did make one mod, however. The shock cord that cinches up the end is finished at one end of the channel with a knot to prevent it from burying in the channel and a slide on the other end. I undid the knot on one end and put it also through the slide. Just made more sense on the eno. Probably makes sense the other way on other hammocks.
Inside the hammock I had my 0˚ down bag. On me I had some poly long john bottoms and a silk shirt on top. Dry fleece socks(which I later kicked off), that's it.
I got in at about ten oclock, kinda worried it wasn't going to work. At first I thought I was sensing cold on my butt, but then the incubator started giving back heat. It takes a few minutes to warm up the down. I can't say I've ever felt that warm in a sleeping bag before. I'm usually a cold sleeper, but I found that I was unzipping my bag about halfway. I only got up once to relieve myself that night, and I had forgotten that it was cold until I started shivering on the way back to the hammock. I got back in and went straight back to sleep, as warm as I wanted to be, anywhere in the hammock. no cold spots anywhere. I could lay however I wanted and any fabric I came into contact with was warm. That was so unlike all of the times I've spent half consciously trying to stay balanced on a pad.
The second night was a few degrees colder than the night before, but without the wind. They said it was 25, but I had no device to measure precisely. I'm sure I can easily go down another 10-15 degrees and still be warm.
When I first got into hammocks a few years ago, I felt like I had something figured out that none of my tenting buddies knew yet, and I evangelized to the point that most all of the gang hang around now. That's the way I feel about the full length underquilt. I can honestly say that I have never slept that comfortably camping. Why would you fool around with anything else.
Thanks Stormcrow for a beautifully crafted, well designed piece of gear. I strongly recommend it.
Shane
