columbia sleeping bag

does anyone own or ever tried the columbia reactor with the Omni-Heat thermal reflective lining.

I was thinking of getting one but wanted to see if anyone had any feed back on it. if not i would love to here feed back on your favorite sleeping bag. maybe i should go with down instead? My goal is to try not to buy an UQ . i live in south Mobile Alabama and our winters aren't that cold but then again i have never hammocked below the 40's but i would like to hammock in the 20's. is this possible to do without an UQ and not freeze my bum off with a good sleeping bag?

Not the expert, and still learning myself. But the answer is not really. You will need SOMETHING under you other than your sleeping bag used in the usual way on top of the hammock.

There are lots of options and variables. Use the search function for pads and Poncho Liner Underquits. They are both fairly cheap and can keep you warm even in pretty cold weather.

I mention these because you state you don't want to by an UQ....

I've tried the pad and i hate it. it never seems to stay under me. I was however thinking of adding some kind of slip grips to it such as the stuff you put under rugs to keep them from moving . not sure if it would work or not. I 've never heard of the Poncho Liner Underquily but i will search it.. thanks.

Jaxx,

I live about 1.5 hours east of you in Crestview, FL. I've successfully used sleeping bags in my hammock when the temps were in the 20's. That said, everytime I've done it, my bags were rated at 0. My top and sides were fine but I was able to feel a chill wherever the bag was compressed. A CCF inside the pad mitigated some of that chill but really constricted any movement.

Anything below about 65 degrees, I would highly recommend using something under the hammock. I have used old sleeping bags that I've hacked up and turned into UQ's & PLUQs. I recently made a down UQ that should be good to near 0--might only get to use it once or twice a year though.

For this neck of the woods, to be comfortable hanging 95% of the year, I would recommend a PLUQ and then something to get you to around 40. Supplement those with about a 40 degree TQ and with proper clothing you should be set for this area.

As an aside, another forum member, Buffalo Skipper, is in Pensacola and has amassed quite a varied collection of quilts. You might want to PM him for advice/lessons-learned.

What I can tell you from my personal experience is that once you use a UQ, you'll probably never want to be without one ever again. They make that much of a difference.

thanks for your help. i'll be checking my local army surplus for a Poncho liner on Monday

I am not familiar with the omni heat sleeping bags, but I have had several of the jackets and have been impressed. I would be curious how that material might function even in the absence of loft underneath..

I went ahead and sprung for the Jarbidge River Under Quilt by kick *** quilts.

Sleeping bags can make great top quilts

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gunnerfan

I am not familiar with the omni heat sleeping bags, but I have had several of the jackets and have been impressed. I would be curious how that material might function even in the absence of loft underneath..

---

I also have 2 jackets with the omni heat (one fleece and one regular) and was so impressed with them that I also purchased a base layer of the pants and top.