Introducing...Freezer Flaps?

[OutandBack]

You could always put a rock in each pocket. Or a shoe. Or a wallet. Or anything else with some weight.

A shoe pouch for your around camp shoes would be pretty cool. It would keep them off the ground and handy.

[SirMarkos]

Well, this weekend, we are potentially going to get our killing freeze. The weather this weekend will be much more the kind I need to really test out the potential of the FF.

Weather_Forecast.jpg

TEMPERATURES LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY SATURDAY MORNING ARE EXPECTED TO DROP TO NEAR FREEZING. HOWEVER... EVEN COLDER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING AS TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO DROP INTO THE MID TO UPPER 20S. IF TEMPERATURES DROP THIS LOW... THIS WILL RESULT IN A KILLING FREEZE AND BRING AN END TO THE GROWING SEASON. AT THIS TIME... FREEZE WATCHES ARE IN EFFECT FOR TONIGHT AND AGAIN ON SATURDAY NIGHT.

We are also expecting wind gusts of up to 30mph.
Sounds like a wild weekend!
I'll probably take my camera this weekend, document the "goings on" and provide a trip report next week.

Everyone enjoy your cold weekend!

[Mouseskowitz]

That's probably the stuff that's by me right now. This was the yard this morning. Wind chill was 16 and winds gusting up to 30 mph. Makes me want to make one of these soon.
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[scooterbrown]

Sew a few stainless steel BB's into the bottom hem to give it some weight.

[SirMarkos]

Well, the weather couldn't have been more varied than it was this past weekend.

Friday night it was lightly raining when we got to camp. Set up my tarp, hung my rig and somehow managed to get a fire going.
We had a 20 min break in the clouds and got some sun then a full on sleet to follow. Then snow. Back to sleet. Back to rain. 30-35 mph. winds almost the entire time.

The Freezer Flaps worked absolutely perfectly. No modifications from the 2.0 design. Just S-biners on the lower corners to each other under the UQ. I never felt the wind at all. Not one bit.

Saturday night, after a really pretty day, we dropped to 24ºF, winds were calm and I woke up at about 4:30am. Minimal condensation on the inside but there was in fact some slight dampness. I decided not to vent and check it at daybreak. No more than there was ay 4:30. A very nice surprise!

Overall I'm extremely happy with this lightweight, minimalist design. And the percieved temperature increase was significant. I could definitely tell a difference and I'll be taking this piece of kit with me on all my cold weather outings.

Definitely worth the 4.5oz.

[Mouseskowitz]

Sounds great. I'm planning on ordering fabric to make a couple sets by the end of the week. Did you end up adding the short channel in the middle to compensate for unbalanced pockets or leave it the way it was?

[Tacblades]

Great idea i love it
My only worry would be condensation, how is that going ?

[SirMarkos]

Sounds great. I'm planning on ordering fabric to make a couple sets by the end of the week. Did you end up adding the short channel in the middle to compensate for unbalanced pockets or leave it the way it was?

At this point, I've left it alone. I tossed my Streamlight Stylus Pro in one pocket and didn't even have anything in the other. The 30º cuts seems to really reduce any flapping. But under a tightly pitched tarp, it's hardly an issue to begin with.

Great idea i love it
My only worry would be condensation, how is that going ?

Going great. Read my report from last night: #55

[ShellHammock]

Going great. Read my report from last night: #55

Hey nice job! I like how you have left the ends open and exposed to allow for ventilation. The 'toppers' that I make use a channel type closure that completely encloses the ends, and is only ventable if you don't cinch the cord lock. That takes another step to install the topper initially, because you have to thread each end of the hammock through the opening, rather than just clip it to the suspension... i like how easy you've made it!

The lightweight and minimalist style sure is nice but what's nicer is how easy it is to get in and out, or even peek your head out.

Great videos too! I've been meaning to put some videos together with my toppers, but one man shows can turn into a circus pretty quickly; it's on the list.

I've found that staking the ends down with shock cord where you have put the S biner helps in two ways; It keeps the system from flapping around in the wind AND it keeps the sidewalls from collapsing inwards, that otherwise takes up interior space. I compare the bottom facing tie outs to side tie outs most netted hammocks use. yes it's an extra step (and and 1.5oz heaver) skating them down, but it cuts down on the fiddle factor.

Below are some pics of my 1.1 Toppers made of 1.1 oz ripstop w DWR and weighs 5oz (6.5oz with stakes and two 2' sections of shock cord)...





I shared my design with someone who PM'd me and was interested in making one to their specs to fit a hammock with a 92" RL... they made it from nano no-see-um and the finished weight was 3.5 oz! super easy to build and effective protection from the elements. There are definite benefits for this design. Although, there are always skeptics when it comes to bug protection. The overlap does a great job for cutting out wind and flying insects, but pesky crawlers could find there way inside...

Attached are some pics from a fella who bought a no-see-um topper to fit an ENO hammock (which are about 2' shorter that my Boone Hammocks which these are designed to fit). His retro fit looks promising!

IMG_0203.jpg (i don't know why in the world certain images choose to rotate themselves when i attach image files from my computer ... sorry. if anyone can help i'd appreciate it)

IMG_0205.jpg

IMG_0209.jpg

[SirMarkos]

my 1.1 Toppers made of 1.1 oz ripstop w DWR and weighs 5oz (6.5oz with stakes and two 2' sections of shock cord)...

Yeah, I had no idea you guys were making these. Then I saw you were from Kentucky too - great minds and all

Thanks for the kind words btw.

And I've found that the simple attachment points from corner to corner, even if attached with only an S-biner really reduces the "flapping" when not using a tarp. But staking it down like you have yours configured, or just weighing them down with stuff you are already are going to be carrying has been the most effective for a tight seal.