warm weather blanket¿?

[chrisx]

Here is a thought
what if I buy 2 car windshield reflectors, tape them together and use them for a inside the hammock pad. Use a silk bag liner and buy a blanket of some kind.

900 fill feathers seem to hold up in humid places much better than 600 fill. what number does walmart claim

Any how, at the ruins My sleeping set up will be unattended all day. So hmmm

[Floridahanger]

Reflectors work well in cold weather. At your temps, it may make you a bit wet from sweating, but worth the try and experiment at home now, before you go. The silk bag liner and blanket will be just fine, but, you may not have room in your pack for them.

A simple ccf pad connected to the outside of your pack and a fleece blanket or silk liner inside may be your best bet. It's plenty fine until you decide to upgrade your insulation. And if you "lose" it, it didn't cost much at all.

Permethrin your clothing before you go and allow 1-2 days to dry comletely. Soak your hammock and bugnet as well. It should last many many washes if allowed to dry completely at first. I would recommend deet as you mentioned for your skin since the permethrin is only for fabrics.

I don't know the FP of the Walmart down bags.

[FLRider]

I do a lot of sleeping outdoors at those temperatures, and I'm good for ~5 days of food and ~2 L of water in a 35 L pack with my current 50* set up.

To save pack weight and (especially!) space, your best bet is going to be a down top quilt. There're multiple cottage vendors here on Hammock Forums that offer ~50* F top quilts (usually referred to as "summer" top quilts, but that depends on the manufacturer). That's going to be somewhat expensive, however, given the cost of down. Assuming that you can swing that cost, it's going to be your best bet.

If you DIY, you can shave some of the cost off of that, but it's still going to be a ~$100 quilt to make (and is not an easy first project; I wouldn't recommend this if you don't already sew tolerably well).

If you don't want to spend money, the WallyWorld down bag (the one that Floridahanger mentioned above) should do okay at those temperatures, but you should really inspect it before purchasing. That'll shave another ~$40 off of DIY but be a little heavier/bulkier.

If you're really broke, go over to your local Army/Navy surplus store and purchase a poncho liner. These should run you ~$20 to ~$35, depending on your area, and are good to ~50*. They're bulkier than a down quilt or bag, though--but they are much more robust if you're hard on your gear. If you DIY, you can cut one of these down pretty easy to shave pack space and weight some.

Finally, to save on pack weight and space for under insulation (which is necessary for most folks at that temperature), the easiest way is to bring a space blanket and a poncho with corner ties and shock cord. Jacks R Better sells a DriDucks poncho modded for this (link). Suspend the poncho (which doubles as your rain gear) below the hammock and stuff a crumpled-up space blanket into the poncho. This blocks air movement and should keep most folks warm to ~60* F for approximately 1 oz and 1 L extra pack space and weight for the space blanket (seeing as how you'll want rain gear anyway).

As far as Permethrin goes, the military soak kits are supposedly good for something like 50 or 100 washings, but I don't have personal experience with those. The spray kits are good for six washings/six weeks of use, but I've found with how bad I sweat that they last closer to 4 weeks for me. However, while the Permethrin is active on the clothes, it works. Over the course of one weekend I saw a drop from 3 ticks every 4 hours to 1 tick every 36 hours in the same stretch of woods using the same repellent with the only difference being Permethrin on my clothing (weather patterns and my movements stayed virtually identical between the two trips out to that stretch of woods).

Hope it helps!

[oldpappy]

I didn't go to tourist areas, so this is just what I think based on what I observed in the late 1990's passing through Caracas and Puerto Ayacucho, Venezuela on the way to the jungles: anything not cemented to the ground was disassembled and taken by the poorer locals to build/furnish their homes.
You should not plan to leave anything unattended (all day or even for 10 minutes) - it will be gone.
I think you need to think 'ultra-light backpacking' - always carrying your stuff with you.
Figure out a decent size backpack and only put essentials in it (partially packed in USA for the plane ride) - buy the rest when you get there.
Maybe buy a blanket/food when you get there. If you decide to try reflective material - research the SOL products (search for "sol space blanket") vs. bulky reflectx or windshield materials.
Permethrin your suspension/tree huggers as well - ants are miserable there. An integrated bug screen is a good thing (like a Hennessy bottom entry - limit zippers).

I currently use the 'snugpak jungle bag' for 3 season camping. It is an option you should look into. This bag and a poncho UQ (like dry ducks mentioned above) should do well. There are videos on youtube. Here's one to see the size: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_QSYDyDKTw

P.S. That other member with much more South America experience I had mentioned in previous note seems to be no longer available. Also, I slept on the ground (t**t) when I was there during the dry season. Even in the dry season it poured every day at 2PM.

[LMychajluk]

I'm a noob, but I have $.02, so here's my suggestion. Take it or leave it.

Take a look at the Thermarest Tech Blanket. I just got one ($55 for the LG on Amazon) for use in warm weather next year. If you also have a self-inflating (or even a CCF) pad as an under layer, along with the Thermarest sheet to go over it, the blanket snaps to the loops on the sheet.
This guy did a video, and seems to think it works pretty well in a hammock - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBgpR9pkpvQ
Even if you don't get the Thermarest sheet, you can use the loops on the blanket with some shock cord to make your own system to attach it to a pad.

Oh, and since people mentioned bugs and inner liners, be sure to check out the Sea To Summit Coolmax InsectShield liners. They have a mummy-shaped one, and a full rectangle 'Traveller' size, which may even be large enough to slip the whole pad/bag into. Both are pretty stretchy, which make it more comfortable to sleep in than a silk liner (though they're not meant to add much warmth).

[chrisx]

Lots of info

this evening I will have more time to review

thanks gents

[AKA Pete]

Two poncho liners. A little line at the corners of one and you can use it for an UQ.

If you go to the beach you can use one for a beach blanket.

And they dry quick.

(OK, OK, so I love my poncho liners )

[packeteer]

definitely use the KISS principle!

I would not take down, the environment is just too damp. also, it is too expensive

I'd also use dull colours, like OD green, but no camo patterns