Warm top or botton - whats more important ?

[Womble]

I'm preparing for a 10 day ride into a mountainous area. I hope to sleep in my hammock as often as I can, although some areas I'm going through are above the tree line.

Temperatures are announced for around 40-50F, so I'm thinking of taking my 40F Phoenix UQ and my 40F Revelation TQ. I do not expect frost, but September+Mountains you just never know.
I will be 400 miles away from home, so no way I can go back and repack if the weather is changing towards cold.

I could take my 20F Revelation quilt instead of the Phoenix. The Revelation quilts can be used as UQ or TQ. But then where should I put it ? 20F down and 40F up ? Whats your experience ?

[packeteer]

bottom insulation is always more important

[Boston]

Typically, when you have a discrepancy between your quilt's, you want the warmer on the bottom. But this is in the case of having a quilt that is rated MORE than you need (aka, preventing overheating). If you're worried about not having enough, you'll need a way to supplement both your top and bottom insulation. Having a warmer bottom quilt (or top quilt) wont make up for insufficient insulation on the other side.

If I were you I'd pack the 20F as an UQ for the whole trip, and come up with a way to supplement your TQ. Potentially a simple space blanket would do, as a just-in-case measure, but I'd want to test out whatever I'm bringing if I can, before relying on it for 10 days. Worst case, buy a warmer TQ/sleeping bag.

[packeteer]

top can be made up by clothing, bottom less so

[Womble]

I always have a space blanket with me, so thats available. I also will have long functional underwear and a fleece pants/jacket, so I can supplement the top. I could bring an old sleeping bag instead of the EE TQ, but its considerably more bulky.

[Dead Man]

Go with the 20 on the bottom and 40 on top. You'll be better prepared for a downward shift in temps.

[Hugh Morris]

On a trip this past week, a night dipped into the mid forties; i had a 20* UQ and a poncho liner as a top quilt. I slept very comfortably in shorts and a tee. Above 50 i was sleeping in boxers and above 60 doing away with most of the poncho liner as well.

My friend had no bottom insulation on this trip, despite my urging him to at least grab a pad. He slept in thermal base layers, pants, a hoodie, i think eventually even his raincoat, and a sleeping bag... He froze. Unpleasant shivering night of non-sleep. In the 50s he was struggling slightly less, and managed in the 60s.

Definitely have the higher rating on the bottom.

[SGT Rock]

FWIW I say bottom as well. There is another thread on this with some good discussions https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...t-am-I-missing

Also FWIW, there are a lot of people that steer towards underquilts. I totally get why, but for me I have always found closed cell foam pads more efficient at keeping me warm and I am on the odd end of the spectrum and like a pad in my hammock. My point being don't forget how just a thin torso length pad will extend your range and give you something to sit on while on breaks.

[brazilianguy]

20F on the bottom. I use my 20 UQ year round, and just change the top layer.

[Grumpy Squatch]

top can be made up by clothing, bottom less so

This.

Even before hanging I used a 20deg bag in all but the mid-summer months in New England mountains; my 40deg bag was used mainly in Africa and in Utah on cool nights. Plus, with a warmer bottom you can always vent the top and still be comfortable. But there's no easy way to cure a cold back in the middle of the night. My current usual setup is a 25deg UQ with a 20 deg TQ combo which works well April - June and Sept - Nov here in New England. In weather below 70 degrees (potentially all year long at night in New Hampshire for instance) I like my 25deg UQ with a lighter sheet or even nothing on top.