I have found a top quilt and under quilt to be just as warm as a sleeping bag in a hammock. That said, it does take time and experience to learn to keep the top quilt tucked in as you move around. Pretty soon you'll be doing it in your sleep(well, almost). The second key is to keep your head warm- I use a down hood with a down collar attached. The top quilt snaps around my neck and cinches down, creating a good seal which doesn't leak cold air.
I had the same concerns before I used mine, having only used mummy bags previously
First, just to put it out there, A down beanie and camp pillow serve the same function as the hood on a mummy bag, but most of the time, i would wake up and the beanie would be under me somewhere, and I'd still be warm. I slept with mine most of the winter: full length UGQ 0° (+5oz) Renegade/Zepplin, and did not notice any unintentional drafts. I also didn't have any difficulty adjusting my UQ, apparently got it correct the first time, but I've also read on here that UGQ quilts have especially good head and foot bafflesOriginally Posted by goober
Self-preservation possibly prevents me from untucking my TQ while doing any tossing and turning...
Or possibly causes me to fix it in my sleep as soon as I feel a draft... either way it wasn't an issue for me that I remember. In fact I remember sleeping all spread out on more than one occasion.
If the UQ is adjusted correctly, and the TQ tucked in properly, and the system as a whole is correctly chosen for the conditions, there should be no issues, and it actually functions as though it's one whole piece.
Unlike a sleeping bag, the edges of the TQ are tucked to your sides and the inward pressure from the UQ suspension keeps it all sealed. If you accidentally cause a gap there, you feel a little draft, but most of your heat stays inside the envelope
On a sleeping bag the zipper is not near the bottom, or you couldn't reach it to get out... instead it runs along your length at the top or middle, and as a result will leak heat there, (in my experience even with a zipper baffle, but that wasn't a high-end bag)
For 3 season use, depending on where you are, a pod is probably overkill... and even for the more extreme cold, I think I'd be fine with a quilt set as opposed to a pod by adding another inch or two of loft. I think in the end all that matters is the amount of loft you have creating your heating envelope, as long as you have other systems in place to cut the wind and moisture.
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I see the pod in Shug's videos all the time but my question is what if you are a figure 4 sleepe?. I am female my hips can't sit in a straight position for very long and I am a side fetal position sleeper, does that work in a pod system? I am a frigid sleeper, and want to do the Wisconsin Frozen Butt Hang again this season but I don't want to have to have a 20lb sleep system again.
Have you tried a pillow under your knees? That always helps me take pressure off my hips, knees, and ankles. I sleep much better with a knee pillow.
In my cocoon you could lay on your side, and have your knees bent for sure, but I'm not sure about a complete fetal position all curled up. I'm not a small guy though, if you aren't 6'1" and 230 lbs you may have much more room than me.
I can do a figure 4 in my pod. Not a side sleeper but go a bit to the side sometimes in the morning. It is not as tight as it looks and warmth trumps all in deep Winter.
Shug
Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven
Hammock/Exped Dreamwalker combo when needed. Noticed how much this overlaps my hammock. Me fairly short and lightweight. Used with a Big Agnes horse thief goose bag still enough room to sleep on my side even curl up. Drawback just cords used for the hood and foot so reinforce cords not to damage the bag. I found it works when needed in cold chilly weather. Need more toss a top quilt blanket over toasty open and vent.
Works for some others not so that's the options available.
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Last edited by arczeneb; 07-28-2016 at 22:04.
You are correct, Sir! At least IMHO, and of course only based on my personal experience. Also, I never had any issues with a normal diagonal position - back or side - using my commercial version Speer Pea Pod.
Not that I don't also get things done with quilts and even HH Super Shelters, I definitely have done so.
Although I find it much easier using a separate hood, and even easier in a bridge hammock.
Still, for my 1st 6 months or year of hanging, I had many a cold night trying to use my sleeping bag as a quilt ( with an HHSS for back warmth ) which would always be solved when I gave up, struggled to get into the bag, got my head into that hood and zipped up. More than once that was an "ahhhhh" experience, from too cool or outright cold to toasty warm. Since my back would feel plenty warm even though I was compressing the insulation, I suppose the HHSS was working, and the problem was with the quilts. But I must have figured it out, maybe figured out how to move or turn over or even sleep without causing an edge to lift up resulting in a draft. Somehow quilts started working for me.
But still, there is something about that Pea Pod that just seems so much more secure, more mummy bag like but with none of the discomfort when using in a hammock. It is a draft free experience, depending on how much of a vent you have opened near your face. And even that can be reduced greatly by laying a jacket over my neck, making a neck collar. But some hammocks work much better with a Pea Pod than others. I have a lengthy Pea Pod review at HF from back maybe in 2007. It was about 10F, and I was just barely warm enough. I had not been able to sleep and I figured it was about 0130, and I figured I had established the limits for me, so I was going inside in hopes of getting some sleep. So I got up to pee and realized it was more like 0530! So I must have been asleep aftr all, maybe dreaming I was awake. So I crawled back in, and decided what the heck, I'm getting upin an hour or two anyway, so I totally closed the pod, no face vent. Just a small uninsulated space along the Velcro closure. It was amazing, I went straight from almost cold to toasty warm and slept solid until the sun came up. Even more amazing was that I had no apparent condensation in the down near my face, no loss of loft. I figured I would.
Last edited by BillyBob58; 07-29-2016 at 00:22.
Okay I must just be using the wrong words or such when I look for these Pea Pods online, can anyone lead me in the right direction. I am interested in one but just can't find them. Or I am finding them and I am not seeing the difference between them and a sleeping bag? What am I missing I am still a nube to this all. I sleep frozen so I am hoping a pea pod with my quilts inside it will let me go lower!
I guess you are looking for the company that sells the Speer Pea Pod? Here you go, but don't be faked out by the weight being listed at one place as 5 lbs, the PeaPod weight ( scroll down ) is actually 36 oz for top/bottom warmth, and the much larger Polar Pod weighs 46 oz:
http://www.tttrailgear.com/insulation/
http://www.tttrailgear.com/speer-peapod/
http://www.tttrailgear.com/speer-polarpod/
Oh, I forgot to answer about the difference in a PeaPod and a sleeping bag. In general, none. The concept for a Pea Pod was born when Ed Speer was camping and one of his buddies had the idea to take his large sleeping bag and wrap it around the hammock so as to NOT compress the bottom layer of insulation. Many a person has done the same over the years, making what they have work. It might require a lot of experimentation and maybe even a couple of minor mods, but certainly can be done. I refer you to Shug's way sub-zero adventures with his sleeping bag pod systems.
As for the actual Speer Pea Pod system, it is nothing more than a large bag optimized for quick easy hammock use. It is huge in the middle where the hammock is widest, and tapered sharply on the ends, just like a non-bridge hammock, so that it can cinch down and close off the ends. Then it has a Velcro top closure system that allows quick closure as well as quick escape if needed. A jammed zipper would be unpleasant if closed up in a pod if you had to go NOW or exit fast for any reason. It has a nylon cord(not shock cord) suspension on the ends which allows you to easily remove slack to get the pod to touch your back, or add slack if you either want to add insulation ( like a puffy jacket) or if you are too hot but still need a little something. And the full length Velcro not only helps the nylon cord suspension by supporting along the top full length, but allows a large or small amount of very adjustable ventilation.
Lastly, since it wraps around the hammock from one end to another, If you have it almost fully closed, it is sort of like a mummy bag as far as insulating your head, except without any compression of the bottom layer. It has a huge amount of head/face/nose insulation when needed. You may or may not be able to mod a sleeping bag to accomplish this, or may just have to use separate hoods and/or face masks.
But bottom line, a Speer Pea Pod is just a big old bag, designed from the get go for hammock use.
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