How do I get warm on a budget?

[JohnSawyer]

Get two of the cheap walmart blue pads (as someone else said) and try duct-taping them into a segmented pad (like Speer's SPE but with no sewing!)

I like the duct-tape idea... (must be my dissimilar chromosomes) OR, use wide-sticky velcro so you could take it apart for ease of travel.

-Sgt. Rock's site shows 2 pads, one cut just over shoulder width. The "wide" part being a short section of pad set 90-degrees to the main long pad... You could hold it together with velcro, glue, duct tape, pine sap, whatever...

-Safety-pin a footbox on the down comforter
-Buy a cheap blue tarp (Silver lasts longer, and is cooler under the sun)

-Come to San Diego and you can have my sleeping bag I made into an underquilt (it was a cheap bag, isn't terribly pretty). Add 2 bungee cords (it's heavy), I've used it down to 40-degrees with a space blanket as a liner. (did I mention it's UGLY?) it works, but I consider it a failed experiment due to bulk/weight and lack of warmth below 45-ish.

I've used a reflective sun-shade, it works, but not terribly comfortable to me...

Oh: the best idea: have a birthday... get somebody who loves you (and has more money) to buy you a quilt...

[lori]

Men taylor. Women sew.

That's tailor.

And you wouldn't say I could sew, if only you saw the trail map that is my straight stitch... nope, I'm just injecting thread like you guys.

[soysos]

skip the pad, and get yourself a wool blanket, and some paracord. tie two corners to the ends of your hammock. there you go a wool hammock, and you can fold the other corners in to double it up. if your worried about weight you could try fleece, I just have a thing for wool. of corse you could always make a cheap under quilt out of that comforter, or like I did and use a poncho liner.

[schwieb]

I've taken a non-mummy bag, one with dual zippers, and put my guide line through one end then zipped it around me. If you have the right amount of hang it can be reasonably comfortable and requires nearly no modification. If you don't mind a bit of sewing put a loop on the bottom side with webbing and run a line up to your tree-hugger so it stays close to your back. You'll probably want to leave the top open around your face though, not sure how bad the condensation would be if you didn't. These bags come as low as $30 at wally world, cheaper if you don't mind a used one off craigslist.

This is a very interesting idea to me. I saw on JustJeff's site that a few others have done it too. Would you still use a SPE inside the hammock, with the sleeping bag over everything? I might have to experiment with this in my yard over the weekend.

[KerMegan]

you might find it advisable to get a bag with (or attach somehow) a drawcord at the head end- this will help keep the bag close to your back and neck, instead of drooping away..cinch it up snug enough and it will keep a great deal of your warm air from escaping- leave enough opening to breathe, though!
KM ( who tried this at 20* without the drawcord- things did not go well...)

[WarmSoda]

To save a little money you could see what is going on over in the threads on using cattails instead of down.

[mitch]

How are you doing this w/out sewing?

STAPLES!

[mitch]

skip the pad, and get yourself a wool blanket, and some paracord. tie two corners to the ends of your hammock. there you go a wool hammock, and you can fold the other corners in to double it up. if your worried about weight you could try fleece, I just have a thing for wool. of corse you could always make a cheap under quilt out of that comforter, or like I did and use a poncho liner.

I was just thinking the same idea with the wool blanket, which I have many of. Have you tried it yet, and how did it work if you did?