New Year's Eve Success at 1 degree!

[bonsaihiker]

Well, that figure was the wind-chill. It was officially 11 degrees for the overnight low but I was on the windward side of a lake in Kansas, so who knows just how cold it got.

I went to bed after midnight (in my time zone, anyway) with the rest of my family discussing the actual depth of my insanity. I used my HH Explorer with JRB 11 x 10 closed up in winter tarp mode, with under-layers as follows:
1. Hammock
2. Space blanket windshield reflector (thin CCF)
3. HH SuperShelter OCF pad
4. HH SuperShelter Sil undercover
5. Te-Wa Winter Coat

I used a blue pad and my GoLite Pinnacle pack under my legs in the hammock.

I wore a synthetic base layer, 200 fleece pants, Primaloft jacket, wristies, Powerstretch balaclava and wool beanie, fleece muffler to lightly cover my face, liner socks under two thick pairs of SmartWool socks, and draped my 0 deg. GoLite down bag over me as a quilt.

I slept for 3 1/2 hours (good for me outdoors), then got up to water the trees. I climbed back in and arranged my JRB down sleeves around my head for warmth, and slept another 3 1/2 hours.

I was pumped, because I was warm enough without even having to climb into the sleeping bag. My feet were just cool by morning, but not bad enough to keep me awake. My family had decided that I was definitely very insane.

I could have probably been fine at a lower temp if I had done any of these:
1. climbed into the bag
2. used chemical heat packs
3. used a hot water bottle
4. used fleece booties
5. had warmer head gear

So...I've decided that I probably won't die on Mt. Rodgers, and therefore will probably go... I'll probably take a few more layers, just to be sure, like more jacket insulation, fleece bag liner, and fleece/insultex booties (still need to make).

Any thoughts?

[Cannibal]

Congrats!
Don't let temp and wind chill fool you when in Kansas. I've no clue where all the humidity comes from there seeing how they are just about as land-locked as they come, but they sure do have it! Some of the coldest nights from my memory were spent in Kansas. That's some good hangin you had with great results.

[Knotty]

Nice. I love reading all these cold weather test reports. Glad yours went well! Using the SS under a UQ was a good idea.

You mentioned going into the bag for colder temps. Others have said the same thing but logic tells me a bag will be warmer when used as a top quilt because you sort of get extra loft. Of course you have to be wearing a balaclava or something to make up for the warmth gained by the mummy hood.

[jonesy]

hey fellas
im from kansas .and yes the weather does get kinda crazy here.. might i ask what lake you where hanging at?

[BillyBob58]

WhoooHooo Bonsahiker! So the Tewa UQ was outside the HHSS UC? I have my SS set up right now with the MW4UQ hung underneath it. It is kind of over kill I guess for the afternoon highs of about 21.

I had a good adventure with an augmented SS last night. I'm trying to figure out what experiment to try for tonight. Thinking about taking the SS off and trying my net free HH Explorer with the MWUQ.

But then the Pea Pod beckons also, either over the HH with a vest and/or space blanket in the bottom and my Golight 20 TQ. I have really been liking the HH with the net off. But I know what is most efficient with the Pea Pod, my Claytor No net.

If I had a below zero test, I have even thought about a MW4 surrounded by a loosley suspended Pea Pod. But I don't know, that, along with a TQ, that might get a little tight, even using the narrow Claytor. Or might not.

To many options, not enough severe cold in the deep south. We will warm up in a couple of more days.

[BillyBob58]

Nice. I love reading all these cold weather test reports. Glad yours went well! Using the SS under a UQ was a good idea.

You mentioned going into the bag for colder temps. Others have said the same thing but logic tells me a bag will be warmer when used as a top quilt because you sort of get extra loft. Of course you have to be wearing a balaclava or something to make up for the warmth gained by the mummy hood.

I know others are convinced of that, and they may be right, but that has not ever been my experience so far, just the opposite. If you do somehow gain some actual loft, it doesn't seem to make up for heat loss from drafts. That wonderful draft free situation that comes from having a bag wrapped all the way around you, plus the neck collar and hood. And, if the bag is synthetic, it's my experience that you gain 5 or 10 degrees of bottom warmth. Hard to put a number on that, maybe it's only 3 degrees, but it always feels immediately warmer to me.

The main downfall when using a mummy bag as quilt, it seems to me, is the poor fit around the neck and shoulders compared to using it as a mummy bag. But an actual quilt may well have a means of cinching it around the neck, making it much easier to keep it wrapped around you shoulders and pretty draft free. So if it is big enough, and using it with a hood equal to one on a winter bag, you can be very close to a mummy bag in warmth.

I managed to stay warm enough last night using a winter mummy bag as quilt, but I was obviously warmer earlier in the night when I was using it as a bag.

[TOB9595]

Another great LO TEMP success.

I shudder at the thought
hahaha
Tom

[Knotty]

What you say about using a mummy the normal way makes sense because of drafts.

But this past weekend on my first night out it dropped to 19 and I was perfectly comfortable in my Mountain Hardwear Lamina 20. Normally I'm cold in a bag at its rating.

More cold hangs needed to test the different methods. Camping in the name of science!

[BillyBob58]

What you say about using a mummy the normal way makes sense because of drafts.

But this past weekend on my first night out it dropped to 19 and I was perfectly comfortable in my Mountain Hardwear Lamina 20. Normally I'm cold in a bag at its rating.

More cold hangs needed to test the different methods. Camping in the name of science!

Right, name of science! Whoohoo!

I don't know one way or the other with any certainty. Indeed, a lot of folks report what you said. ( there is that thread going on now about bag vs quilt) But, I'm also wondering, how much does that have to do with being in a hammock while being well insulated down below. You know how many folks say that in a hammock under insulation is more important than top insulation? I don't know if that is a factor.

I have experienced the exact opposite! IOW, I normally am ok at temps down to a quality bags rating, on the ground. But more than once, using a bag as a quilt and at temps well above it's lower rating, I have been cold. Then I get in the bag and zip up and go from cool or even cold to toasty warm. Night and day! I don't know!

But, maybe I was just not doing things right with the bag as quilt? Could be! I am certainly better at it these days. Another big factor is having a very warm separate hood

[Wags]

impressive bonsai! my record low is 18 with a windchill into single digits. impressive!!!!