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  1. #1
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    should i pop for sleep system?

    have a hh and i was wondering if i should pop for the full sleep system. i doubt that i will be doing winter camps. but the last thing i want is to get popsicled in the woods...what are your thoughts on this? and do you have other systems that might be more economical without the added weight and bulk.. i am sorry for all the newbie questions, as i am sure you have heard them all before... part of the reason is, i have two friends that are going with me.. they are grounders, and i would like to convert them over to our side. this is why i am asking.. so that i can give them propper intel....and also because since this will be my first hang, i am feeling a little girlie about it.lollolol...someone get me a dress...

  2. #2
    Senior Member dejoha's Avatar
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    I don't have any direct experience with the Hennessy cold weather system (the sheet that slides into the double layer, right?). If expense is your main worry, there are less expensive alternatives. Even a closed-cell foam (CCF) pad from WalMart will do you as good and will work well and is fairly light. I think the sleep system is not much different than reflectix or that aluminized bubble wrap you can find at Home Depot.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Trooper's Avatar
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    Newbies ask newbie questions. Then they aren't newbies anymore, and start answering newbie questions. Don't worry about it and certainly don't apologize for it.

    I have the Hennessy Supershelter and have enjoyed the warmth it provides. Compared to an underquilt, it is slightly slower to setup, slightly bulkier in a backpack, and nearly impossible to get back in to the stuff sack. There are also three pieces, and I've damaged two OCF pads and the stuff sack itself trying to get it in the stuff sack.

    For the same price, you can get a synthetic underquilt from Arrowhead For $50-60 more Warbonnet or Hammockgear are down options. This is the route I took. You'll need some insulation even in warm weather, and like Dejoha said, a CCF pad works well and is likely the cheapest by far at $8-16, and possibly the lightest as well.

  4. #4
    Senior Member guySmiley's Avatar
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    IMO, a Thermarest Neoair, partially inflated (I suggest the small one. It's easier to wrangle inside the hammock.) will be less expensive and more effective.
    Last edited by guySmiley; 10-14-2010 at 22:08.

  5. #5
    Senior Member G.L.P.'s Avatar
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    Yeah skip the SS...and get an UQ
    for the same price as the SS i would get a UQ from Paul....
    and look at it this way...if you get a WBBB you can use the UQ with that...the SS is limited to the HH

    also the SS is hit or miss...some ppl love it...some ppl had no luck with it
    It puts the Underquilt on it's hammock ... It does this whenever it gets cold

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by greenlespaul View Post
    Yeah skip the SS...and get an UQ
    for the same price as the SS i would get a UQ from Paul....
    and look at it this way...if you get a WBBB you can use the UQ with that...the SS is limited to the HH

    also the SS is hit or miss...some ppl love it...some ppl had no luck with it
    who is paul? and how do i contact him...?

  7. #7
    Senior Member Buffalo Skipper's Avatar
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    Paul is PGibson. His website is Arrowhead Equipment

    He is active on the forum. PM him or contact him through his website.
    “Indian builds small fire and stays warm, white man builds big fire and stays warm collecting firewood”—unknown

    “The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea”—Karen Blixen

  8. #8
    Senior Member more's Avatar
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    The supershelter is really terrible. The ingredients are good but the recipe isn't. The open cell foam is extremely finicky, fragile, not warm, and almost non-re-packable. The undercover is pretty nice, but it's value derives from the fact that the fabric it's made out of is already waterproof in the first place. You could wrap up in your poncho for the same functional effect and for much cheaper. An underquilt doesn't even physically have these kinds of options for criticism. A good underquilt will be simple and warm, and a good supershelter will just be a bunch of ineffective and very expensive trash you have to lug around. With a supershelter I think you'll be forced to try to excuse the reasons why you slept cold in order to proudly justify its cost, and with a good underquilt you just don't have to bother with the symptoms of buyer's remorse.

  9. #9
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bowlhaircut View Post
    The supershelter is really terrible. The ingredients are good but the recipe isn't. The open cell foam is extremely finicky, fragile, not warm, and almost non-re-packable. The undercover is pretty nice, but it's value derives from the fact that the fabric it's made out of is already waterproof in the first place. You could wrap up in your poncho for the same functional effect and for much cheaper. An underquilt doesn't even physically have these kinds of options for criticism. A good underquilt will be simple and warm, and a good supershelter will just be a bunch of ineffective and very expensive trash you have to lug around. With a supershelter I think you'll be forced to try to excuse the reasons why you slept cold in order to proudly justify its cost, and with a good underquilt you just don't have to bother with the symptoms of buyer's remorse.
    Are you basing that on personal experience? You may well be, as a number of folks have not been happy with their SSs. But quite a few others have been more than satisfied with it, especially when they consider cost and resistance to wind and rain built into the system.

    You might want to search for kwpapke's post's on SS use. He use an augmented SS at very frigid temps, including one night camping wit Shug at minus 27F.

    Just the other day I threw my SS back onto my 1st hammock, a UL Explorer. It is the original pad I got several years ago. Fragile indeed, and it has a couple of small holes in it that I have not bothered to patch. And a couple of others that I have patched with seam sealer. It is ugly, but function has not been affected (effected?) enough for me to bother getting a new pad.

    After the 1st time ( except just to prove I could do it ) , I never bothered trying to stuff that pad back in it's sack. Why bother? Once I put the UC and pad and space blanket on the hammock, it stays there until hot weather. I just stuff the entire system ( sometimes even with my TQ ) into a large stuff sack. It couldn't be easier. Then when time to make camp, I tie one end to one tree, walk the stuff sack to the other tree and tie on, and the HHSS is ready for me to hop in and go to bed. Although sometimes, if wanting to use Snakeskins with just my hammock and UC, I take the pad out, put it in a compression stuff sack with ease, and compress it after it is in the sack. No big deal really. But trying every morning to get the pad back in the sack it shipped in would be quite a hassle. Probably leading to pad damage. But why bother? Just put it in a larger sack, and then compress that as needed.

    when you say "The open cell foam is ... not warm", I ask what is warmer at 5.5 oz FULL length for ULBP/Expedition? Even once you add the 2 oz space blanket, you are at 7.5 oz full length. What is warmer considering many have been OK in the 40s and even 30s and a few at much colder temps? Even once you add a ULBP UC for another 7.5 oz, you are at 15 oz for a full length UQ/rain/weather shield. Other than maybe the still being experimented with IX offerings, what is warmer at 15 oz full length? And if a bit warmer, what offers the wind/rain protection at the same price and weight?

    I love my MW4, and PeaPod, and torso length Climashield "Yeti". I most likely to choose any one of them over the SS, depending on conditions. They each have some major selling points. But I would not hesitate to use my most basic non-augmented SS in the 30s or 40s, and I know I will be warm enough. By adding a jacket or torso/kidney pads or using many other tricks I can go much colder. I have found that the pad, when soaked, will be bone dry very quickly if you can get a little sun to it.

    And when it comes to protection from wind and rain while using the smallest HH tarp, I think it can not be beat.

    It seems to me the biggest drawback to the HHSS is the hit or miss aspect, depending on who is using it. I don't know the reason, but some are cold and have condensation problems, while others- like RamblinRev and others, have even more success with it than I do. I don't know why there is such an individual difference, but it exists.
    Last edited by BillyBob58; 10-16-2010 at 09:36.

  10. #10
    Senior Member FreeTheWeasel's Avatar
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    Listen to BillyBob! He has counseled me many times over the years on my SuperShelter technique which still needs improvement.

    I used it most recently on a trip where temperatures went no lower than the low 50's and I was super comfortable. I've had a bit more trouble getting into the 30's but I've done it. As BillyBob mentions, others have added components and brought the augmented system down to unimaginable temperatures. It can be done.

    That said, I'm trying to move exclusively to quilts. I get a fair degree of condensation in my SuperShelter which really isn't a problem, but I find the quilts to be more comfortable.

    FreeTheWeasel

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