Cold weather test (3S crowsnest) - 19°

**Tendertoe** · 11-29-2010, 12:17

I was wearing

top -
Patagonia 1 longsleeve
Patagonia 4 longsleeve
Eddie Bauer First Ascent down jacket
Golite Virga rain jacket

bottom -
Patagonia 1 pant
Army Navy ECWS pant
Everlast wind pant
Golite Reed rain pant

head -
Komperdell fleece balaclava
polypro knit cap

hands -
Smartwool liner glove
thinsulate 200 gram fleece glove

feet -
wool sleep sock
Thermarest sit pad under feet

TQ -
Marmot 15 degree down sleeping bag zipped to knees

I was well fed and kept the calorie train rolling all 3 nights.

Once again it was 26 degrees the first night where I had cold butt.

It was 28 the second night after I adjusted the suspension and was warm as can be, I even woke up with my TQ rolled to my stomach and was even a little hot; enough for me to zip my jacket down and take my gloves off.

The 3rd night was 29 and once again was toasty warm.

I personally don't feel the necessity for shock or bungy cord to wrap over the ridgeline to pull the CN closer to the hammock if you perform the aforementioned suspension tweaking. I believe that CNs don't even come with the "pull up" grosgrain on them anymore.

I did receive a winter Incubator this weekend which has 3 "pull up points" along the side of the quilt that I do feel are helpful for getting the leg portion of the quilt pulled up close to the hammock. This is only due to the sheer length of the quilt that I added the shock cord over the ridgeline and only for the leg portion (there is another pullup under the low back and at the chest region of the UQ).

**StumpJumper** · 11-29-2010, 12:31

Originally Posted by Tendertoe

I did receive a winter Incubator this weekend which has 3 "pull up points" along the side of the quilt that I do feel are helpful for getting the leg portion of the quilt pulled up close to the hammock. This is only due to the sheer length of the quilt that I added the shock cord over the ridgeline and only for the leg portion (there is another pullup under the low back and at the chest region of the UQ).

Similarly, I added shockcord to the head/foot end tabs of my Incubator. I find that this "stretches" the UQ out rather than letting it bunch under me (one of the advantages of length-wise baffles). This gets it even more snugged up to my body.

**jloden** · 11-29-2010, 12:39

Originally Posted by animalcontrol

I also took my 3Season CN out for a maiden voyage this weekend, so I will add to your thread..

-Low temp of 15*F and I was toasty warm (I am a warm sleeper).
-3 things that impact overall comfort...TQ, UQ, clothing. Every report should include these 3 things.
My setup was a 0*F rated TQ, 3S CN, and a lightweight polypro baselayer w/black rock beanie and midweight wool socks.
-the CN needs additional support to hold it tight up against your butt. I personally used bungie cord tied from each of the foot-end corners and over the ridgeline. That pulled the UQ tight against me and took away any CBS (cold butt syndrom)

overall, I'm thrilled by how warm I was. I using the same setup I think I have another 10-15*F

Nice! I am a bit of a cold sleeper but I think I can get below the quilt's rating too, once I get rid of the CBS-causing gap. Did you get the 900fp?

**Tendertoe** · 11-29-2010, 12:40

I did forget to mention, all of my UQ's are 900 fp. Summer CN, 3 season CN, and Winter Incubator.

**lazy river road** · 11-29-2010, 13:00

OP, great piece of gear you picked up. May I suggest that if you are planning to use this the 3 SCN UQ for the NJ hang you may want to add supplemental insulation underneath you or at least test it outside your house in NJ winter night time temps. Last year it was in the lower teens on Friday night and down to seven on Saturday night. Dont know how you sleep (warm or cold sleeper) but if you have the chance to test it out its' better to find out before the hang rather then at 3am in 7 degrees. I (very un-smartly) tried out new gear last year at the NJ hang and lets just say it was a HUGE learning experience and one I do not wish to repeat.

So back on topic, how did you secure the UQ to the hammock? Did you use the provided line locks? I found that as snug as I like the UQ to be the line locks slipped a bit throughout the night and did not hold the UQ snug enough against the hammock. What I found to work better on my winter crows nest is tieing a knot at the end of one of the shock cord loops instead of useing a line lock. In a sense the same thing as Tendertoe did but instead of cutting the shock cord, I just tied a knot to shorten it. This made the UQ way more snug preventing cold but syndrome. Another idea in really really cold temps is to use a but pad for just under you but, and to keep your feet warm slipping a 1/4 ccf pad into your TQ foot box and having the pad extend to your knees keeping warm the lower half of your lower body that is not insulated by the 3/4 UQ. Enjoy the new gear and looking forward to meeting you at the NJ hang.

EDIT: well after posting I see that you have plenty of insulation for winter camping (a winter incubator very nice cant wait to check it out) and looks like you'll be plenty toast warm at the NJ winter hang. Just out of curiousity why use the 3 SCN at the NJ winter hang instead of the winter incubator? see you their.

**Tendertoe** · 11-29-2010, 13:17

Originally Posted by lazy river road

OP, great piece of gear you picked up. May I suggest that if you are planning to use this the 3 SCN UQ for the NJ hang you may want to add supplemental insulation underneath you or at least test it outside your house in NJ winter night time temps. Last year it was in the lower teens on Friday night and down to seven on Saturday night. Dont know how you sleep (warm or cold sleeper) but if you have the chance to test it out its' better to find out before the hang rather then at 3am in 7 degrees. I (very un-smartly) tried out new gear last year at the NJ hang and lets just say it was a HUGE learning experience and one I do not wish to repeat.

So back on topic, how did you secure the UQ to the hammock? Did you use the provided line locks? I found that as snug as I like the UQ to be the line locks slipped a bit throughout the night and did not hold the UQ snug enough against the hammock. What I found to work better on my winter crows nest is tieing a knot at the end of one of the shock cord loops instead of useing a line lock. In a sense the same thing as Tendertoe did but instead of cutting the shock cord, I just tied a knot to shorten it. This made the UQ way more snug preventing cold but syndrome. Another idea in really really cold temps is to use a but pad for just under you but, and to keep your feet warm slipping a 1/4 ccf pad into your TQ foot box and having the pad extend to your knees keeping warm the lower half of your lower body that is not insulated by the 3/4 UQ. Enjoy the new gear and looking forward to meeting you at the NJ hang.

EDIT: well after posting I see that you have plenty of insulation for winter camping (a winter incubator very nice cant wait to check it out) and looks like you'll be plenty toast warm at the NJ winter hang. Just out of curiousity why use the 3 SCN at the NJ winter hang instead of the winter incubator? see you their.

I actually didn't cut it. I tied a marlinspike hitch with a mini s biner till I got it dialed in (kept moving it closer and closer), then tied an overhand knot once I found the sweet spot. It does work great!

I wish I was going to the NJ hang with my incubator. I don't think the OP has an incubator.

**animalcontrol** · 11-29-2010, 13:17

Originally Posted by Tendertoe

I personally don't feel the necessity for shock or bungy cord to wrap over the ridgeline to pull the CN closer to the hammock if you perform the aforementioned suspension tweaking. I believe that CNs don't even come with the "pull up" grosgrain on them anymore.

I did receive a winter Incubator this weekend which has 3 "pull up points" along the side of the quilt that I do feel are helpful for getting the leg portion of the quilt pulled up close to the hammock. This is only due to the sheer length of the quilt that I added the shock cord over the ridgeline and only for the leg portion (there is another pullup under the low back and at the chest region of the UQ).

Happy you found a system that works for you!

I forgot to mention that I was using a DIY hammock that is 11' long and more than makes up for any "extra" shockcord.
Without seeing your setup, I'm guessing when you added your spike hitch, you "moved" the suspension tie point from the end of the hammock to a point closer to your head. Both methods accomplish the exact same thing (except with an 11' hammock, I don't have any extra suspension to play with

)

Again, great job thinking outside the box!

PS - and I have no idea what tie outs come standard with the CN. The one I received last week had grosgrain tie outs in all four corners, but none along the length of the UQ. I simply used the 2 tieouts on the foot end

**dejoha** · 11-29-2010, 13:17

My last cold weather test with my crowsnest got be down to 15°, and I think I'm middle-of-the-road warm/cold sleeper. My UQ has grosgrain tie-outs in the middle of the quilt that I used to snug the middle of the quilt (w/shockcord). I think this helped a lot. I was warm.

**jloden** · 11-29-2010, 13:18

Originally Posted by lazy river road

OP, great piece of gear you picked up. May I suggest that if you are planning to use this the 3 SCN UQ for the NJ hang you may want to add supplemental insulation underneath you or at least test it outside your house in NJ winter night time temps.

Yep, I'll be bringing extra blankets/pads, and two JRB quilts so I should have enough insulation. And of course, plenty of backyard testing

So back on topic, how did you secure the UQ to the hammock? Did you use the provided line locks?

Yes, just the provided line locks. I didn't notice any slipping on them so far, but that's possible. I'll bear that in mind as well when I try it later this week. Thanks for the tip!

Enjoy the new gear and looking forward to meeting you at the NJ hang.

EDIT: well after posting I see that you have plenty of insulation for winter camping (a winter incubator very nice cant wait to check it out) and looks like you'll be plenty toast warm at the NJ winter hang. Just out of curiousity why use the 3 SCN at the NJ winter hang instead of the winter incubator? see you their.

I think we met at MAHHA. If I'm not mistaken my wife Marlana and I camped out behind you. My wife was in the green tent.

That's Tendertoe that has the Incubator, I've only got 3 season quilts so I will probably either double up or add a pad to supplement for the deep winter hangs.

-Jay