Mini update.
Friday was pretty boring....embarrassing almost. With the snow came *warmer* temps. It went from 18F to 28F as the snow rolled in. Tonight however (as I post from the hammock) It's already 10F and thermometer just died, and my phone is going so slow its difficult to type. I'm gonna curl up with a book and post in the morning!
G'night!
OK, here is the latest update. Last night was much more fun!
First, the setup:
Pretty much the same as Cold Test #3. "Loaner" Grizz Bridge (which I own now), DIY tarp I cobbled together over Thanksgiving break, Winter Incubator, Winter Mamba Long/Wide. But now with the addition of the (a real loaner) Bridge Sock. Honestly, I'm not sure if I got this thing on right...it's just friggen HUGE! But oh does it work!
Friday (cold Test #4) I setup while temps were around 18F.
Too much slack on the ridgeline, IMHO. I fixed this last night (cold Test #4).
And slipping the Bridge Sock. It was super easy with the UCR (is that what the sorta whoopie thing is called?) and Marlin Spike. I just lifted the amsteel off the spike, slid the sock on (UQ installed and TQ in the bridge helping stabilize it from the wind), then returned the amsteel to the marlin spike; remembering to put the loop on the knot, not the toggle (thank you Shug). Photo with the sock open...the ends of the sock have Omni Tape...which didn't hold well once I got into the hammock...it could also be user error.
I think I'm doing this right...
And this is what I was greeted by when I woke up on Saturday morning. It was really beautiful. (I'm going to see if I can stitch together a panoramic photo from the 7 I took of my first snow in a hammock!). I know this is old hack for many of you, but I was really excited!
My gear easily handles 18 degree weather. In fact, the downside of the Friday night hang was that with the snow came warmer weather. It shot up to 28 degrees as I was drifting to sleep. I actually had to take my down booties and my hat off...I was getting too warm!
Continued in next post.
Last edited by Lonely Raven; 12-06-2010 at 10:47.
So after I shoveled the drive and took care of some family stuff, I checked the weather and saw they expected 7F over night temps and 10MPH gusts. I typically try not to gear test on night where I have to go to work the next day, just in case I don't sleep well. I need to be bright eyes and bushy tailed at work (or risk not having a work to go to!).
I really don't have any photos of Cold Test #5 Setup was exactly the same, snow was already on the ground...but it was 10F when I went out to "bed" last night. I hung my REI digital thermometer and reset the High/Low count. The unit immediately started to dim as the cold sucked the life out of the battery. It was barely readable by the time I got into the hammock. It's rated to 15F, so the fact that it read 10F was a good sign.
I crawled into the hammock at 10F (and dropping). Everything was ICE cold. The down quickly warmed up, and I could see my breath instantly freezing as it hit the bridge sock! I posted (as seen above), and read my book for a few chapters. I was really shivering as my body tried to warm up the environment. I started to worry a bit that I was ill equipped for this depth of cold.
Clothing was two layers of midweight baselayer on my legs (aka my PJs), I was wearing a T-shirt and cotton waffle top (I wouldn't wear cotton in the wild, I'd layer Poly T-shirts and/or wear a poly waffle top). Wigwam winter socks I usually wear when motorcycling in the winter, and my sierra designs down booties (my feet were cold in cold test #3). I also had my Mad Bomber hat over a light weight balaclava.
Next thing I know, I'm waking up at 1:35am with a great desire to write my name in the snow. I was toasty warm! I don't remember nodding off, but I apparently hung my book from the ridge line on the page I left off, shut off my headlamp, and just zonked. I'm not sure if my body heated up, or acclimated to the cold...but I was *warm*. My balaclava was over my mouth and completely soaked from my breath vapors. I quickly took it off and put my Mad Bomber hat back on, and ran into the house to deal with natures call.
REI Digital Thermometer Reading 7.0F
Ran back and jumped into the hammock, had to go through the whole shivering to warm up the down process and quickly fell back asleep. Woke up at 5:30am, a few minutes before my alarm went off for work. Ran inside and got ready for the day. I feel great!
REI Digital Thermometer Reading 7.0F
OK, so the REI thermometer was at 7.0F and is only rated to go down to 15F. I have a feeling it was colder than 7.0F, and the unit simply bottoms out at 7.0F. I need a more accurate method of checking the temps. But I'd say this was my new cold weather record, and quite a success. The bridge is ok, the sock was GREAT, all the previously mentioned gear works as expected. 7F (or whatever I was at) is a *big* difference from 17F. I was seriously concerned at first...but once I generated enough heat to heat up my immediate environment, I was really comfy!
Edit to Add: The high temp reading of 22.5 was actually the *current* temp as I had to wait for the thermometer to start warming up before the display came back from the dead. I saw condensation behind the plastic as it got warmer (not good).
Also, the Bridge Sock caught my breath/vapor, and instantly froze. Every movement in the hammock caused little ice crystals to rain down on me. Wasn't a big deal, just something to think about.
Last edited by Lonely Raven; 12-06-2010 at 10:52.
Excellent sounds like you should start some actual field tests now. Try doing an over night or day trip out in the trails.
"If you give a monkey a gun and he shoots someone, you dont blame the monkey"
The end of the world is not coming in December, it is happening now in my living room. - TFC Rick
http://watermonkey.net/
Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/RaulPerez1?feature=mhee
I typically do jumping jacks before getting into the cold sleeping bag/quilt. I could see having to do them a second time if all my body heat has transferred to the bag.
To me, this shows how much heat the sock is trapping. When I cover my mouth with a thin scarf it usually ends up frozen with ice crystal.
100 % agree with this.
Cold doesn't seem linear to me either. The difference between -5*F and 5*F seemed like a lot more than the difference between 5*F and 15 *F. So when people talk about -20*F or lower, I get a little scared.
This happens in winter tents too. All the water vapor you exhaled all night long got trapped against the sock and condensed and froze.
Winter tents have top vents to allow a flow of air from the bottom of the tent to the top of the tent so that the hot vapor-rich air can exit the tent [or the hammock sock].
On multi-day trips all of that frost can melt on your quilt/bag and wet your insulation but for one night and two night trips I have not considered it a problem.
Next Step ?
I strongly suggest you practice hanging at a trailhead next to your car. Day hike with all gear, loop back to car, set up next to car, dayhike with all gear again the next day. Car is emergency bail out only.
This simulates a backcountry hike.
IMO the toughest part of winter camping is the time between waking up and hiking - you want to be able to break camp and get moving. You really can't practice that in the backyard.
Love my JRB BMB
"If you give a monkey a gun and he shoots someone, you dont blame the monkey"
The end of the world is not coming in December, it is happening now in my living room. - TFC Rick
http://watermonkey.net/
Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/RaulPerez1?feature=mhee
Bookmarks