It seems that everyone is experimenting with cold weather gear, must be winter. Just Jeff posted something a while back about making an underquilt, and at the same time there was a post about hammock socks. Laying in the hammock every nite gets the "what if I tried this" thoughts racing and I wondered if the two could be combined. I have been playing with it for the last month and am in the porcess of version 3, which is going to be the same as version two only out of lightweight material.
Version 2 is set up like this:
1) The bottom of the sock has the excess material cut away and a tuck cut in the middle so it has a three inch gap between the hammock and the sock and hangs great.
2) I sewed bug netting to the bottom piece of the sock and for entry it has a zipper along one edge. The ridge line on the hammock holds the top of the netting the same as a HH hammock.
3) I have a MEC Raven wide down sleeping bag
http://www.mec.ca that is rated to -7 C that I string the hammock through. I didn't have to do any cutting in the initial trial, just unzipped the lower zipper about a foot and slipped the hammock through it. The top zipper is done up to about a foot from the top.
I then rolled the bag so the zipper is on the bottom and the foot box sits on the top. To get in I pull the bag to the foot of the hammock, sit on edge and swing feet in, do up bug screen zipper lay down and pull bag up. There is not any compression to the bag at all and it hugs the hammcok full length. As it is a wide bag and not a mummy there is enough room to get somewhat asym in the hammock, and with a bit of modification to the bag could get full asym.
Had it out in -2C weather and when I pulled the bag up, instant toasty. I am now a down believer. I have it set up in the house and will take some pics and post in the gallery later tonite.
The combination of a sock with the hammock free floating inside it and bag over the hammock is fairly easy to do and am waiting for colder weather to give it another try.
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