View Poll Results: SS vs. Down Underquilts

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38. You may not vote on this poll
  • never used a SS, but I think a down UQ would be far superior

    20 52.63%
  • Used both, and the down UQ is clearly superior

    8 21.05%
  • Used both, and the SS is a good alternative

    7 18.42%
  • Used both, and have found the SS superior in some situations

    1 2.63%
  • I think the SS gives more bang for the buck than down UQs

    3 7.89%
  • Have not really used a SS, but I just don't feel that pad/SB would be warm to even 45* or higher.

    1 2.63%
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Thread: SS vs. down UQs

  1. #11
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    In the earliest days of my hammocking indoctrination, I bought and used the SuperShelter. It only took a July's week of section hiking in New York and Connecticut for me to learn the sad truths about the SS system. The sad truths, at least as I see them, are the following:

    -Thin foam underpad was too thin to sufficiently insulate my body in temps below 50! Also, even tightly folded, the pad takes up way too much space.
    -Undercover does indeed trap warm air under your back- unfortunately it also traps condensation. I hated needing to wring out the foam underpad every morning, hanging it out in the sun, etc.
    -The $150 I spent on the SuperShelter was a complete waste, considering that the following season I wised-up and bought a JrB Nest.

    The SS system I wasted my $$$ on is resting comfortably on the top shelf of my mother's second bedroom closet, six hundred miles away. It has been there so long, that if not for this thread, the memory of the damned thing would probably have passed out of my consciousness altogether. The sooner I forget, the better.

  2. #12
    Senior Member DougTheElder's Avatar
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    I guess the jury is still out to some degree for most of us, but my approach is to use the JRB RMS when it's cold, and the SS during the summer when it's warm, but wet(ter). It's been suggested that my username should be "drought buster", since my summer hikes guarantee at least one full day of rain.
    Sometimes even a Blind Hog finds an Acorn

  3. #13
    I didn't vote. My category wasn't there. I use the SS. Never used an underquilt. The original SS underpad did not keep me warm and is too narrow. I use an OCF bedding pad from Wallyworld. I cut it to the pattern of the underpad, just wider in all areas. It allows me to spread out in the hammock without cold spots. The pad is around 1" thick and is convoluted on one side. I place the convoluted side up against the hammock bottom. I use it down to around 40*, then a pull a 3/4 CCF pad inside the hammock. Have never had any condensation issues with the SS, always dry when I get up in the morning.

  4. #14
    Senior Member angrysparrow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rpettit View Post
    I use an OCF bedding pad...The pad is around 1" thick...then a pull a 3/4 CCF pad inside the hammock..
    An inch and three quarters worth of pad? How do you pack that much bulk?
    “I think that when the lies are all told and forgot the truth will be there yet. It dont move about from place to place and it dont change from time to time. You cant corrupt it any more than you can salt salt.” - Cormac McCarthy

  5. #15
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    It seems to me that if Hennessy would replace the silnylon with something with a good DWR and a good windbreak effect (like the material of a wind shirt) the SS would elimante or possiable serverly reduce the condenstaion factor. Perhaps a good DIY project would be to repleace the Silnylon with, oh say, Momentum90 or 1.1 oz rip w/ a good DWR, and instead maybe use ccfp instead of the open cell pad (ie gossamer gear 1/4 thinlight wide or other brand of your choice). Just a thought.
    NREMT-B, WEMT
    CPR goes up and down, up and down......because my patient's dead.
    Hanger Fromally Known as Ghost93.

  6. #16
    Senior Member NCPatrick's Avatar
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    Homemade Super Shelter?


    "Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."
    - Mark Twain
    “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”
    - John Burroughs

  7. #17
    Senior Member Redtail's Avatar
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    Has any one bought just the molded pad ($29.95-$34.95) to make a cheaper DIY version? Seems like that is the only part that would be hard to recreate.

  8. #18
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by NCPatrick View Post
    Homemade Super Shelter?
    Why not? People here have come up with HH clones, NS clones, RMS clones, and well too many to count. The great thing about this site and the people here is that if we see some neat or intresting product out on the market, that we don't think to our collective selves, Hm I think if you do this, this, remove that, change this to that, and add this, it would be an awsome product. Truefully where would the cottage industry be without the DIY movement.

    Besides, I had been thinking of making somthing similar to the SS in terms of using a single piece of Momtemtum90 to act as a sort of sudo Garlington Insulator/ Weather Shield/ SS undercover/ (some other piece of DIY gear I cant think of at the moment) to use in the summer to add a little bit of warmth without much weight.
    Last edited by Bulldog; 02-07-2008 at 14:36.
    NREMT-B, WEMT
    CPR goes up and down, up and down......because my patient's dead.
    Hanger Fromally Known as Ghost93.

  9. #19
    Senior Member NCPatrick's Avatar
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    You're preaching to the choir here. I was just making what I thought was a clarifying comment.


    "Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."
    - Mark Twain
    “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”
    - John Burroughs

  10. #20
    Senior Member
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    Oh yea, almost forgot, BMBH clones =)
    NREMT-B, WEMT
    CPR goes up and down, up and down......because my patient's dead.
    Hanger Fromally Known as Ghost93.

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