Hey Hammock Tribe,
Watching the full eclipse last night inspired a hammock test. Since I had on all the warm duds and had gotten the bug and sewed a double hammock based on Risks plans yesterday and had hung it to try .... I thought: "why not test"!
So I have been thinking about pads vs underquilts and such.... or combinations of the two for cold camping. I am planning a thru-hike on the Superior Hiking Trail here in Mn in late April and it still gets pretty cold then especially up north. Wanting to keep weight and bulk down I either want a UQ or a pad. Made the double hammock as I want a stronger hammock for the thru-hike and extra material under me with a GG 1/4 inch wide pad and a sock & tarp. This is the choice I will most likely use.
So last night I crawled in the double hammock with a CC pad slipped in between hammock layers, my spe with BA insulated mat inside hammock and hammock sock. No tarp used last night. The plan was to sleep in gear that I would be wearing on a winter trip. Wore to sleep: fleece balaclava, Possum Down beanie, Smartwool mid shirt, light poly zip shirt, Golite breeze wind shirt, fleece 200 weight top, Mont-Bell down short sleeve jacket and my down parks w/ hood pulled up. Wore a light fleece face mask since my head was out of the sock.
Mont-Bell therma wrap pants (love these!), light fleece tights and poly long johns. Feet were warm in light Smartwool socks and a pair of expedition Smartwool socks over those. As always I slipped my JRB down sleeves over my feet in my REI 0º bag used as a quilt.
Not too surprised that I stayed very warm!!! I feel the UQ would have boosted my warmth to max comfort but with 2 pads, spe, extra fabric on double hammock and hammock sock I now am assured that I can go out in sub-0 weather and stay warm. Next I will try double hammock and UQ with maybe a light pad as I would bring one anyway on a backpacking trip.
I figure that I can save at least a pound to a pound and a half with some of these options. For the thru-hike a double hammock, GG pad, Sock and Tarp would see me down the trail.........
That is my report ya'll.
Shug
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