-7º Pads vs Underquilt on MN Winter Night

[Shug]

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

[Cannibal]

Is it weird that this kind of stuff is fun for people like those in the "Hammock Tribe"?

Sounds like fun Shug, keep those results coming.

[Shug]

Cannibal,
We do have what most folks consider a strange sense of FUN........
Power to the Passionate!
Shug of the Passionate

[rasputen]

Cold is good... Extreme cold is EXTREMELY good! Gotta push the envelope!!

We are Winter Warriors!! Nice report....

[BillyBob58]

Interesting report. How was the comfort level on those pads, compared to no pads?

How about condensation/sweat issues? Any problems?

Was that the BA 15* air pad, or another?
Bill

[Shug]

Interesting report. How was the comfort level on those pads, compared to no pads?

How about condensation/sweat issues? Any problems?

Was that the BA 15* air pad, or another?
Bill

Hey BillyBob,
Comfort was terrific as I am a pad user and really have not goofed around without pads in a hammock at this time. I am really still fairly new at hammocking proper.
No condensation whatsoever happened other than the outside of my hammock sock where I breathed. None on the pads. And it was the BA 15º mat. I really like it.
Thanks for the interest.
Shug

[HappyCamper]

Thanks for the detailed report, Shug. I hate being cold and I always look very closely at these kinds of reports.

HC

[Ironlungs]

Hi Shug. I'm rather new to this Hammock Forum family. Thanks for putting vids out for helping others, like me, and making it extremely enjoyable to watch.
When I started hanging, I did things MY WAY, trying a learning curve that basically caused a lot of skids, crashes, bumps. ..now that I've accepted the standards of proper hanging, after watching many folks over YouTube, I am comfortable to incorporate several methods, such as UQ and ccf, as needed.
The more I hang, the more confidence I gain in assuring a great night sleep.
All that being said, I'm not sure how close you are to the great Lake Superior shore line, but I plan to make a trip up there this late spring, early summer to do a small bicycle ride around the big lake. Hanging as much as I possibly can, at that, especially if the wife will ALLOW it, as she will more than likely be my SAG wagon. She will determine my hang time as she is not into this.
It'd be a privilege to meet up with you if that circuit ride comes to fruition.

[Bannerstone]

Wow! Have to thank Ironlungs for bumping this vintage Shug post back up to the top of the list. It's fun to look at where Shug was in '08 developing a lot of the experiences that he has shared with us in his video and what not over the years.

Also a reach out to Ironlungs from a fellow central Ohio area cyclist who would like to get into touring.

David

[Dead Man]

Wow! Have to thank Ironlungs for bumping this vintage Shug post back up to the top of the list. It's fun to look at where Shug was in '08 developing a lot of the experiences that he has shared with us in his video and what not over the years.

Also a reach out to Ironlungs from a fellow central Ohio area cyclist who would like to get into touring.

David

Ditto. I'm guessing Shug of the third person doesn't have this one in his subscriptions any longer but I would be curious to know what he has changed from that day to this. The MN Frozen Butt Hangs are legendary at this point and a side by side comparison of what is done in similar temps from then to now would be very telling and interesting.

Sparrow! To the Shugmobile!