whats your lowest known temp you have in your hammock

[Bird Dog]

I actually thought about using a sprinkler for the same purpose...then I got worried the neighbors might call the cops to take me to the nuthouse

Ill vouch for you! BD

[BillyBob58]

Billy, its good to see some HH SS reviews added to this site. I think there are only 2 of you using one.

On the subject on backyard tests. Sorry if you took anything I posted the wrong way. .................

No problem at all, H.E.! Your comments and those from Pan and the others are all right on the money. And it is important to point out the limits of backyard testing when we then try to extrapolate that to field conditions. Even if we follow Pans suggestions of adding all posible difficulties to the backyard test, to make it more realistic, we still can not match the field conditions and variables. Hence the fudge factor we need to add to any results we get. But in the meantime, the backyard remains a fun, convenient and above all very safe means of getting an idea of what a piece of equipment will do UNDER IDEAL CONDITIONS. It gives us a good starting point. And right now, my starting point is 4 hours at 18* followed by another two hours after getting a little sleep, all while being toasty warm top and bottom. And in fact, after having overheated a bit with all of the layers I had on originally and being fully cinched down in the mummy bag. But, without having to resort to my extra super-duper Marmot down hood or my standby pad. So when I came back out after getting a few hours sleep, I left off one of the midweight fleece layers I had been wearing earlier, and I still stayed quite comfortable. Although admittedly, for a short period of time -- really too short for adequate testing. On the other hand, for comparison, I have discovered that it takes no time at all to become chilled if I lay in that hammock even at 40° and for sure at 30°, if I don't have either that Super Shelter underneath or my SPE with closed cell foam underneath me. It takes me about five minutes to start becoming uncomfortable.

So, it's time for a little extrapolation based upon my personal limitations and field experience, if I have not already done so.I feel confident that a Super Shelter setup ( including space blanket and extra kidney/torso pads) plus the addition of addition of the fleece jacket (which I would already have with me anyway) placed in the undercover and the 4 ounces worth of Garlington insulator with space blanket placed in the lower end of the undercover) will suffice as bottom insulation for me into the upper 20s. I feel highly confident with this same setup into the lower 30s.

And this will correlate pretty well with my limited field experience (everything done backwards -- start with the field experience then move to the backyard test! Duh!). Which is to say one night of misery at 23°, followed by four nights of more than adequate warmth, but at unknown temperatures. Though temperatures seemed warmer, it seems a reasonable guess that they were somewhere in the mid to upper 30s, or possibly as warm as the lower 40s. With at least one of those warmer nights including moderate winds and rain. And it included the use of a synthetic 20° mummy bag that was never used to its full potential, but only as a quilt with enclosed foot area. Due to my inability to get inside the bag and get it zipped up with hood around my head. And this field experience included many of the undesirable variables, including lack of skill at using the new gear, inability to figure out how to use it due to decreased thinking ability on the first night at high altitude, possibly the worst altitude sickness I have ever suffered with what I think was a slight touch of cerebral and pulmonary edema, trying to set up a Super Shelter for the first time in the field after hiking all day, inability to force down adequate replacement calories, and maybe a couple of other things that I can't remember.

Hammock Engineer, I think you are right -- there's not much information available on this Super Shelter out there. I believe I have seen two or three other folks here and at white blaze that are using it. But not all of those have extensive experience with it. I'm thinking it must not be that popular and Hennessy may not be selling a lot of them. I think if I had known any more about how to keep warm in hammocks -- which was zero at the time -- I also would not have purchased this. And because of my bad first night in the field, I had full intentions of getting rid of it. But when I look back on the total trip, and realized some factors that might not have been the Super Shelter's fault, I decided to give it another chance and start experimenting with it. So now when I combine for good days in the field with my experiments at home, my opinion of the Super Shelter continues to improve. As I have thought about it more, and read about all of the alternatives, it really seems like it works pretty good for me. All things considered.

14 ounces for the basic shelter of undercover and pad. Maybe anothe 2 ounces for a space blanket and four or 5 ounces (I can't remember exactly) for the additional torso/kidney pad. Which, by the way, it must be remembered -- I did not have this very important element during my field test! I didn't even know this option existed. Then what ever warm clothing you are not wearing to bed placed underneath the underpad -- this is zero additional weight, though you must avoid the weight pulling the undercover down! Plus maybe the Garlington insulator underneath where ever cold spots have been a problem -- about another 4 ounces. But with increasing skill even this could probably be replaced with some insulating item you already had with you. And I've just realized down works wonderfully in the undercover due to it's light weight! So maybe 18 to 22 ounces, and a very compressible compact package, that gets me into the 30s at least and which throws in a little additional wind and water resistance for the whole shelter. And relatively low cost! All without having to resort to a pad, which so many people object to. That's really not too bad it seems to me, compared to all of the alternatives. Looking at my 4 oz. SPE with 14oz. RidgeRest with 4 oz.(?) worth of pads in the wings, that's 22 oz., and at Speer's site he shows some "observed temps" that would indicate this is good to 37*. So about the same wt. and about the same temp ( maybe not quite as low as SS?). Advantage: simple and cheap and good for ground use. Disadvantage: Bulk and you are on a pad.


What about the Nest, when looking at temperature rating, cost and weight? And I love the concept of the Peapod, but it's very expensive. Not considering the 900 fill down I suppose. That still may be the route I end up going, though I see a drawback or two.

The biggest drawback I see with the SS is what was, for me, a rather steep learning curve. All of that was in addition to the learning curve of the basic hammock. But of course, once that learning curve is mastered, it's no longer a problem. But I strongly advise lots of safe at home practice setting this thing up for anybody who decides they want to try it. And it would be nice to read about more people's field experience, if they are out there. Other than the couple of folks that have responded so far. Maybe we are the only three or four people that have used this thing!

And I again caution that over on BGT tests, there is a gal who could not sleep warm below about 50* without a pad! I think she was 1 out of 3 or 4 other testers, all of the others having much better results.

[Coffee]

Billy, I sense a science background. Your post has a hint of analytical thinking behind it. I mean that to be a good thing.

I think a valid argument could be made that a ccp is the cheapest and lightest way to insulate a hammock bottom. You just have the drawbacks of condensation, comfort, and bulk.

[ostynn]

i slept perfect with army pad less than 10 bucks and an M-1949 mountain down bag less than 15 bucks at 8.6 degrees,in my awesome tom claytor jungle hammock,i am not bragging just stating the facts neo

I'm new to the whole hammock thing, but plan on getting a tc hammock as soon as i can get the money together, i'm considering a different bag, and was wondering how much your M-1949 weighs?? thanks

[stoikurt]

Is it possible to reformat this poll so you can change your response as you acheive colder temps?

With that said, I'm celebrating a new low in my hammock.<Insert dancing banana here> I was out this weekend on the Florida Trail along the Econfina Creek section. The temp got down to 18* Friday night (digitally speaking actually 17.4*). Can you believe that for North Florida? In camp I used my JRB Nest and Packa rain jacket and was suprisingly very warm while just standing or sitting around. Though I looked like the Green Michelin Man or one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I was very impressed with that system. Several possible new trail names emerged this weekend as a result of the above (Little Green Giant, Donatello, Cuddledud). The last one is from some non-trail-saavy guys getting a good chuckle over me wearing shorts with black women's long underwear (Cuddle Duds). Oh, the ridicule one must endure to try to be on the cutting edge.

We met 2 old guys (Billy Goat and Captain America) on the trail. They are thru hiking the FT and left Key West in early December. They plan to finish March 3 in Pensacola. OUr group was the most people they have seen on the entire FT. Interesting guys, Billy Goat has over 27,000 miles on his hiking resume and has done the PCT 5 times. They're headed back to the PCT this summer. He's mentioned in Trail Journals by his wife "Meadow Mary".

[BillyBob58]

[QUOTE=hammock engineer;6477]Billy, I sense a science background. Your post has a hint of analytical thinking behind it. I mean that to be a good thing.
QUOTE]


HE, somehow I just stumbled on this post by looking for another post. I don't think I ever saw it or answered it. Not anything like an engineering background, but yes, a science background. Medical science. I am a CRNA. A Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. So my training is to put 'em to sleep and most importantly, to wake 'em up, plus Epidurals and all such as that. I've been at it for 30 years this Sept.. Sorry for apparently not responding when you wrote this way back.
Bill