Homemade gear on a tight budget

[Ogri the trog]

Hi all, just joined up,
I was searching for information about homemade gear and this is where I ended up.
I've only been hanging since earlier this year, so I guess I'm a novice. I'm looking to make as much of my gear as I can - I have a Nomads Land hammock and two Ex army tarps, which is great for summer nights but needs insulation for this time of year.
Been looking at the Peapod/Travelpod designs - do you think I might be able to use a duvet as a base for this project or am I really off on the wrong track here?
Being from Britain, our weather is often very damp (we have as many words for rain as the Innuit have for snow ) and windy - today, a steady 25mph wind with 40ish gusts.

What are your reccommendations folk - any advice greatfully recieved.

Thanx in advance

Ogri the trog

[nigelp]

Hi Ogri

Also from UK. Try one of those non-mummy sleeping bags people get for summer camping. Duvet may be too heavy and bulky. Un zip-it and use clove hitch knots to string below hammock, try some different hanging methods until you have it snug but not too tight underneath. Should be sufficient for all but the coldest weather. I find a larger tarp erected to keep the wind off helps considerably with warmth. Did you get the hammock on a Magikelly group buy?

Nigel

[Ogri the trog]

Hi Nigel, Cheers for the reply.
Yes I got the Magikelly GB Hammock. I was out with that group on the weekend (in a tent) and most who slept in hammocks said it was "bearable - just" with their underquilts and Nanok combinations, though it was down to about -4 C that night and blowing a gale. Hence I'm thinking of the Pea/Travel pod idea. I've bought some gear today as a trial so I guess I'll be posting my findings as soon as I can pluck up the courage to fight with a sewing machine (Wife says she'll beat me if I break any of her needles).

ATB

Ogri the trog

[nigelp]

During the summer at a caravan and camping showroom they had those really large sleeping bags for use in a caravan. Very wide and would certainly be a cheap alternative peapod. Bear in mind that you will have to heat up the whole peapod area! The wind will always present problems with a hammock and stringing the tarp low to provide a wind break will help enormously. I have been experimenting with a weather shield for my hammock, a test last weekend seemed to confirm it was quite effective in making for a warmer night.

Nigel

[IMG][/IMG]

[Coffee]

Welcome to the forum.

I personally like the travel pod. I made a test one out of a heavy material. I just made a big sock. I started out with something like 9 feet long and 80 inches wide. I sewed that into a big tube that was closed at one end, except an inch or so to let the strap in. The temp inside the sock as about 47 F and the temp outside that and out from underneath my tarp was about 25 F. This was even with the head end open. I plan to put a draw string closure in my final version.

Make sure the material you are using is breathable. I got a lot of condensation from a material that was supposed to be breathable.

I read about someone modifing a sleeping bag into an underquilt. That may be something to look into. Also do a search on Garlington Insulator. I don't have the link off hand, but it is basically a tarp underneath the hammock that can hold a sleepingbag or other insulation against the hammock.

[nigelp]

Try this http://www.garlington.biz/Ray/Hammoc.../Insulator.htm

[Ogri the trog]

Thanks for the advice guys,
I was looking to get stitching tonight but I'm as mad as h*ll. I paid for a King Sized item only to get it home and measure it up as a Double Size
I can feel a bad tempered phone call coming on!
I've had the squared paper out and I think I'm in with a fighting chance once I get the correct size donor for the project.

Ogri the trog

[slowhike]

Thanks for the advice guys,
I was looking to get stitching tonight but I'm as mad as h*ll. I paid for a King Sized item only to get it home and measure it up as a Double Size
I can feel a bad tempered phone call coming on!
I've had the squared paper out and I think I'm in with a fighting chance once I get the correct size donor for the project.

Ogri the trog

i`m glad you guys told us where you`r from. i`m sitting here trying to read your posts w/ a British accent <G>.
have you ever herd a British accent w/ a southern draw? <G> ...tim

[Ogri the trog]

Thanks for your patience gentlemen,
I've been fooling around with some bits and pieces here but I've hit a stop as the sewing machine has taken a turn for the worse. I've made a pod out of a king sized duvet and a sock from ripstop - both have a zippered vent above my head and I'm hoping for good things. I'll try to give it a test within the next week or so but I have to get the machine fixed before then to finish the sock.
I've also been reading through your replies and I'm interested in the "weathershield" concept - Nigel, you photo shows extra covers on top and bottom (or is that an underquilt?).
In thinking about the Garlinton concept, I'm worried that, if using an opened sleeping bag, the teeth of the zip may cause damage to the hammock material, it also doesn't sound as though it'll cut the mustard in the weather in the UK at the moment. An underquilt would still need an overquilt so I can't see the benefit of making the two items independently if one all-enclosing pod would do.

ATB

Ogri the trog

[slowhike]

i`ve wondered too if the teeth of the zipper might cause a hammock to rip prematurely.
I've removed the zipper from 3 sleeping bags now to make quilts.
i believe the thing is about using a combination of an under quilt & top quilt vs using a pea pod alone is that pea pod will be held up off of you to some degree (how much depends on the hammock you use), creating a larger space for your body to heat.
that`s why i believe when people use a pea pod, they normally use a light top quilt inside the pea pod to fill that space w/ insulation.