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  1. #1
    Senior Member lostinthewuds's Avatar
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    Worries about an UQ?

    Hello all!

    I have been reading a bunch about all this stuff and have a question. Several folks mention that once the temps hit 70 you'll probably need some under insulation. This has me concerned.

    I would really like to go the 2nd annual Halloween Hang with the gang in Indy the end of October. However, I'll be lucky to have a hammock by then, let alone all the "trimmings".

    Honestly, I'm really quite affraid that I'll be too cold. I'm not a cold blooded person, and I'm not affraid of camping in the cold, but the hamock in the cold without the proper equipment makes me nervous.

    Here's my plan. I'm going to buy a Grand Trunk UL hammock. I plan on putting my Big Agnus air mat in the hammock (maybe even a CCF pad if need be on top of that.) I have a good sleeping bag that will handle the temps no problem (but MAN is that thing heavy!)

    Do you guys/gals think that this set up will work alright? I really don't want to freeze, and I'm not affraid to sleep on the ground if I have to, but I don't really want to.

    Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!

    pax,
    lost
    "The question that oft' makes me hazy... am I or the others crazy?" Albert Einstein

    "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

  2. #2
    Senior Member default's Avatar
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    im going to say the sleeping bag wont do much for your butt, and youll have a heck of a time getting in/out. you can search the forums for how to make a sleeping bag into a UQ, which is easy to make and from reports from my friend, works out well.

    a poncho liner UQ can also be made, but the temps can vary with those (personal temps...)
    Give a man fire and he's warm for the night.
    Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. Dante

  3. #3
    Senior Member default's Avatar
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    Give a man fire and he's warm for the night.
    Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. Dante

  4. #4
    Senior Member Alamosa's Avatar
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    A lot of people use pads in the hammock for bottom insulation and a sleeping bag as a top quilt, so as long as everything is appropriate for the temps you will see, you should be fine. You might want to consider getting one of the cheap fleece sleeping bag liners to put over you pads. This provides some additional comfort for laying on the pad.

    Good luck and have fun!
    We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. - Ben Franklin
    (known as a win-win on this forum)

  5. #5
    Senior Member Bubba's Avatar
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    That should work as Alamosa mentioned. A common issue with using a pad is the possibility of cold shoulders. If you can sew or know someone who does, you could whip up a Segmented Pad Extender (SPE).
    Don't let life get in the way of living.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
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    Lost, if you can swing it, buy two. Hang them together and you have a double hammock and a place to put your air mattress. Sleeping on the mattress in the hammock isn't always comfortable. Putting it in between the layers on a double improves things a lot, IMHO.

  7. #7
    Senior Member KerMegan's Avatar
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    also if you inflate it somewhat less than usual, it will shape itself to you/hammock better. CCF for backup is a good plan.

  8. #8
    Senior Member gargoyle's Avatar
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    The pad will keep you warm. Dont let the simple fact that your gear is not top shelf keep you from hanging.
    The simplest way I found to make the ccf pad work for me is cutting it in half.
    My pad was a standard wally world ccf, which started life at 24" wide x 60"long iirc.
    I cut it into two sections that are 24x30, and turn the top section to form a "T". The added width near the shoulder area keeps the top half warm. And being in two sections allows for easier positioning in my opinion.

    Inflatables in the hammock need far less air than one might first imagine. Find the right amount of air thats comfortable for you, and you'll be set.
    A double layered hammock is also good for holding the pads, and works better than laying directly on the pad. Pads can be squirmy and need a little adjustment to keep them in place when laying directly on them. But so do some uq's.

    Sliding your sleeping bag around the hammock creates a pod of sorts. And with a little finesse and some shockcord (to keep the bag from sagging to low) you can make it work. You can also slip in a small pad below the hammock to add warmth. This a simple system, that many have used. (not for use with netted hammocks, which by Halloween you wont need a net)

    UQ's are the best, but you can make other all ready on hand items work.
    The important thing is to get out. Add a warm layer (or two) of clothes and a decent tarp for blocking some wind, and go have fun.
    Ambulo tua ambulo.

  9. #9
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    This little 'dirty secret' of the (larger commercial) hammock industry was quite a little shock when I first slept in my hammock, on a 'warm' summer eve. The initial draw for the uninitated is reduced weight compared to your tent, and the ability to leave your (heavy, bulky) pad home and still have superior comfort. That's how I got 'suckered' into this hammock thing.

    If the under insulation isn't just right, and you're not a 'hot' sleeper, it makes for a particularly woeful night. At what temp things get woeful is pretty individual, but, on average, it seems to start around 70*F for many of us. At 50-55, you'll be very likely to feel cold.

    (edit: this entire paragraph deleted due to redundancy of other posts.)

    I've had pretty good results at warmer temps hanging a cheap ($7) fleece blanket under the hammock, by tying elastic cord to the corners, similar to a Jacks R Better type UQ suspension. The difficulty with this is closing the sagging gap at the top and bottom, where you'll feel the chill. Quickly sewing a hollow hem at the top and bottom, and passing the elastic through it, would be a possible quick solution. A single, thin (cheap) fleece blanky probably won't add much insulation, though.

    I ended up with a JRB nest, but I must confess that I hate the weight/bulk of all effective under-insulation solutions compared to the simplicity and effectiveness of a simple foam pad on the ground.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Buffalo Skipper's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gargoyle View Post
    ....Dont let the simple fact that your gear is not top shelf keep you from hanging....
    Really good advice here. It was exactly a year ago (almost to the day) that I ordered my first hammock. Once I got it, I had the same "fear" of sleeping below 70°. The first night I slept out, I attached an old sleeping bag to the hammock with duct tape (I ended up with a few drafts, but survived). Sood thereafter, I converted the sleeping bag into a crude under quilt, and it worked for me for the first 2 months. One night, with the benefit of my homemade UQ, an emergency mylar blanket, a wool blanket (under me) and an insulated hot water bottle in the hammock, I made it down to 31°. Luckily for me, I was able to pick up a down UQ the following month, and I didn't have to jump through all those hoops to stay warm after that.

    Looking back, I could have much more easily (and less expensively) picked up a cheap Wally World pad (or two) and used duct tape to make a pad extender which would have gotten me easily down to the same range for starters.

    On the same lines, I started with a simple Noah's tarp, which I was later able to upgrade to to a nice silnylon tarp that I just love. I also spend the first year in a variety of sleeping bags and sleeping bag liners, which I have only in the past week replaced with a top quilt.

    It takes a while to do the research here and make the decisions needed to set up your gear. Using a pad will work for you just fine, for now, or check out the threads on converting a sleeping bag to an UQ. Hammocking requires a different way of thinking than tent sleeping. You may end up being cool some nights until you really figure out what works for you.
    “Indian builds small fire and stays warm, white man builds big fire and stays warm collecting firewood”—unknown

    “The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea”—Karen Blixen

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