Sleeping pad ideas

[Outdoorchillin]

I have a cheap sleeping pad but when I put it in my hammock is is hard to get comfy in it. I saw where some people have used the sun reflectors from car windshields as a pad. Would this be a good idea or waste of time and 13 bucks.

[dedominick]

I have seen a couple of them @ thrift stores, Reflectix may also be an equally effective and cheaper option.

MD

[hutzelbein]

I tried a lot, including the thin reflective "pads". They give some warmth, but for me it's not enough to even use one during a hot summer night. I'm a cold sleeper, though. For the warmth these mats deliver, I think they weigh too much, too. I had best results with my Therm-a-Rest ProLite Plus (as long as I didn't inflate it fully) or 2 thinner evazote foam mats on top of each other. With the latter option I got a bit too much condensation for my liking.

I would would have continued using the TaR were it not for the cold shoulders. I still think, pads have more immediate warmth than an underquilt.

[fauxpat65]

I bought a big roll of some insulation. I don't the name of it but it is metalic on both sides with bubble wrap in the middle. I cut a piece to long enough and then put it under my HH with a byers of maine travel hammock under it. I use tarp clips that I got at the evil W,(walmart) to make sure it stays in place and the byers of main hammock stays attached to the HH. I then sleep in a sleeping bag and stay really warm. I have used this system at 25 degrees. Hope this helps. Also, with the left over insulation, I cut strips to go in my icechest and it keeps the chest colder longer. I just made a sleeve to go on the outside of my cooler to keep the sun off of it during the day. My cooler now will keep a 2 quart frozen bottle for 7 days. It melts a little everyday but at the end of the 7 days, the water in the bottle is still ice cold and the food in the cooler is cold as well.

[JohnSawyer]

I bought a big roll of some insulation. I don't the name of it but it is metalic on both sides with bubble wrap in the middle

That's Reflectix.

[perdidochas]

I have a cheap sleeping pad but when I put it in my hammock is is hard to get comfy in it. I saw where some people have used the sun reflectors from car windshields as a pad. Would this be a good idea or waste of time and 13 bucks.

I tried the car windshield sun reflector. Worked ok, but wasn't quite long enough. Didn't try a truck one, as is recommended, but used a car one that I had bought that didn't fit the new car (it fit the old car).


Amended:

Went to 42 Saturday night with a walmart blue pattern pad (the wider one WM offers) and car windshield sun reflector, along with fleece bag liner and 40 degree cheapie sleeping bag as top quilt. I was toasty, but started sweating, and got cold about 4 Sunday morning.

[mangus7175]

I use a GG thinlight that I've cut to shape to fit inside my sleeping bag and so far so good -also, since the pad is inside the bag, I don't have to worry about the pad slipping out of the hammock.

[ICanMakeThat]

I wish I could find reflectix in roll form around here! I saw Walmart had the car shield but it was for about $35 which seemed pretty excessive considering what it is. I'm thinking about just getting some bubble wrap and an emergency blanket and using some spray contact cement on it and making my own that way.

[PDA]

@Icanmakethat - At Walmart you can get a blue CCF pad for $6. That will be far more effective as insuation than reflectix or vehicle sunshieds. The only problem with the blue pad is that it is only 20" wide, so doesn't protect your hips and shoulders where the hammock wraps up around you. So a good DIY project for you would be an SPE which extends the pad to 30 or so inches in a flexible way. See :
http://www.tothewoods.net/HammockCampingWarm.html#Pads
for details. The "overlap" pad is even easier, anmd is the method I use.

[kayak karl]

when i first started i used carpet padding. two layers wrapped in some cheap nylon from walmart. i used duct tape to do it. got to 30 degrees with the setup, but this was car camping.