Well I recieved my winter sock from Papa Smurf yesterday. I will be going out New Year's weekend, and will post a quick review when I get back. I will be doing a week and a half trip in beginning of Feb and will most a more detailed review then.
Well I recieved my winter sock from Papa Smurf yesterday. I will be going out New Year's weekend, and will post a quick review when I get back. I will be doing a week and a half trip in beginning of Feb and will most a more detailed review then.
Congrats on getting the winter sock, and enjoy... Looking forward to the review.
"No whining in the woods"
Another intangible benefit to pods and socks is that the ambient temperature gain also benefits your face. Even with a balaclava, your eyes and bridge of your nose are exposed. In deep cold having the drafts removed along with an ambient temperature boost in those areas make for a much more comfortable sleep IMHO.
What do you guys think? Does this weight / warmth comparison make sense?
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Get a vapor barrier liner made of cuben fiber, from zpacks http://zpacks.com/accessories/cloudliner.shtml
It is 1.8 ounces and costs $125. Packs down to the size of a golf ball. Arguably the same warmth benefit of the sock, but tiny size and miniscule weight. Not crazy expensive either. Love mine.
A VBL is not the same as a sock nor does it perform the same function. A VBL goes next to skin and reduces the amount of vapor that gets into your insulation while establishing an equilibrium humidity between your body and the air. A sock goes outside of all other insulating layers and helps to boost the ambient temperature while reducing drafts and external moisture encroachment.
Get a vapor barrier liner made of cuben fiber, from zpacks http://zpacks.com/accessories/cloudliner.shtml
It is 1.8 ounces and costs $125. Packs down to the size of a golf ball. Arguably the same warmth benefit of the sock, but tiny size and miniscule weight. Not crazy expensive either. Love mine.
You can use both, but they are not the same. Further, a VBL bag requires the wearer to dispense with the other layers of clothing packed as they will wet out if worn inside a VBL bag. I go with VBL clothing instead of a bag and use a sock as well.
Right, VBLs and hammock socks are completely different beasts, but if evaluating benefit/weight and deciding on one versus the other, I'd go VBL. For more than overnight trips, keeping sweat moisture from evaporating from your body and getting into the down is very important to keep the loft high and the extra water weight low. The hammock sock can trap moisture depending on breathability and dewpoint. I've done 5 degrees F, breezy nights under my tarp in a 15 degree F down bag pulled peapod style around my hammock, sleeping inside my VBL and I've been toasty warm. No moisture in my down from my sweat. I sleep in the same smartwool top and bottoms that I hike in, and the moisture they collect inside the VBL quickly dissipates when I get out of the bag in the morning. VBLs aren't for everybody, but they are superlight in cuben and super packable.
A VBL is not the same as a sock nor does it perform the same function. A VBL goes next to skin and reduces the amount of vapor that gets into your insulation while establishing an equilibrium humidity between your body and the air. A sock goes outside of all other insulating layers and helps to boost the ambient temperature while reducing drafts and external moisture encroachment.
You can use both, but they are not the same. Further, a VBL bag requires the wearer to dispense with the other layers of clothing packed as they will wet out if worn inside a VBL bag. I go with VBL clothing instead of a bag and use a sock as well.
- MacEntyre
"We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." - Ben Franklin
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General question. How much dead air space should there be under you with a hammock sock(between the bottom of your underquilt to the hammock sock fabric? I assume there is a magic amount of dead air space, and anything beyond that it becomes ineffective and provides no benefit due to your body not being able to adequately heat the space. I am just guessing that this is 6 inches or so, but would like a query of the masses. How much space is there between your hammock bottom and the sock fabric?
An uninsulated hammock sock is stopping convective heat loss more than conductive heat loss. In other words, it is stopping drafts and wind from robbing heat more than it is slowing the outward transfer of heat. On top, it will slow the transfer, but underneath not as much. As such, the main thing to consider is the maximum dimension of your insulation. Leave "plenty" of room to ensure that the sock does not compress your insulation. Since you may choose to use the sock with varying levels of insulation, just make sure that the largest possible amount has enough room.
I am far, far, far away from compressing anything with my sock. Which is why i am asking hehe. I understand its more for convective purposes of blocking drafts etc.
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