Sock - Two Materials

[OneThing]

I'm thinking about a Sock using both breathable & DWR.

I have a HH Explorer Ultralite A-sym. Back when I 1st got it, I used the small tarp which came with it for a year. I sewed end caps out of another tarp for a little extra protection against the rain.

With that thought in mind, I'm thinking a MM SOCK SEEP design. Both ends about 1 1/2 feet would be either DWR or water proof. I'm wondering if anyone else has done this and if there has been any problems with condensation.

Seem like it would work and I wouldn't have to use doors on a tarp.

[JohnSawyer]

DWR is breathable.. sil is not...


The problem with DWR is it will eventually get wet... then leak through...

Though I like your idea... Sil on the ends, and dwr in the middle to minimize the tarp size...

[OneThing]

I like having a flexible system which I can add/subtract items depending on the trail & weather over a 3 to 4 day period.

Hiking the AT, PCT you can usually get a 3 to 4 day window of the weather. With that, depending on the difficulty of the section being hiked, one can swap out tarps and use a Bounce Box (USPS Priority Mail) & check the weather and if not needed, bounce the larger tarp up the trail.

With the SOCK, you could have extra layer of IX in the bounce box as well and use as needed.

[MacEntyre]

I made one of those using breathable Epic material on the bottom and silnylon on top.

It generated so much condensation that I put it on the shelf, and that's where it sits.

It's the only time I have had condensation problems... never with Insultex.

Nonetheless, I have become more reluctant to use non-vapor permeable materials, especially in real cold.

[OneThing]

I made one of those using breathable Epic material on the bottom and silnylon on top.

It generated so much condensation that I put it on the shelf, and that's where it sits.

It's the only time I have had condensation problems... never with Insultex.

Nonetheless, I have become more reluctant to use non-vapor permeable materials, especially in real cold.

If you would have put breathable Epic material in the center of the top and used silnylon (About 1 ft) on each end of the top, I'm wondering if the condensation would have been a problem at all. A lot like the Clark Jungle Hammock which has about 4 feet open before it's zipped shut.

If the top is 6 feet long, you have 4 feet of breathable material which allows vapor to past.

The stock HH tarp is so small that in hard, wind driven rain you would almost have to rap the tarp around you to stay dry. That extra coverage I used on each end kept everything inside the hammock dry and never had any condensation at all.

[MacEntyre]

If you would have put breathable Epic material in the center of the top and used silnylon (About 1 ft) on each end of the top...

...it would have been far less vapor permeable than what I made!

[OneThing]

...it would have been far less vapor permeable than what I made!

Forgive me, as I think I must be missing something here.

On the top, if you have 6 feet of Non-breathable material and you remove 4 feet in the middle & replace it with 4 feet of breathable material, why would that make it "far less vapor permeable"?

I should have put the length would be more like 10 feet, with 8 feet of breathable in the middle. My idea is you can go with a smaller tarp & the SOCK gives you an added foot of rain protection of each end of your hammock.

[MacEntyre]

I gotcha... didn't read your suggestion correctly at first. I agree that such a sock would be a good thing... it might work for you.

Be careful calling fabrics "breathable" when they are barely vapor permeable. Give it a try and you will see what I mean. After all, it might work for you.

- MacEntyre - HYOH

[beep]

I gotcha... didn't read your suggestion correctly at first. I agree that such a sock would be a good thing... it might work for you.

Be careful calling fabrics "breathable" when they are barely vapor permeable. Give it a try and you will see what I mean. After all, it might work for you.

- MacEntyre - HYOH

+1 on Mac's suggestion to try out your ideas. Nothing beats a real-world product test!

My 2 cents...so far as I know, eVent is NOT readily available in "DIY" size amounts from any source. Even if it were, I have doubts that it would be sufficiently breathable to handle breath type moisture buildup even in moderate temperatures (and I'm a big fan of eVent!). In my own hammock usage, even a breathable DWR BBO produces significant frosting or condensation issues in mid-30s to sub-freezing weather, at least in non-windy conditions.

[OneThing]

I gotcha... didn't read your suggestion correctly at first. I agree that such a sock would be a good thing... it might work for you.

Be careful calling fabrics "breathable" when they are barely vapor permeable. Give it a try and you will see what I mean. After all, it might work for you.

- MacEntyre - HYOH

I'm new to the DIY gear. My little ends that I made back then were ugly, but worked. No where near the excellent product you make.
I had a HH back then & still do, and found that even the bug netting at a certain point no longer allowed vapor to pass as the fog rolled in. Which is one of the reasons I love your sock design. It's very customizable.

I would think the rain caps on each end would be more for the ultra lite, long distant hiker in rainy conditions.

Trying to find a one size fit all is impossible when we're dealing with so many factors, different situations & conditions.

I was reading another post here about predictions in future gear. One day, what we wear will work in any environment or condition. Until then, I appreciated the hard work, input and time those here have put forth in trying to make life in a hammock more enjoyable 365 days of the year.