Wool undercovers and overcovers for hammock

[Redoleary]

I'm not saying its not worth a try, actually I'd love to see it be a success. I'm just pointing out some potential shortcomings of the concept, won't know til ya try I guess.
Seems like Canoebie has some wool fabric that they take, used mostly as a blanket or to lay on inside the hammock, but I think he said it was suit lining material made of wool, so it was thin and light. Might be worth a look at Joann Fabrics to see what they have.
You could try felting it too to tighten up the weave maybe??

[canoebie]

Hey all, I am a bit old fashioned, and I mostly canoe, so weight is not an issue, but I love wool. It is warm, wet or dry, fairly wind resistant and gives folks that warm and cozy feeling like none other. When hosting trips for our ground dwellers on cold weather trips, we carry a wool army blanket for everyone to supplement their sleeping bags. They often wrap in them around the fire, put them in their chairs for shield from the cold and use them in multiple ways. I have an anorak that my wife made for me from a wool blanket from Traverse Bay Woolen company and I love to wear it paddling, shoveling snow, etc.

I also have fleece, omnitech, other hightec stuff I use, but I always come back to wool. My preference.

I do carry a small wool blanket that I picked up at Joann Fabrics in the bargain bin for $3. It is very light black wool, heavier than suit material, much lighter than a blanket. I can layer it under me, over me, most of all I like it as a pillow so i can throw it over my ears. (I hate wearing a hat to bed)

For really wet conditions I also like IX sandwiched with breathable ripstop. The IX is warm, can take the wet until the cows come home and is light. I have an IX UQ that I think is really versatile in that regard. I could dunk it in the river and it would still perform.

I like this discussion, curious how the efforts turn out. Exchange ideas, try stuff, the worst thing that can happen is that it doesn't work. Most of all do what you like. I do things way different than other folks sometimes, while it may not be arguably the "best way" to do something, I like it for my own reasons.

I have hung with lots of different folks, and I think we all concur that getting out there, wool or no wool, fleece or no fleece, IX or no IX, is the most important thing of all. I am gonna hang this weekend in my own woods just cuz.

[dimeotane]

When weight is not an issue, a wool blanket is really nice sitting around the campfire on a cold evening. If a spark shoots out the wool can handle it much better than synthetic materials like fleece. I found a big second hand blanket in perfect condition for less than $20. (Buying the bulk wool to weave your own would cost you waaaay more than that!)

[Acer]

I still have and have used car camping,,,a 40 yr old Hudson Bay Trading 4 point scarlett wool Trading Blanket,,and its in mint, like new shape,,,and use it every now and then..it rocks in cold weather..but your looking at 250-300 for new ones,,wool does rock and take a beating, but heavy.

[wisenber]

"Similarly, a three-pound comforter filled with lamb's wool batting is as warm as a five-pound all-wool blanket, because it holds more dead air. "
Horace Kephart "Camping and Woodcraft"

[bodhran4me]

Nothing against wool but I am making a comparison from a rotary phone ( Wool ) and a smart phone ( Polartec Fleese) some things are just that outdated, says the Old Owl.

Having gone through an ice storm that knocked out the power for weeks I know my portable phone didn't work at all and my cell phones quickly lost their charge but rotary phones still worked throughout the outage. Sometimes vintage tech is the only tech left. However when you have choices such as already outlined...

Back from the hijack:
I seems I have read where wool retains about 80% of it's insulative value when it is wet. I know that down can not say that but don't know about the various synthetics. Then again if the synthetic repels water better....
Guess i am going to keep reading....

[Acer]

Read this:

http://www.davidmorgan.com/wool.html

[SilvrSurfr]

Read this:

http://www.davidmorgan.com/wool.html

My favorite part of that article is "Wool is a natural insulator, grown by sheep and other animals." Really? The sheep and other animals are growing the wool? Where do they do that, on their wool farm? And how much do you have to pay these "sheep and other animals" to be wool farmers?

Based on the cost of the wool items on that website, these wool farmers are not making minimum wage!

[SilvrSurfr]

Read this:

http://www.davidmorgan.com/wool.html

The other thing that I found out from this article, and others I have read while researching wool, is that wool is not just from sheep: it can be made from rabbit, possum (I would love to see a video on how they shear a possum), goat or even camel hair. You can make wool from just about any animal.

So here's my idea: we make wool from the hair of Hammock Forums members. The longer the wool, the better, so bearded guys like Kayak Karl would probably yield a pound or so of virgin wool. Wouldn't it be great to have a pair of socks made entirely from Kayak Karl's beard?

What a great cottage industry! Back, chest, arm, leg or any other hair is probably too short to make high-quality wool. And bald guys won't be able to get much on the sell/trade market, sorry.

I'm thinking that the price scale would have red hair as most expensive (rarest), then blonde, then brown, then black, and grey would be at the bottom of the price scale, as would be salt and pepper and stuff like my beard, which is kind of a calico mix of blond, red, and grey. And dyed, bleached or permed hair wouldn't be worth much since it's been chemically degraded. There would be absolutely no market for Rogaine-treated hair because it's too thin and wispy to be of any value.

Hair from curly-headed people would be used for coarser wool to make heavy-duty items. The fine, thin, straight hair from folks like myself would be used for merino-type items that are close to the skin (obviously higher prices would be offered for the fine hair).

Anybody want to go in with me on this cottage industry? We could have a group hang/HF member shearing in the spring and be ready to put out product for Winter 2012!

[TiredFeet]

I'm think this is an interesting idea. I wonder if a lightweight wool would be thick enough to cut the wind. And if the thickness/weight is too great if it would drag down too much? To take the most advantage of wool, I think I'd want it closer to my skin. Mac has some great cotton-based covers that are reported to be great in the cold and wind. Heavy, yes, but more for survival as you say.

Would wool be an option? I guess you'll have to make one and give it a test run!

thin merino wool is lousy at stopping wind. I have a merino wool balaclava. It is very warm so long as the wind is almost non-existent. If there is any wind at all I use a HF buff under the merino balaclava. The buff stops the wind very well and the merino keeps me nice and toasty.