2012 First Hang (Backyard)

[Jiff24]

I was just introduced to the hammock concept this past summer and have been very excited about it ever since. I got a new hammock and sleeping bag last summer but haven't been able to use them as much as I'd like. I think I have a total of five nights in them so far. I wanted to test out the cold weather capabilities of my sleeping bag and was finally able to do so last night. Although it was only in the backyard I think it went well and I am pleasantly surprised at the results. I haven’t had many aspirations to do a lot of winter camping although I have been thinking that the occasional trip would be nice. Would really like to try snowshoeing camping sometime, but haven’t had much snow this winter. I got the HH Expedition and because I can’t stand mummy shaped bags, got the Kelty Galactic 15 degree down bag. There seemed to be some general consensus that down was the way to go when it comes to weight, pack size, and function. I’m really glad I got a down bag! Last night only got down to about 26 degrees, and the bag worked brilliantly. I wore my polypros and some Colombia wool socks, and that’s all. I was really warm all night and super comfy in the bag. The only drawback to the night is that since I haven’t quite refined the insulation issue in the hammock, I ended up using an older car camping foam pad (about 2” thick) which was plenty warm, but because of its size and thickness ended up being kinda awkward in the hammock. It made the workable space much smaller and hindered a very flat diagonal lay. That was somewhat disappointing. I can see why underquilts/pads are probably the best route to address the insulation problem. I’ll probably have to look into those options some more. Either way though, it was still a great night in the hammock!

PS. I do have one question (for now) that many of you might be able to answer or at least be able to share your opinion on. When I setup the hammock and stake out the tarp where I want it, as soon as I get in it the hammock naturally sinks a bit lower with my weight and because of that my guy lines from the fly become loose and the tarp now flaps in the wind and is droopy. Is there a way to adjust it so that doesn’t happen? Or is the only fix to run a separate ridge line to hold up the fly?

[MuseJr]

Welcome to the forum!!! It looks like you are well on your way.
You can fix this tarp sag issue one of two ways.
1) Use separate lines to the tree for the tarp. (Keep it off of the hammock suspension.) I use a continuous ridge line on my tarps.
2) Use self tensioning lines to help pull the tarp tight. You will have to make sure you get them tight just before you get in the hammock.

[djminnesota]

+1 on what musejr said, and i would also highly suggest using some sort of underwuilt as you mentioned. no need really to opt for an expensive down one unless your taking it down to single/ sub zero temps. i repurposed an old 50* rectangle sleeping bag as one, (ive taken it down to about 30*)and there are many threads out in the insulation section on very cheap diy underquilts.

[Jiff24]

Thanks guys for the suggestions! As you can tell I'm new to this game and HF has been a great resource so far. I will for sure look into those DIY underquilts. I'm sure that is going to be the most comfortable solution. I doubt that I will be out too much in sub zero temps, but I'd certainly like to have the capability to do so with my setup if I wanted.