Insulated hammock

[fin]

Maybe if I hung the spare and Mr. Bear came around, he might climb in and fall asleep. Then I could pack up and find a different site.

You could use him as your UQ.

count ounces or stay home and drink beer

Or drink beer and count the ounces.

Seriously, as a practical matter, the attached UQ idea is appealing, and I'm interested in seeing the results.

[TiredFeet]

Don't know if this has been mentioned here or not. If so then please just ignore.

But I seem to remember Just Jeff mentioning that he wasn't too sure about his down hammock because the hammock body itself stretched while the bottom layer of the quilt didn't. This ended up compressing the down underneath him and he was getting cold spots.

Does anybody else remember anything about this. Maybe Just Jeff solved this problem and it is no longer a problem.

Don't know.

[fin]

Don't know if this has been mentioned here or not. If so then please just ignore.

But I seem to remember Just Jeff mentioning that he wasn't too sure about his down hammock because the hammock body itself stretched while the bottom layer of the quilt didn't. This ended up compressing the down underneath him and he was getting cold spots.

Does anybody else remember anything about this. Maybe Just Jeff solved this problem and it is no longer a problem.

Don't know.

I think that has been brought up - that's why Graybeard is considering making the quilt seperate from the hammock, then attaching it permanently to the hammock body.

[Graybeard]

I think that has been brought up - that's why Graybeard is considering making the quilt seperate from the hammock, then attaching it permanently to the hammock body.

.....and also weighting the hammock with sand bags or similar to simulate myself in the hammock and making sure that there is extra room even so weighted. The need to avoid compressing the insulation while at the same time preventing drafts between the insulation and the hammock body itself is one reason why I favor sewing the insulation assembly to the hammock.

[slowhike]

You can't tell a great deal about it by this picture, but this is a hammock insulated w/ synthetic.


I made the shell a fair amount wider than the "loaded hammock". In time the hammock body (supporting me from inside) did stretch enough to begin compressing the insulation some, but it still worked great.

Like was said, the shell & insulation being sewn right to the hammock greatly reduces warm air from billowing out when a person moves.

I may make another one & this time allow even more sag in the outer shell & add small elastic cord on cord locks to the shell to draw the shell & insulation up to the hammock just right.
There would be 4 of these adjustments, two each side.

[GW Sears]

.....and also weighting the hammock with sand bags or similar to simulate myself in the hammock and making sure that there is extra room even so weighted. The need to avoid compressing the insulation while at the same time preventing drafts between the insulation and the hammock body itself is one reason why I favor sewing the insulation assembly to the hammock.

How much weight would a strip of 1.3 oz attached to the hammock add? It could serve in a function similar to a sod cloth, going around the permiter of the insulation and overlapping any gap between it and the hammock, blocking wind rather than moisture. You might have to tack it to the insulation in spots with some velcro tabs for it to work.

[Graybeard]

How much weight would a strip of 1.3 oz attached to the hammock add? It could serve in a function similar to a sod cloth, going around the permiter of the insulation and overlapping any gap between it and the hammock, blocking wind rather than moisture. You might have to tack it to the insulation in spots with some velcro tabs for it to work.

The weight added by the strip you describe would certainly be trivial, but I don't understand why it would be better than simply sewing the undercover itself directly to the hammock. Am I missing something?

[Just Jeff]

I think insulated hammocks are the way to go!

1 - Absolutely zero worry about attachment, cold spots, adjustments after I get in, etc.
2 - Save the weight of the underquilt attachment and a full layer of material. Mine weighs under 20 oz and is good to at least 30F, possibly lower. That's also head to knees insulation...I bring a CCF sit pad with me that I multi-use for foot insulation.

Adjustability isn't an issue for me...if I'm using this one, it's cold and I want insulation. I have several other hammocks to choose from for summertime or if I'm unsure of warm temps. Sewing a new plain old Speer-type is half an hour and a few bucks, so no big deal.

And if it gets too hot in a torso-insulated hammock, I can always flip around and lay on the non-insulated end. Or just not use the leg pad and let my legs cool down my body, much like soaking your feet in a cold stream cools your whole body.

My current version doesn't have baffles. My next version will have one baffle on each long side. Not really a big deal, but sometimes I have to push the insulation up from the bottom to my shoulders. The baffle will be sewn into the long edge, and the other side will be sewn to the outer layer so there are no more seams in the hammock body.

I did notice the loft right under my butt is reduced b/c the hammock stretched and the outer layer did not. Again, not really a big deal...this thing is cake to make so I wouldn't mind making a new one each season. I usually make more than that anyway, just playing around! But for some folks it may be a hassle.

Lots of people are worried about sewing directly to the body. I haven't had any issues with this but I watch it closely. I use big zig-zag stitches to there's plenty of stretch available. I put the stitching where I won't lay on it, so only my legs touch any of the thread. And I put the only backstitching in the place that takes the least stretch (head end, opposite to where I lay). Certainly a concern, but nothing that will prevent me from making more insulated hammocks. The only failure I've had is when I took of the bottom layer on a hammock and the seam ripper left a small hole at one of the corners. I knew that if it were going to fail it would be there, and one day I put my foot right in that hole and my favorite hammock ripped!

I'm also thinking of making a warm-weather insulated hammock - like one single layer of the Primaloft sport I have. Torso-only. Synthetic doesn't work well for full-length insulation (at least mine didn't) b/c it doesn't shape to your body...it's in a sheet, so down works better in my experience for a full-length insulated hammock. And also, for a very thin bit of insulation, using a sheet of synthetic means no baffle hassle...which means less sewing in the body...but it'll still keep the insulation consistent across the hammock.

Insulated hammocks are just another option. Not right for everybody, but mine have worked very well for me so far.

[Graybeard]

Jeff,
Many thanks for bringing your extensive experience to this discussion. You have addressed several issues that were "big unknowns" for me. A few comments and further questions:

1 - Absolutely zero worry about attachment, cold spots, adjustments after I get in, etc.
2 - Save the weight of the underquilt attachment and a full layer of material.

To which I might add:
3 - Fewer complications to give problems in the field.

Sewing a new plain old Speer-type is half an hour and a few bucks, so no big deal.

Amen. ...and with many (if not most) suspension systems, swapping out one hammock body for another on a carefully tweaked suspension is a quick no-brainer.

My current version doesn't have baffles. My next version will have one baffle on each long side.

Do I assume correctly that this is for with down insulation?

I did notice the loft right under my butt is reduced b/c the hammock stretched and the outer layer did not.

In your judgement, would this be prevented if the hammock were ripstop polyester instead of nylon (assuming one could find suitable material)?

Synthetic doesn't work well for full-length insulation (at least mine didn't) b/c it doesn't shape to your body...it's in a sheet, so down works better in my experience for a full-length insulated hammock.

In your experience, do you think synthetic would conform better if it were wide strips, overlapping shingle-style, instead of full-width layers?

Again, thanks for sharing what you've learned.
b

[slowhike]

Yep, Jeff is talking about down when he mentions using baffles.

Another thought or two... in this drawing you can see how I made my synthetic insulated hammocks & got around the issue of fitting the sheet type insulation to the shape of the hammock.


There are three drawings...
Top left shows an end view of the hammock hanging after the insulation & shell material have been sewn to the sides.

Bottom drawing shows a side view with the shell & insulation hanging down, waiting to be brought together in the center/bottom of the WEIGHTED hammock.

Top right shows an end view after joining the insulation, then the shell underneath the WEIGHTED hammock.

On my next synthetic insulated hammock, the light weight shell will be the same length as the hammock body. This will eliminate all drafts.
The insulation length is yet to be determined.

I plan to leave both the insulation & the shell noticeably wider than the hammock body, allowing plenty of room for hammock stretch.
The (*) on the hammock's edges in the side view drawing indicate the approximate location of elastic draw cords & cord locks that will allow me to draw the shell & insulation up top meet the body of the hammock with out compressing it.
I should be able to do this from the hammock, only having to sit up to reach them.

The hammocks I have already done this way, I sewed both the insulation & the shell to the hammock edges before gathering, whipping, & hanging the hammock, then sewed the insulation together by hand & then the shell also.
But on the next one I may just sew the insulation to the hammock sides But just PIN the hemmed shell material to the hammock sides for the gathering/fitting it to the shape of the hammock. That way, I can take the shell off & do a much nicer sewing job on the bottom seam after it is pinned together.