Tyvek + Pad inside of hammock?

[Saejorn]

What do people think about 3' x 8' Tyvek inside the hammock with an inflatable pad (not inflated or partially inflated) over the Tyvek to handle temperatures down to about 30F? I would have decent clothing on at that temperature (long undies + fleece if needed). I have a 20F down bag that works well at 30F on the ground. I do 2/3rd car camping, so I am trying to make my car camping stuff work for my 1/3rd short-length backpack camping as much as possible. I will be purchasing a hammock to replace my tent for backpacking trips.

I am also unsure if hard tyvek would be too noisy (even after crush processing) when moving around in the hammock, or if soft tyvek would be the way to go since one would rarely have to worry about ground wear.

I am trying to figure out if the Tyvek would help at all to allow me to use an inflatable pad that packs down small (prolite 3|4 or Big Agnes insulated) or if I really just need to bite the bullet and strap my CCF pad to the outside of the pack. 30F will generally be the lowest I will experience (short of record setting temperatures) for the times of the year I will be using a hammock. If the temperature goes below 30F, I'll either move to the ground or just suffer through the night

An underquilt is not an option at this time due to price, but I hope to be able to do that eventually in a few years (or hopefully my wife will be kind enough to help make one perhaps one day).

[blackbishop351]

What do people think about 3' x 8' Tyvek inside the hammock with an inflatable pad (not inflated or partially inflated) over the Tyvek to handle temperatures down to about 30F? I would have decent clothing on at that temperature (long undies + fleece if needed). I have a 20F down bag that works well at 30F on the ground. I do 2/3rd car camping, so I am trying to make my car camping stuff work for my 1/3rd short-length backpack camping as much as possible. I will be purchasing a hammock to replace my tent for backpacking trips.

I am also unsure if hard tyvek would be too noisy (even after crush processing) when moving around in the hammock, or if soft tyvek would be the way to go since one would rarely have to worry about ground wear.

I am trying to figure out if the Tyvek would help at all to allow me to use an inflatable pad that packs down small (prolite 3|4 or Big Agnes insulated) or if I really just need to bite the bullet and strap my CCF pad to the outside of the pack. 30F will generally be the lowest I will experience (short of record setting temperatures) for the times of the year I will be using a hammock. If the temperature goes below 30F, I'll either move to the ground or just suffer through the night

An underquilt is not an option at this time due to price, but I hope to be able to do that eventually in a few years (or hopefully my wife will be kind enough to help make one perhaps one day).

The BA pad should do fine by itself...I assume the Tyvek is for a wind barrier? That would help the TR some for sure. As far as what kind of Tyvek to use, check out Headchange's Tyvek article in the articles section. CCF will definitely work too, but IMO the inflatable pads are much more comfortable.

How much inflation you need will depend on the type of pad and temps - do some backyard testing if possible. It sounds like you might be a cold sleeper (20* bag getting you to 30*) so you may need either more air in the pad or a thicker pad.

[Peter_pan]

Make sure the pad is wide enough, 28-40 inches depending on your size and sleep style.... loose the tyvek, more hassle than value.

Welcome to the Hanging Gang.

Pan

[Saejorn]

Thank you for both of your replies.

The BA pad should do fine by itself...I assume the Tyvek is for a wind barrier? That would help the TR some for sure. As far as what kind of Tyvek to use, check out Headchange's Tyvek article in the articles section. CCF will definitely work too, but IMO the inflatable pads are much more comfortable.

How much inflation you need will depend on the type of pad and temps - do some backyard testing if possible. It sounds like you might be a cold sleeper (20* bag getting you to 30*) so you may need either more air in the pad or a thicker pad.

I had thought of attempting to use the Tyvek as a wind barrier since I already carry Tyvek as a multi-purpose ground cloth, temp rain cover, etc, and if I ever had to use the hammock in bivy mode, the Tyvek would go between the ground and the hammock, preserving the hammock material.

I read the Tyvek articles and they were helpful. Since I have hard tyvek already, I'll check it out once I get a hammock. If it's too noisy, I will get a piece of soft which will work just fine for the most part since it will not be used often as a ground cloth for sleeping.

I am indeed a cold sleeper. I was unsure if filling the BA completely would cause it to be more of an insulator with the dead air space helping to fight convection from passing air underneath the hammock, or if it would act as more of a conductor, and I was not sure which was worse. I guess I will have to trust in the Insulation of the BA for the 30 degree temperatures to fight conduction (I am leaning more towards the BA atm than the TR prolites).

I will definitely do some back yard testing in the next couple of weeks with what I have (standard-sized TR's and CCF) before I purchase anymore pads and I will report my finding in this thread.

Make sure the pad is wide enough, 28-40 inches depending on your size and sleep style.... loose the tyvek, more hassle than value.

Welcome to the Hanging Gang.

Pan

Thank you =)

I'd lose the Tyvek, except I carry it anyway for use for other things, so I figured I'd try to make it somewhat useful as a wind barrier. Perhaps I will try to double it up in the torso area or something just to see if it does anything for wind (was going to take a couple of box fans outside and blow them right under and slightly on the side of the hammock).

I really want to purchase a 20" pad due to weight and space issues, but the widest pads I can get from the BA insulated and TR prolite 4 lines is 25", and then I will be double my inital goal weight for my sleeping pad. This means that I will need something up the sides regardless. Having read through other posts, It appears some 1/8" Evazote may do the trick to wrap up the sides with some clothes stuffed around me as well? I was hoping the Tyvek would work instead, but 1/8" Evazote is light and small enough that it would not be a major addition to my pack for wrapping the torso area of the main pad.

As I said above, I will try some things out in the yard. Maybe Tyvek + clothes will be enough, I don't know, as I am not trying for a full winter set-up, just occassional cold days mainly for the start and end of the backpack season.


Lastly, If I go the BA Pad route, which shape would work better in a hennessey asym hammock, the rectangle or the mummy shape? Seems the mummy might sit better in the hammock since the rectangular shape once inflated will not wrap too well, but I do not know.

[Just Jeff]

Still not clear on the purpose of the Tyvek in the hammock. Why bother? Just b/c you're already carrying it?

[Saejorn]

Still not clear on the purpose of the Tyvek in the hammock. Why bother? Just b/c you're already carrying it?

Yeah, if it acts as a useful wind barrier or not - I do not know if it will help at all to be honest, so I was putting it out there, since I am already carrying it and I need something for the sides of the pad. If it is useless, I'll just keep it packed for my other uses.

[Just Jeff]

I think it'll get bunched up under you if you use it inside the hammock...so no lasting wind protection on the sides. If you want wind protection, I'd rig it as an undercover outside the hammock.

If the only reason you're carrying the tyvek is for a ground cover, consider just puting the pad on the ground and your hammock on top of that for the ground nights...then drop the Tyvek.

But HYOH - if you like the convenience of an extra sheet of Tyvek, you're the one packing it! So it doesn't really matter what anyone else says.

[Peter_pan]

Saejorn,

Why carry tyvec as a hammocker?

How heavy is your pack?

The mummy shape will be better.... but it will still raise you a good bit

BTW, if maintaining a go to ground capability is your goal... the ground is over rated.... most here have not been to ground in a long time (then they swore it off again)....Personally, I have not been to ground in three years now with at least 30 winter nights out in those years and a couple hundred of of March thru November nights out...

Pan

[Saejorn]

I think it'll get bunched up under you if you use it inside the hammock...so no lasting wind protection on the sides. If you want wind protection, I'd rig it as an undercover outside the hammock.

If the only reason you're carrying the tyvek is for a ground cover, consider just puting the pad on the ground and your hammock on top of that for the ground nights...then drop the Tyvek.

But HYOH - if you like the convenience of an extra sheet of Tyvek, you're the one packing it! So it doesn't really matter what anyone else says.

Gotcha, makes sense about the pad on the ground, outiside. Though I would prefer to have a non-CCF pad on a ground cloth than already wet ground.

I may play around with the Tyvek as an undercover, or I may just leave it packed up. I'm just trying to find a use for something I am carrying.

Saejorn,

Why carry tyvec as a hammocker?

How heavy is your pack?

The mummy shape will be better.... but it will still raise you a good bit

BTW, if maintaining a go to ground capability is your goal... the ground is over rated.... most here have not been to ground in a long time (then they swore it off again)....Personally, I have not been to ground in three years now with at least 30 winter nights out in those years and a couple hundred of of March thru November nights out...

Pan

Well, that is a good point. I may end up no longer taking the Tyvek. Most of the purposes for which I used it were due to ground camping, though it was nice to have to quickly pull out to throw gear on while setting up camp on wet/slightly muddy ground or to fold it over top of gear on the ground to protect it from rain when camp is not set. I may just end-up putting it in the tent camp pile =)

Weight... I have not had a working scale in some time (darn button cell batteries that I forget to replace). I really do want to get it working so I can see. I am also in the process of updating a lot of my backpacking gear as much of it is on the heavy side or just plain bulky/large, from the time I was a youngin. However, the "listed" weight of my backpack, sleeping bag + compressions sack, & current CCF pad weighs 6.59 lbs. HH Asym will bring that up to 9.22 lbs. My goal is 10 lbs on those base items, so I'm pretty close to what I want.

I won't be fully loading up my pack again until the end of March, but I will make sure to weigh it then =) I am hoping for 25 lbs with food for 3 meals + snacks and water but will be satisfied with 30 lbs since the hikes will not be long (5 mi. max, most will be shorter). I would not be surprised that seeing how much everything weighs scares the Tyvek out of me (and some other items

I would just as soon stay off the ground as well; however, my cold month camping will be on the ground in a tent because I just cannot afford to fully winterize my hammock at this time, though it is a long-term goal to do so (the thought of not having to clear snow to put down a tent brings me much happiness). As for the warmer months where I take my hammock, I just want to keep an option available incase I have to have it on the ground, for whatever reason. As for the BA pad, I really would not mind being on a more comfortable pad over my TR's which feel thin at 1" & 1.5" when on my side for when I tent camp, and I want to know if it will work ok in a hammock so I can leave the CCF pad at home and be able to use the same pad year-round (with CCF added in the coldest months).

The average lows where I mostly camp range from 30 to 47 in the 6 warm months. If non-average lows are in the forecast, I'll go with the tent instead.

[blackbishop351]

Why carry tyvec as a hammocker?

Rain jacket/poncho

Ground sheet in an emergency

Addition to your tarp in extreme weather

Durable water protection for packing up

...the list goes on.

I'm investing in a Tyvek poncho/pack cover - like a Packa but it opens up flat - as soon as the supplier gets the color I want in stock.