Originally Posted by
BillyBob58
No doubt this can be a problem for some folks, especially the non-dainty. Let's face it, drafts are the bane of UQs. Most of us figure out how to make it work for the sake of the lighter weight, less bulk and better comfort in a hammock.
I'm not sure how a very wide hammock is going to help with this draft problem? It might even make it worse.
First things that come to mind:
1: like you said, go back to sleeping bags. It may be worth the effort of getting zipped up in one, even if you have to get in standing up before you get in the hammock, because once you are it is pretty much draft proof. Or one of those "walk around in" bags with arm holes would solve all problems like this.
But actually, you may not even need to get zipped up in the bag. After a lot of experimentation, I have found that I can more or less get the best of both worlds using my mummy bags. But you might have to play around with it. I leave the bag snapped or Velcroed closed at the neck, with the zipper unzipped down to the foot box. I slip my head through the side opening and up into the hood, and then put my feet into the foot box. I'm still using it ~ quilt style, with the side opening under me. But the bag is so wide that I can easily tuck it under me, which combined with my head being in the hood and neck collar just seems to vastly decrease drafts. But it still has the comfort and most of the convenience factor of a quilt. More weight than a quilt for sure, but by gosh you are warm! And if worse comes to worse, just zip up in that rascal!
2: forget a wider hammock, get a skinnier one: the old JRB BMBH. I have found that the steep, narrow sides just seem to keep a quilt in place, side or back, better than a diagonal lay in a gathered end hammock. (Just as it also works better with an UQ) Maybe my imagination, but that is how it seems to me.
3: blow all of this business off and break down and get a Pea Pod or Polar Pod, end of draft problems, top drafts or bottom drafts, and every bit as comfy as a separate TQ/UQ! Period! ( or if you don't want to buy anything, mod a bag into a pod) You are essentially inside a great big old mummy bag which is surrounding your hammock, except unlike a mummy bag in a hammock, you are free to twirl around in there as much as you wish. Back, side to side, whatever! If it will fit comfortably around your hammock, then you should be able to position yourself in most anyway you could without the pod around the hammock, except possibly for some extreme lateral positions where you are almost 90* across the hammocks center line. And again, instead of getting a wider hammock, more narrow hammocks work the best, though the Polar is so wide it probably doesn't matter much about hammock width. And it won't weigh much more than a full length size long TQ + UQ of similar temp ratings. But even if it does, I guarantee that if you have that Velcro closed down to a tiny breathing hole next to your face, or better yet on your side with pod rotated so that the vent hole is to your side or even below your face in a Claytor No Net hammock, there will be NO draft! Depending on hammock width, you may need to fill gaps or make a neck collar with puffy clothing or a light TQ. Then again, start putting even light TQs in that baby and you will quickly be past the rated temps for way cold camping.
I have never understood why pods have not caught on more at HF! It has with Shug and several of the other serious cold campers! But overall numbers using remain low.
PS: the poll seems to be asking about ability to side sleep, but isn't the question actually about ability to keep a quilt tucked while on your side?
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