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  1. #1
    Senior Member
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    Supershelter @ -27F

    Shug and I headed up to the Superior Trail for a coupla nights of snowshoeing. My gear was my typical HH stock configuration with added insulation. Hammock picture here: That's me with my head behind the tree...
    Yes, my tarp isn't real taut, but we weren't expecting any snow so I didn't bother to tighten it up.

    Gear common to both nights:
    Hammock: HH Explorer UL, stock tarp, Supershelter + overcover
    Bag: 0F REI Zenith mummy bag, synthetic insulation
    Clothing, torso: smartwool SS T-shirt, LS Powerdry shirt, Marmot Precip jacket for VB
    Clothing, legs: Powerdry longjohns, Marmot Precip pants as VB, polypro ski pants, 200 wt Polarfleece pants
    Feet: silk liner socks, bread bag for VB, heavy wool socks, 400g Thinsulate boot liners. 1L insulated Nalgene filled w/ boiling water pressed against bottom of feet.
    Head: Psolarx fleece balaclava without the heat exchanger

    Night one, -5F: in my Undercover, in addition to standard space blanket, did my typical cold-weather configuration of Exped Multimat on the bottom, and a down jacket under my back in between the OCF and Multimat.
    Clothing - Torso: 200 wt Polarfleece pullover as outer layer

    Night two, -27F: added my down +30F REI Sahara down bag between Multimat and OCF in the UC.
    Bag: added fleece bag liner, and Primaloft parka thrown over legs
    Clothing - Torso: 300 wt Polarfleece as outer layer
    Clothing - Neck: fleece neck gaiter to pull up over eyes

    Picture of me in the 300 wt Polarfleece here:
    This is an LL Bean Ascent jacket that I highly recommend for VERY cold weather. It is much too warm to hike in when the temps are > 0F, but I was comfortable hiking at -20F and it worked well at night.

    I was plenty warm both nights. No sensation of cold except for the bridge of my exposed nose.

    The hassle factor on night two was excessive. I do OK getting into a mummy bag in my HH, but the fleece liner was a struggle with the fleece clothing I was wearing as an outer layer and little wiggle room with all the layers on. Too much friction, no sliding, no space.

    The overcover worked well - really kept the cold wind off of me. Lots of condensation on night two - about 1/4" on my reading glasses hanging from the RL.

    The down bag as an underquilt worked very well. The SS OCF pad is "sticky", and I use the Exped Multimat with the "sticky" side up so anything I put between them stays in place all night long without moving with no cords, tiedowns, etc.

    The synthetic mummy bag contributes a lot to the warmth. It doesn't compress nearly as much as a down bag so I needed a big pack (90L) to carry it in, but didn't compress as much beneath me either.

    I used a lot of fleece in my configuration, and that holds up well under compression as well.

    This was my first attempt using VB liners. The Precip jacket and pants helped out a lot, but getting the pants off & on to pee was a pain in the butt due to the Velcro attachments and zippers on the side. The bread bags worked great as VB socks, but I used them only at night, I didn't hike with them.

    Summary: it is possible to use a stock Hennessy configuration with Supershelter in arctic-type conditions with the addition of a LOT of additional insulation. I was able to re-purpose gear I already had without going out and spending a bundle on down UQ's.

    What would I do differently? If I had unlimited $ I'd go out and buy a -40F bag. The biggest irritation was all the !@#$%^&* layers I had to wear. On night two I had to pee 3 times (it was a good thing I had a Gatorade bottle in the hammock so I didn't have to venture out), and getting all my pants pulled back up properly was a pain. The first time I got all done and noticed my underpants were still down around my knees Plus with a -40F bag I wouldn't have to change my clothes so much from what I was hiking in. Nothing like getting down to your skivvies at -27F in the morning to get your blood pumping

    What I'd like to hear from other folks is: "What's in your Undercover?". I've tried all sorts of things, from Garlingtion insulators to parkas, and you can see where I've ended up. I'd like to hear what others have tried and not abandoned.

    Hope you find this useful.

    --Kurt

  2. #2
    Senior Member BEAS's Avatar
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    thats the post i've been waiting for
    BEAS
    From the Great Southern state of
    TENNESSEE
    Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less. General Robert E. Lee

  3. #3
    Senior Member stoikurt's Avatar
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    Wow, that's great. I can't even imagine temperatures like that!
    Stoikurt
    "Work to Live...Don't Live to Work!"

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by stoikurt View Post
    Wow, that's great. I can't even imagine temperatures like that!
    You don't get those in Panama City?

    That's alright, they would melt in Panama City in July.
    Youngblood AT2000

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    where in your clothing order did you wear the Precip jacket and pants?

  6. #6
    MacEntyre's Avatar
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    Kurt, great report!

    I have three questions, if you don't mind...

    Did you have any trouble getting the tension of the UC right when you added the sleeping bag between the pads?

    Did you prepare your feet inside the hammock, or before entering?

    How in the world did you get into the stock hammock with all that gear inside?
    - MacEntyre
    "We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." - Ben Franklin
    www.MollyMacGear.com

  7. #7
    Senior Member hikingjer's Avatar
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    Question

    Wow!, -27 F and warm at night.

    A lot of that gear you'd have to carry anyway if sleeping on the ground. Do you know about how much lighter your load would've been if you slept on the ground?

  8. #8
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by lazarus View Post
    where in your clothing order did you wear the Precip jacket and pants?
    Directly on top of the base layer, i.e. as close to skin as possible, yet not directly touching the skin. Beneath all the fleece and polypro layers.

    --Kurt

  9. #9
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by MacEntyre View Post
    Did you have any trouble getting the tension of the UC right when you added the sleeping bag between the pads?
    Did you prepare your feet inside the hammock, or before entering?
    How in the world did you get into the stock hammock with all that gear inside?
    I never tension the UC. I pull the prusiks to tension the tarp and the UC gets what it gets.

    I prepare my feet before entering. When I enter I slip off the shell of my pac boots leaving the liners on, and sleep with them on. In the morning I have nice toasty boots

    I simply back into the hammock. Its really not a problem. The problem is getting into the gear once I'm in.

    --Kurt

  10. #10
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by hikingjer View Post
    A lot of that gear you'd have to carry anyway if sleeping on the ground. Do you know about how much lighter your load would've been if you slept on the ground?
    That was kinda my goal, to re-purpose as many items as possible. I'm cheap.

    Maybe a pound or two lighter on the ground. My Thermarest Prolite-4 for ground dwelling is 2 lbs, my tent is 1 lb heavier than my HH. Subtract the extra down bag, SS, a few clothing layers, probably get to 1-2 lbs less than my HH weight.

    The difference is negligible when I'm carrying close to 50 lbs on my back. Its the difference of a 1-liter water bottle full versus empty...

    --Kurt

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