So I am attempting to be one of the "cool kids" ;)

[Just Jeff]

Marmots are pretty good quality. If you're wearing socks and your feet get cold, take them off. If you're not wearing socks and your feet get cold, put some on. If you're wearing more than one pair, they might be restricting the circulation so take some off.

But most of all make sure your head is warm. If you're not wearing a hat or the bag's hood, your body redistributes blood from your extremities to keep your head warm....so your head still feels warm and your feet start getting cold. Put on a hat and your feet warm up.

Sometimes people get cold feet in hammocks, too. If your feet are higher than your head, it can cause it. And the lock-knee that folks are talking about in the other thread. Also, depending on how I'm hanging, sometimes my toes stick up over the hammock body...and catch more wind than the rest of my body.

[peanuts]

i use down socks, lov em

[blackbishop351]

Its a marmot, i am unsure the exact model, but my feet stayed freezing every night. There were a couple nights in the teens. And a LOT of nights in the 20's. My upperbody if fine its my legs and feet. My toes felt like icecubes. I am thinking of going with a 20 degree down bag for the hammock, at least save on weight. Any suggestions? I have been hearing the "all bags are not created equal" thing lately.

A hot water bottle or a heat-pack works well for this problem too. I suffered from the cold feet problem for a while, but I think I've got it beat now, partly thanks to Pan and partly thanks to heat-packs.

Apparently, I was sliding toward the foot end of my hammock during the night without realizing it - Pan pointed out this issue on the Rogers trip. This compressed my top quilt, moved my feet off the underquilt, and pushed the whole bit up against my hammock sock. The combination kept my feet from warming up. Raising the foot end when I hang keeps me from sliding and eliminates this problem.

Then I ran into a new problem - middling to bad circulation in my feet. Because my feet are now elevated, I don't get as much warm blood flow down there. So when it's good and cold outside (20* or less) and my feet are cold before I go to bed, they don't warm up. Solution? Heat-packs. Extra weight, but more convenient than water bottles and I'm not using up valuable fuel. I open the heat pack, roll back my outer sock forming a pocket (on one foot) and insert. Both feet are toasty within 10 minutes or so.

Hope that helps!

[blackie]

i have always found that if my feet are cold i need more insulation on my head...rock star i didn't see where you were wearing anything on your head..try a micro fiber cap..ect it may help the cold feet problem..just a guess but it cant hurt to try..

[RockStar]

Actually I wear a balaclave and find that I usually sleep with my head and shoulders exposed b/c I get too hot. yet my toes are little icecubes. i thought about bringing a hand warmer and when i wake with icecube toes, tossing one in a sock down by my feet. I usually, when I know it will be around 20 or less, go to sleep wearing the balaclava and my fleece. yet like I said, I strip out of it b/c my upper body produces some major heat. I was so confused as to why the only parts on my body staying cold were my feet, especially toes. I lost sleep b/c I couldnt warm the toes. I am looking into some down booties, gonna try those and the hand warmers this winter. Hoping that will cure it.

[blackie]

I REMEBER A STUDY DONE BY THE MARINE CORE YEARS AGO..they were loosing too many toes to frostbite ..so they conducted tests to find out why..they found that our bodies become accustomed to wearing shoes clothes ect..and that makes the body not have to pump as much warm blood to the feet to keep them warm..sort of a false idea of warmth..there solution was to retrain the body..the marine was placed in a hot bath with the hands and feet out side in a ice water bath..for 10 min...then they reversed and put the marine in a ice bath with the hands and feet in hot water..repeat for 2 hrs...after this treatment the rate of frost bite dropped like a rock...now wheither it was because they were able to train the body to pump blood to those areas when cold..or perhaps the marines themselves were simply more aware and took great care to avoid the frost bite who is to say..but i know 2 marines who went thru this training before being posted to arctic duty and they can tell you first hand... sleeping i n the arctic was nothing compared to that 2 hour training session

[blackie]

P.S. rock star i live in enterprise..if you would like to meet sometime to talk shop let me know

[RockStar]

P.S. rock star i live in enterprise..if you would like to meet sometime to talk shop let me know

SWEET! Are there any trees left to hang from after that tornado? j/k Where do you like to hike around these parts? I am thinking of taking a trip with friends to the Florida trail or a FL state park to hike for a day in April/May. I have to go see the Physical Therapist within the next 2 weeks and Ill know better when I can start putting the pack on again. Im so excited! I saw your location said Lower Alabama but, i was busy reading all the info and going to all the links for it to register.

[peanuts]

hey rockstar and blackie, come over to georgia!!! and we can meet and hang!!!

[stoikurt]

SWEET! Are there any trees left to hang from after that tornado? j/k Where do you like to hike around these parts? I am thinking of taking a trip with friends to the Florida trail or a FL state park to hike for a day in April/May. I have to go see the Physical Therapist within the next 2 weeks and Ill know better when I can start putting the pack on again. Im so excited! I saw your location said Lower Alabama but, i was busy reading all the info and going to all the links for it to register.

There is a nice section of the Florida Trail along Econfina Creek in northern Bay County and SE Washington County about a hour south of you. Also Torreya State Park south of Chattahoochee, FL is very nice. I can help you with info and maps of both if you are interested.