Need opinions

**WV Mountaineer** · 04-14-2013, 13:05

Been trying to come up with some things to use an underquilt. I am definitely a tight wad with very limited sewing ability. I have no desire to try and tackle making an underquilt. I have even less desire to pay big bucks for one. I was laying in my hammock this morning and it was cool with a breeze. I noticed when the wind wasn't blowing, I was warm, when it did, I could feel it through the hammock pretty easily. Temp was around 45. So trying to come up with a cheap, packable, good alternative to get me in to 20 or lower, I realized keeping the wind off was upmost importance. Something the standard quilts do not do. Sure you could just beat it with insulation, but how much lighter could one go in quilt weights if one could create an air chamber heated by body heat to not escape, cold air to not penetrate?

I'm new at this, but it seems to me that a US military bivy cover would fit the bill nicely. Correct me if I'm wrong but, if you were able to block the wind, and create a baffle of warm air heated by your body in this underquilt or perhaps a cacoon style bag encomposing the whole hammock, it would have to suffice for temps many use a bulky underquilt for wouldn't it? You could add a space blanket in truly cold weather. Am I being to speculative, or am I on to something here? And this may have already been covered. I don't know. If it has, a link would be great to review.

Just trying to find ways to do this cheaper yet effectively. As a good night sleep is important when hunting all day, which is what brought me to the hammock in the first place. Tell me what you think please. God bless

**dragon360** · 04-14-2013, 15:57

Using a bivy as a sock? I suppose that could work (not sure the size of the bivy). Many people use walmart pads, heard of a few using reflectix - those might be worth a try and cheaap as well.

**Red Wing** · 04-14-2013, 16:11

My brother has used his GI bivy in his hammock before with good results. For combating convection it definitely worked, but you still have the crushing insulation problem.

+19 on the reflectix. I found a 20" wide 25' long roll for 15.00 at Home Depot in the housing insulation section. That's enough for 4, 6' mats. So that's just under 4.00 a mat. I'm still on my first mat and it's been out 3 times, 4 nights and going strong. R-value of 3.7 which takes you below freezing. Also pliable enough if you wanted to just jam it in your sleeping bag to keep it under you, you can and doesn't really cost you any space like an inflatable or CCF.

I'd experiment with some reflectix before the gortex. Reflectix is very backpackable and cheap.

Good luck

**DuctTape** · 04-14-2013, 17:36

Google "garlington insulator" I use a poncho to make the taco.

'nuff said.

**WV Mountaineer** · 04-14-2013, 18:09

I built a double layer hammock so I could stuff a pad in between and keep it out of the hammock itself. I'm gonna give the reflextic a look. Gonna google garlington insulator, get another bivy sack and do some splicing if I was going to go for a cacoon, or just cut and sew, (urgh) if I decided to use it as an underquilt. Love to hear some more ideas too. God Bless

**SnrMoment** · 04-14-2013, 19:34

A hammock sock made Fronkey bug net style will help a lot with a pad.
Material is taselite nylon from WMT for $2.00/yd. Cost for the entire sock was about $20.00 and the sewing was really simple.
Plus, it snugs up from the inside and you can do it from inside the hammock.

**SilvrSurfr** · 04-14-2013, 20:25

Originally Posted by WV Mountaineer

So trying to come up with a cheap, packable, good alternative to get me in to 20 or lower, I realized keeping the wind off was upmost importance. Something the standard quilts do not do. Sure you could just beat it with insulation, but how much lighter could one go in quilt weights if one could create an air chamber heated by body heat to not escape, cold air to not penetrate?

I'm new at this, but it seems to me that a US military bivy cover would fit the bill nicely. Correct me if I'm wrong but, if you were able to block the wind, and create a baffle of warm air heated by your body in this underquilt or perhaps a cocoon style bag encomposing the whole hammock, it would have to suffice for temps many use a bulky underquilt for wouldn't it? You could add a space blanket in truly cold weather. Am I being to speculative, or am I on to something here? And this may have already been covered. I don't know. If it has, a link would be great to review.

Just trying to find ways to do this cheaper yet effectively. As a good night sleep is important when hunting all day, which is what brought me to the hammock in the first place. Tell me what you think please. God bless

I think you're starting with some fundamental misconceptions, like keeping the wind off is most important. Cold is cold, and wind will make the cold worse, but they're two different issues.

Personally, I don't expect my hammock, nor quilt nor pad, to block the wind. In fact, the coldest nights I've been out, there was no wind (I've been down to 3 degrees). I expect my tarp to block the wind, which is why I have a 4-season tarp. I'm considering a winter sock, probably of 1.1 oz ripstop, to take me lower than my record three degrees.

Underquilts bulky? A pad and a bivy will probably be four times the volume of an underquilt, not to mention probably four times the weight. There's no comparison, in my experience.

I've gone down to 22 degrees with just a pad and a 0* synthetic sleeping bag. During that same trip my friend did the same, but he also had a bivy inside the hammock (he doesn't care about weight, which is why his pack usually comes in at 50 lbs for an overnighter).

Needless to say, condensation is a major issue for most folks with pads, space blankets, etc., so expect to wake up wet. Neither your pad, bivy nor space blanket will be breathable.

A pod/cocoon sounds like a good idea, but I have my doubts about whether I could get a diagonal lay. Shug has a couple of vids on this:

Like you, I started out with tremendous sticker shock at the cost of underquilts, so don't feel alone. I spent a full year and a half saying I'd never buy one, but eventually decided to save up my pennies and try one.

There's a reason that underquilts evolved, because most find the UQ the most effective way to stay warm in a hammock, while avoiding condensation.

**Red Wing** · 04-14-2013, 20:50

Underquilts bulky? A pad and a bivy will probably be four times the volume of an underquilt, not to mention probably four times the weight. There's no comparison, in my experience.

A) depends on the UQ, synthetic can be significantly more bulky than the down. However, my Downmat UL LW packs smaller than my old regular 0* incubator and is .5lbs lighter than my incubator.

B) Better comparison is UQ+Tarp vs. Pad+Bivy. I personally agree but it's not 4x heavier for other things in the price-point of the pad+bivy option.

C) Condensation isn't an issue for everyone. Since I've got a working replacement pad, I've had no condensation issues. Also using a full reflectix pad, I had no condensation issues. They do have great thermal ability and little breathability so if weather is warm enough you're getting wet from condensation, take off more layers.

But I agree, your tarp should be blocking the wind, if not, get a under-cover for 30.00 from 2QZQ instead of a gor-tex bivy.

my .02

**flannery** · 04-15-2013, 13:02

I like the ThermaRest Ridge Rest pad. Give the combination of CCF with a silvered, reflective side that really helps with warmth! Its bulky but for a CCF pad its one of the more comfortable I've used!