Big Agnes sleeping bag w/ pad?

[ckmaui]

for me yup have to sleep in it like a bag and cant use as a TQ ? so going to sell all our BA bags and just get TQ as I sell my bags

since my post above I have only spent one night in a bed been in my hammock every night testing and trying things and can %100 see why UQ and TQ are going to be the way to go !! at least for me
so going to sell off my nice nemo pads and BA bags and go that route
been trying some home made kinda UQ and TQ things to test like anything I tend to listen to the ones who have been at it a while and they most likely been down that discovery road I am on now
but I think doing that road truly makes you appreciate and understand why the UQ and TQ setup IMHO is superior to bags and pads again IMHO not saying for everyone

my issues are the sleeve material bunches up gets in the way without a pad and makes it almost tougher to get into then without a pad or a normal bag ? I do think the BA is superior on ground setup though
but I am making stands so I never have to touch the ground again

try it out report back for sure

I have used a big agnes with pad system for most of my hammocking. I recently decided to jump into an UQ. With a pad I find that my back is warm but my shoulders get cold. I end up sleeping on my side to keep the hammock off of my shoulders and it is not as comfortable. I eventually roll onto my back then wake up with cold spots. I could carry something to cover the shoulders but that defeats the point for me personally. I really like the BA bags because they pack down better because of the lack of insulation on the back. The question now is how will my BA bag do now that I am using an UQ. I may still have to sleep in it like a sleeping bag vs opening it up like a TQ.

~HEH

[LMychajluk]

Hi, all! I'm kinda new around here. Just started getting back into camping, mostly off a motorcycle, but I may also try a little backpacking next year, and have started getting interested in hammocks. Now, my Hennesey Jungle Safari is on the FedEx truck. It would've been at my door today, but no one was home to sign... Hoping to get it in time to try out over the weekend!

Anyway, I was interested in this discussion. I don't have a BA bag, but I do have a similar, sleeved bag - the Nemo Strato Loft. I've slept on in in my underwear on the ground w/ the Cosmo Insulated pad and Nemo pillow top down to around 38, and I'm thinking it would work fairly well in the hammock as well. The double zippers may even make it a bit easier to work with than the BA bags, and it's actually a bit wider (25") than the Lost Ranger mentioned a few times in this thread, which I think is a plus(?). Now, the Jungle Safari comes with a bubble pad, but I'm thinking I would use either the Cosmo or a self-inflating Thermarest, maybe along with the pillowtop sleeve, in the Strato Loft in the hammock on top of the bubble pad. One quirk I can see with the Cosmo pad is that it has a footpump, so it may be difficult to inflate w/o putting it on the ground (i.e., in wet/muddy conditions). The Thermarest pad may be the way to go for just this reason, plus I think someone (ckmaui?) mentioned that the thicker inflatable pad tends to force air to the ends.

My one concern is that I've been reading about vapor barriers in some threads. Would using either a self-inflating or inflatable pad enhance or negate the need for this in the configuration I mentioned above? Would I still need additional insulation? I could also rig up a 'pod' out of a SOL sport utility blanket, or use it as a liner in the hammock. As a newb, I'm trying to avoid spending the money on an under-quilt for the time being, and if I can avoid it, I like having the option of just sleeping on the ground if I had to (using the tarp from the hammock, a ground cloth, and maybe a bug net hung from the tarp's ridgeline).

Great thread! Thanks for any additional feedback!

[EZbreezy]

Having the pad and sleeping bag as a go to ground option is one of the benefits of that system over an UQ.

Addressing the vapor barrier question/comment...you're on the right track putting some sort of breathable layer between you and the bubble. With the pad, you're less likely to experience condensation because you're not laying directly on the bubble.

Although you can find other 25" self-inflating pads to fit the Strato, the sleeve on the sleeping bag was designed for a thicker (3.5") pad. I'd be curious to know if the bag would roll over and then under the pad due to the excess material.

[LMychajluk]

...Although you can find other 25" self-inflating pads to fit the Strato, the sleeve on the sleeping bag was designed for a thicker (3.5") pad. I'd be curious to know if the bag would roll over and then under the pad due to the excess material.

Hmm... good point. Even if I put the Pillow Top sleeve on the Thermorest, it's probably only ~2.5-3" thick. The bubble pad that comes with the Jungle Safari is the XL size and is 35" wide at the shoulders (narrowing down to 18" at the foot), so too wide to use inside the bag's sleeve rather than the sleeve in the hammock. I suppose if the Cosmo does end up having issues, and my existing Thermarest (probably equivalent to the BaseCamp / 2" thick model) is too thin, I can try a thicker self-inflating pad (ThermaRest LuxuryMAP at 3" seems to have the right dimensions as well as a much higher R-value), or just add an additional cheap, closed-cell foam pad to the bottom.

I'm probably over-thinking all this, but that's half the fun. The other half, of course, is getting out there and trying it!