I agree that the main point of an over cover is to trap heat and block wind. I've gotten 5-10 degrees warmer inside the cover. You gotta have a vent though, both for condensation and to not suffocate. I'm curious about the fleece. Seems like a good idea but I'd also be concerned about the same issues
I've used the over cover on the Hennessy Super Shelter once so far. There was a lot of ice crystals on the bottom of it when I got up. Tonight I'm trying without the cover too see what the difference is.
I have a silnylon HH overcover for use with his SS. I use it most of the year, because it adds a lot of warmth. It has a hole in the top to breathe out of, it does not fit the hammock snugly, however, it keeps out a light dew, every time you move the over cover acts like a bellows, I think, it let fresh air in every time I move, kind of a bellows thing happening. I really like it, I am cold a lot of the time so the little bit of extra heat helps a lot. I also like that I do not feel too enclosed. I can exit in a hurry if the need arose.
"Would you say you prefer the Sock type cover to the zip type ?
Also where did you get the fleece ?"
To start with, I hate zippers. The winter fleece top is a tube type with a shock cord closure at the head and tapered a lot more than the cottage vendors' versions. The opening is 3 ft in diameter at full open. It slides along the hammock ridge line and I can vent it from above my head and pull it down to all the way open.
Yes, it's heavy, but I don't back pack it. The fleece is a medium weight and came from WMT for $2.97/yd, so it was relatively cheap to experiment with.
I've made a couple of socks out of 1.0 ripstop, but did not like them.
The summer cover weighs in at about 3 oz and works well to about freezing temps. I can also drape another piece over my head and vent the space between the two.
It does collect some condensation, but not as much as I thought it would. I keep a separate piece of the fleece under my chin and over the top quilt. It picks up a lot of the breathing moisture. One thing to consider is that Montana is very dry on the eastern front of the Rockies - ambient humidity is about 16%. Dew point is the killer, but it seldom gets there.
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My DIY cover just drapes over the RL. The other night it was 18 degrees and humid...looked like it was snowing when I got up do to the amount of crystals that built up on the inside. Other nights (cold and windy) it was perfect, so a lot will depend on the weather.
Sounds like if I start using a cover I might have to get new waterproof quilts due to the condensation! Fleece sounds cosy and warm, but the weight and bulk probably make it impractical for backpacking trips.
The zippered overcover on the ThunderBird or DangerBird allows you to zip up one side toward the wind and shove the excess fabric up over the ridgeline.
I've had good success with this method when it was too humid for an overcover, but I still wanted to block a cold breeze.
The attached mesh on mine is a bugnet in summer and an overcover in winter.
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