Minimum Temp for no bottom insulation

[paper]

Oddly enough, I'm doing the same.. I just made one on Sunday and I'm trying it out this weekend at the National Moto Guzzi Rally.. It's only supposed to get down to 15C at the coolest, so I don't think it'll be a problem..



I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts after using it in that cool of weather. I made mine with a micro fiber sheet inside as a baffle.. Some insulation, but also a wind barrier, I'm looking forward to finding out how cold it'll be and still be comfortable. Like you, I'm new to this, also.

And what part of Australia are you located? I did some work in Maryvalle paper mill back around Christmas of 1999, staying in Morewell, VIC.. Would love to get back again.

[FLRider]

FLRider - can you tell us more about your poncho and space blanket? I am new to hammock camping and don't want CBS, but living in Louisiana I don't really think I need too much under me...

Sure. I made my own hammock and insulation system, loosely based on Garlington's early work (google "Garlington Insulator" for the longer version) in using a sil layer with a couple of space blankets inside of trash bags suspended in it. Mine's really a semi-Garlington; I skip the trash bags.

My poncho gets suspended underneath the hammock via my own suspension system (I use short elastic lengths with bra eyes attached to them; the hooks go on the stuff I suspend from it), but plain old shock cord will work just fine. A crumpled-up space blanket goes into the poncho, to help reduce gross air movement. Total weight penalty over and above my normal rain gear? ~1.5 oz. It also allows me to get by with a tiny tarp; my diamond asym is smaller, proportionately speaking, than Hennessy's stock tarps. So, I save ~4 oz over what I would normally consider the smallest tarp comfortable for howling thunderstorm weather with this set-up (and I've been in some howling thunderstorms; I tested this in the edge of a tropical storm the first summer I was using it).

It's only good to ~50* for me, but I'd really recommend it to ~55* to ~60* F for the theoretical "average" sleeper; it doesn't actually insulate, it just prevents air movement underneath you.

Hope it helps!

[RedStix]

Thanks for the reply, FLRider. Would it be possible to attach some pictures of this setup?

[FLRider]

Thanks for the reply, FLRider. Would it be possible to attach some pictures of this setup?

Sure, just as soon as I get ten minutes in front of my computer. I'm on my mobile right now, and I might not get time until tomorrow.

[FLRider]

Thanks for the reply, FLRider. Would it be possible to attach some pictures of this setup?

Sorry for the delay; this week's been a little hectic. Here's a photo from last year's Summer's Last Gasp Hang (note: this was before I shifted from a Velcro attachment system to my bra hook and eye system; I found that the Velcro didn't want to hold at the corners, as the photo shows):



The trick is gathering the ends of the poncho; this helps seal it against the shape of the hammock, preventing air movement an water intrusion. A pair of cordlocks and some shock cord run through the hems on the short ends of the poncho will do this just fine.

Hope it helps!

[mychal]

FLRider, is the bug netting camo?

[FLRider]

FLRider, is the bug netting camo?

Yes. It's a not-bad approximation of the M82 woodland pattern, same as the hammock. I got it from Rockywoods, but I don't know if they still have it (their camo fabric selection is pretty good for folks who like that sort of thing). I've since gone over to a black net, but that's due to changing the netting style (I went from a Velcro closure to a Fronkey type) rather than because of anything wrong with the camo netting.