First Winter Overnight Hang

**Shug** · 01-31-2010, 21:21

Nice Raul .... nice. Way to embrace that c-c-c-cold!
Lots of terrific debriefing as well.
I love my MB inner down jacket.
A weathershield under the hammock and over the Yeti may have helped you out some ...cuts the wind a lot and boosts warmth a wee bit. Made mine ... 7 ounces. Ripstop nylon.
On my Winter Yeti I really shortened the shock cord so it snugs up to me real tight!!! It seems weird when your not in the hammock ... as the hammock hangs high.... but it is key to my deep winter comfort in it. Settle right in.
Yeah ... the moisture control in winter hiking is critical and takes some practice and discipline ..... good job on that.
Bet you were glad to have that extra down jacket. I always have a parka or second vest in extreme cold. Sometimes use it over my feet or whatever if i get a cold part on my body. Has helped from time to time.
Glad for your awesome winter romp!
Shug

**SmokeHouse** · 01-31-2010, 21:39

There’s nothing like Winter backpacking…great memories… Thanks for the report and video.

**BillyBob58** · 01-31-2010, 22:50

What Shug said about tightening the Yeti. I have the original synthetic version of the Yeti. It works great, but to get any where near it's temp potential, I have found that I have to tighten it up far more than what seems natural. Once I get it tight enough, it really cooks. I think if it is not pretty darn tight ( enough to lift an empty hammock 2 or 3 feet ) it lets cold air in on the ends, or something. I find that if I am sitting or laying in it, and I am only able to push it down further below the hammock with my hands a few inches more, that is about right. Maybe this is what hindered you fro as much warmth as you were expecting? Or maybe not, maybe you are just a cold sleeper. Have you ever tried the MW4 in similar temps?

In addition, two other things to watch out for: If you head or pillow hits the left head end suspension cord and pushes it down, it can cause a head end gap. I make sure the suspension cord is OVER my pillow, if they are in contact at all. And of course, I'm sure you already know, if the quilt slips up too far towards the head end, or foot end, you will have a gap that lets cold air in.

Have somebody look at it while you lay in it. If you have even minor gaps on the end, and it is positioned correctly ( top of quilt about shoulder level), try tightening that sucker up. Then hopefully you will have warm back syndrome!

**warbonnetguy** · 01-31-2010, 23:15

any warbonnet quilt, other than the ones that are over a year old, should already have the appropriate amount of cord on them to provide the correct tension on a blackbird or traveler or any 10' hammock. if the quilt is up near the top of you head, it will vent, if it's down near your neck/shoulders it should be plenty snug. i don't believe it can gap at the foot end unless you have the shockcord running under your legs.

if you had a distinctive cold spot, that's a sign of an air gap/fit issue. if it was an even cool feeling, it's because you're at the limit of the quilt for you. i personally am a cold sleeper and will feel cold in the teens with a quilt that others take to below zero. in my experience, reaching the limit of a quilt is more of a slight dull cold that creeps up on you over time, my entire back will slowly get cool and then it will progress until my entire body is cold. a cold spot caused by an air gap feels quite different, it will be felt quicker and colder and be more localized in the area specific to where the leak/air pocket is (upper shoulders, under the knees, ect).

having the tieouts unstaked shouldn't do anything, neither should having one end of the hammock higher than the other.

**tbone** · 01-31-2010, 23:27

Nice trip report. 10 degrees is nothing to shrug at , that will still put hair on your chest.

**BillyBob58** · 02-01-2010, 13:15

Originally Posted by warbonnetguy

.............. in my experience, reaching the limit of a quilt is more of a slight dull cold that creeps up on you over time, my entire back will slowly get cool and then it will progress until my entire body is cold. a cold spot caused by an air gap feels quite different, it will be felt quicker and colder and be more localized in the area specific to where the leak/air pocket is (upper shoulders, under the knees, ect).
.....

Thanks for the tip. Useful info on what to watch out for with any quilt, info to help figure out what the problem might be.

**Raul Perez** · 02-01-2010, 19:55

Got home early today (sometimes it's a good thing I mainly audit municipalities) and decided to eval my set up. Tested the set up the same way I had it at West Mountain with the hammock not staked out. Temp was hovering around 33*. Laid in the hammock in my work clothes and my fleece hat, no gloves, and dress socks.

Made sure the Winter Yeti was flush against the hammock and laid down with the Black Mamba Winter TQ.

Results my back was nice and warm from the Yeti. The top part of my body was also warm within 5-8 minutes as my hands warmed up nicely. Felt the inside of the bag and it was also warm.

I believe I'm just a cold sleeper. Having the TQ and UQ rated at zero makes me believe I will have a very comfy sleep down to 20 degrees. A somewhat ok sleep at 15 degrees. And a fairly annoying sleep 10 degrees and below. If I go out again going below 20 degrees I will utilize the entire GG Thinlight pad for more insulation and I will add my Mountain Hardwear Conduit Bivy to the mix to ward off the frost on the TQ from my breathing condensation and to add 5 degrees of more heat.

This will go the same for my Summer set up. My 3 season Yeti will stay until the temps hit 45 degrees then I will switch out for my Winter Yeti.

My hike was an overall success. I learned my limitations with regards to my current sleep system, what to bring next time and what to leave home, and that even though my set up didnt keep me as warm as I would have liked going down to 10 degrees still kept me alive which is what it was designed for so I have to be thankful for that! And I was still only lugging around only 25.6 lbs which is totally awesome!!!

**warbonnetguy** · 02-01-2010, 20:04

Originally Posted by BillyBob58

Thanks for the tip. Useful info on what to watch out for with any quilt, info to help figure out what the problem might be.

yep, i'm an expert at being cold

**warbonnetguy** · 02-01-2010, 20:14

Originally Posted by Raul Perez

I believe I'm just a cold sleeper.

yeah, it's weird how much difference in temp range there can be between warm and cold sleepers using the exact same item. for the longest time i thought my stuff wasn't as warm as it should have been till i heard what others were able to do with it, now i know it's just me. now that i have an infared thermometer, i've found i can wake ip with a cold back and shoot the infared thermometer at the hammock fabric under my back and get a reading of high 70's low 80's. doesn't seem like that would be enough to give me a cool back but it does.

**TOB9595** · 02-01-2010, 23:11

Well done with the trip report Raul.

You're a bigger man than I at 10 degrees...
Nice weight removal with the pack.

I'm pleased that you highlighted the need for moisture control at those temps.
Wish more folk talked of this in their reports.
Thanks
Tom