I just bought 2 walmart pads for a total of 16 dollars. Added an extension at the foot end since I'm tall. Tried adding wings, but the pad wouldn't roll up with them on. So all I do is stick the wings in the sleeping bag. Unfortunately I haven't been able to try it yet. Someone borrowed my hammock for another trip. Groundwellers.....
Hammock camping. Camping in comfort.
Has anyone ever tried to sew a pad liner in their hammock and if so how did it work out?
Has anyone ever tried to sew a pad liner in their hammock and if so how did it work out?
Yes all the time...its called a double layer hammock.
I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !
I bought a 27" wide ccf pad from Walley World and a Neat Sheet from Walgreens years ago and made a Frost Neat SPE (segmented pad extender). I cut the wings from my older 20" wide ccf pad.
My Risk DIY Zhammock was great for holding the pad between the layers. I need to get a friend who sews to make me another since I had to retire the original due to wear (years of monthly camping). Currently using an ENO. I miss the double layers!
I agree the bulkiness is a pain sometimes but have been very comfortable with it here in central FL. I add my truck windshield sunshade (reflectix looks like) under it for more insulation when needed.
I bought a Big Agnes inflatable insulated pad (20" wide, 2 1/2" thick) to reduce the packed size but have had problems staying on it, even with it partially inflated like the members here say to do. I need to try it doubled with the 27" pad in the SPE and see if it helps. Wish I had thought of that last weekend. It was approaching 32 degrees here and would have been a good test.
Also working on a PLUQ. I have to get my suspension right. Tried my own thing but I need to go back to the thread here and make it the same. My plan didn't work out to good.
The wider pad with the wings have really worked for me. The wings keep my arms and shoulders from getting cold. When I get the PLUQ suspension right that will add to the temp rating of the pads. I had my sister sew a large button hole in the middle and I have used it like a poncho to supplement my clothing on cold nights playing Uno with the other Scout leaders. So the PLUQ is a multi-use keeper even though pads are my main insulation.
____________
Numbers 35:34
You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell...
"You can lead a man to Congress, but you can't make him think." - Milton Berle
"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)
This thread has been very informative. but alas the best advice I've gained from it is I will have to try out both methods and see which one I like best. That being said I've not used my hammock in cold weather yet. The coldest I've been is high 40's and that was swing'n over a limestone rock by a creek bed with a cotton sheet and a 70/30 wool synthetic blend blanket. The blanket I used under me with both sides wrapping around on top. I use the sheet over the top of me inside the blanket. I was snug as bug in a rug. I even got too warm a couple of times and had to open the blanket up. But I am a human radiator when I sleep.
Because they are shifty....
Yeah, the trouble with advice is that if you can tell good advice from bad then you probably didn't need the advice.Originally Posted by scoffman
I change diagonals several times a night. I'd need an X shaped pad. Got an underquilt and I'm all set for comfort.
Does the OCF pad that comes with the HH UC system slide around as much as the pads being described in this thread? it would appear that the pad straps would keep it in place.
Also, does the OCF pad breathe better than the CCF pads so that it produces less condensation issues?
Good info in this thread!
There certainly are a lot of people here that give pads a bad rap. Though in this thread the typical arguments have been presented better.
Why do I believe the Church of the Underquilt (CotUQ) parishioners constantly come into the pad forums extolling the superiority of the UQ?
I would like to point outside of the realm of hammocks to other consumer products, such as audio products from Bose and Beats and/or Dyson vacuums. "It is worth a 10X investment" has to be argued loudly and frequently or one might feel they invested frivolously / got duped. If one spends $250 - $300 for bottom insulation as compared to the $20 - $30 that we lowly pad sleepers paid for ours, we simply cannot be as comfortable. To me these arguments are akin to one arguing the booze in the hotel room minibar is worth the markup.
I want to stress that these are my opinions, and I am a noob. I've been on the forum for a bit over a year, and have one season hanging under my belt. I've been down to the mid 30's in my hammock. I have slept on both and personally would rather spend my laundered outdoor gear funds elsewhere. I replaced my aging Kelty backpack with an Osprey Xenith pack last week. There are certainly great backpacks that can be had for a lot less money: I probably could have bought a perfectly good backpack and an underquilt for the price of this pack. I won't go onto an external frame backpack forum and extoll theirs simply can't be as comfortable as they lack the Bioform hipbelt, LightWire frame, and Airscape backpanel.
I use the 1/4" GG CCF pad in my Double layer hammock - for me this solves almost all the "issues" that the CoTUQ parishioners incessantly point out.
"I move around a lot and the pad slides out". - Pad in a DL hammock does not slide out. As another poster commented, "The complaints about the pad moving around are hammock issues, not pad issues". Triangles fix UQ sag, and it would be ridiculous for me to post in the UQ forum about their inferiority because of sag drafts. It is equally ridiculous to talk about pad slip - it can be resolved and easily.
"CCF pads are Sticky and uncomfortable to lay on" - DL hammock solves that, you are on the hammock, not the pad.
"My shoulders get cold / I shift diagonals and would have to re-orientate the pad." The GG pad is 39" wide, I can shift diagonals easily. There are many other cottage industry and home made solutions to get a wide mat that allows for shifting and/or shoulder insulation.
"An underquilt is like sleeping on a soft fluffly cloud." Unless I used it wrong, the underquilt is kept under the hammock. The loft of an UQ cannot cushion the hammock above it, less its insulation be compressed. There is no extra softness provided by an underquilt because your weight is on the hammock with both UQs and pads. A thin 1/4" pad allows the hammock to conform to your body like a fuzzy fluffy cloud just as well as an UQ.
"Condensation" - Neatsheet..
"Bulk" - my thin CCF pad folded in half is less than 20" wide, and still rolls up small enough to easily attach to the pad straps on my backpack. It also fits inside my pack around the interior perimeter if, for some reason I don't want it attached on the outside.
UQs and Pads are both fine methods to insulate your hammock. If you use a pad properly, you should be able to overcome the "shortcomings". At the same time, many prefer an underquilt. In my opinion neither is superior.
Could someone help me off of this soap box?
-Matt-
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