Help with making a down hammock

[Preacha Man]

Hey guys, After tossing around the idea of getting a peapod or using a quilt system, I think I have finally landed on making a down hammock with a top quilt. I am a very cold sleeper so I think I would need more than the 6 ounces that Jeff used in his, and I would need it to go from my head to my toes. I know for weight savings this does not help, but I get cold :D.

My current idea is to use 1.9 ounce DWR on the bottom, with darts to have around a 4-5 inch loft. I am leaning more to 9-12 ounces of ed speers 900fp down, and maybe one baffle near my shoulders and head.

Are there any suggestions, or fatal flaws to my plan? Is there an easier way to stay warmer that I've never heard of? Are there better/cheaper places to get quality down?

Thanks for all your suggestions and comments and I will keep ya'll posted with pics on how it is turning out.

[txulrich]

My current idea is to use 1.9 ounce DWR on the bottom, with darts to have around a 4-5 inch loft. I am leaning more to 9-12 ounces of ed speers 900fp down, and maybe one baffle near my shoulders and head.

You're gonna want more than one baffle. Down will move a lot and w/o the baffles, it will settle to the bottom. This will result in some pretty good cold spots. I would go with a baffle about every 6 inches.

The fill number is the minimum space 1 oz of down will fill. The calculation (if I remember it correctly) for the amount of down you need is, oz=LxWxH/fp. Let's suppose you make your baffles 4'x7'. That would be 84x48x4/900=17.9 oz of down. If you go 5" loft, then you need 22.4 oz.


Are there any suggestions, or fatal flaws to my plan? Is there an easier way to stay warmer that I've never heard of? Are there better/cheaper places to get quality down?

Thanks for all your suggestions and comments and I will keep ya'll posted with pics on how it is turning out.

You can also get down at http://www.thru-hiker.com/insulation.html. Some will argue that 900pf down really doesn't exist. The difference between 800 and 900 isn't a whole lot. So buy where you can get the best price.

[Coffee]

I second the more baffles idea. My UQ has baffles every 7.8".

I ordered down through www.featherind.com . It came to around $5 an oz, they have a 2 lbs min order, only take visa, and there may be an import charge (I did not have one) I started a thread somewhere on this.

[Preacha Man]

Thanks, but some leave out baffles so that they can move the down where they need it. Jeff and I think Risk did this. Oh well thats why I posted this thing. My wife can sew anything, she just needs me to tell her what haha. I think I will use 12 ounces and then make the darts to fit it. Thanks also for letting me know about thru-hiker, I will look them up right now :)

[Coffee]

I'll let Jeff chime in on this. I think the reason he went without baffles is not to stress the bottom of the hammock. I forgot about that on my previous post. You may want to look into this before you sew anything.

Also not to talk you out of it, but do a quick weight comparison for an underquilt vs a down hammock. I think the weight saving is only going to be around 6oz. Great for the ultralighter or single season use. But for me and my uses it takes away too much versitility. But if it works for you than it is the best option.

[Preacha Man]

Thanks, It is so easy for me to make a hammock now that I will probably make an underquilt later for lighter temps, and still have the down hammock as well. I like to fiddle with things and today am making my own backpack. My current Gregory Acadia weighs 4.5 pounds, and the one I am making weighs around 1/2 pound.

Joe, thanks for showing me thru-hiker's down, but for the same price I will go with Ed's. I already copy his hammocks, might as well throw some business to him.

[Just Jeff]

I don't use any baffles in the second version and it doesn't cause me any problems. I just squish some down up around my shoulders when I get in and I'm usually good. If I move around a lot and it's cold, I sometimes need to do it again in the middle of the night, but at Trail Days the low was 34 and I didn't wake up at all.

But my insulation pocket also stops at my knees...if it goes all the way to your feet, you'll probably at least need one up near the end. Suggestions:
- Don't sew the baffles to the hammock body. Sew them as a pocket on the shell.
- If you always lay on the same side, you don't need the baffle to go all the way across or down the hammock. For example, my feet almost always go to the right side of the hammock, so I don't need any insulation on the left side of the foot end. That'll save a bit of weight, and cost of down.

Even if you sleep cold, you don't need the insulated pocket to go to your feet...just carry a sit pad or torso pad. Condensation isn't much of an issue down there b/c you don't have a lot of body contact on the pad (for me, at least). And I like the idea of having a sit pad anyway. Plus, a small pad is lighter than the equivalent area of insulation+shell you'll need for the lower half of the hammock. But that's just the way I do it...doesn't mean it'll fit your needs.

USE ZIGZAG STITCHES to allow the body to stretch w/o causing a hole in the fabric...since the shell and straight stitches won't stretch with the body.

Minimize backstitching. Try to sew the shell to the body in one long stitch, putting the backstitch at a place that doesn't get much stretch. Mine is at the head end on the side I don't lay on. Just inspect the perimeter often to make sure the threads aren't getting loose.

My homemade uninsulated Speer-type plus JRB and suspension system is about 34 oz. My down hammock is 19 oz. Add a ~6 oz torso pad and I'm good to the same temps...maybe lower, plus I have a torso pad that I use more often than I expected to just sitting around.

So the weight will be similar, probably slightly in favor of the down hammock if you insulate it full length. Pro is you have a sit pad and no installation or fit issues, con is you need to spend another 15 minutes sewing an uninsulated hammock for summer. Also, most Speer-types can be folded in half to use as a chair, just like the HH. Putting the insulation pocket on there makes this uncomfortable...so you'll have to sit inside the hammock instead of in lounger mode.

I used 1.9 oz untreated ripstop for the hammock body, and 1.1 oz DWR ripstop for the bottom shell. I think I've had 1-2 quills come through the untreated ripstop after...I dunno, 20 nights (?) in this one. Less leakage than I've had with my down bags and quilts.

[Preacha Man]

Jeff, Thanks for all your help! I have got a lot of advice from your and risk's page. Making another hammock is no problem at all, it seems that making one comes naturally now lol. I really like the weight savings I should experience with making a down hammock. Thanks Again

[FanaticFringer]

Thanks, It is so easy for me to make a hammock now that I will probably make an underquilt later for lighter temps, and still have the down hammock as well. I like to fiddle with things and today am making my own backpack. My current Gregory Acadia weighs 4.5 pounds, and the one I am making weighs around 1/2 pound.

Joe, thanks for showing me thru-hiker's down, but for the same price I will go with Ed's. I already copy his hammocks, might as well throw some business to him.

I'm jealous. My pack weighs 10.5 oz.:D

[Preacha Man]

I used 1.9 oz untreated ripstop for the hammock body, and 1.1 oz DWR ripstop for the bottom shell. I think I've had 1-2 quills come through the untreated ripstop after...I dunno, 20 nights (?) in this one. Less leakage than I've had with my down bags and quilts.
Can I just spray a good DWR on the same fabric as my hammock so that it matches? Or would it be better to get some actual DWR fabric?

[slowhike]

preacha man... if you like you could take a look at this thread about the down hammock i made.
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=255
if you click on my gallery beside my name, then go to page 10 you'll see pictures of it.
i also started a thread about my second down hammock, talking about what i planed to do different, but i never got around to making it yet.
when i do, i'll probably do something like what i described in the 2nd down hammock thread. ...tim

[Coffee]

All this talk is moving the down hammock close to the top of my DIY list this winter.

I think I could take out over a pound out of my winter pack with a down hammock with the down going from my head to my butt. I could use a ccp that I use as a frame in my pack underneath my legs. Then I could use my 3.5" loft quilt as a top quilt. That would make my really toasty.

[Preacha Man]

Slow Hike, Thanks for all the great info. I will keep you guys posted on my progress. I plan on my hammock having around 12 ounces of 900 down and my top quilt having 9 ounces. I really want to be warm.

Engineer, if you make yours before me keep us updated :)

[slowhike]

All this talk is moving the down hammock close to the top of my DIY list this winter.

I think I could take out over a pound out of my winter pack with a down hammock with the down going from my head to my butt. I could use a ccp that I use as a frame in my pack underneath my legs. Then I could use my 3.5" loft quilt as a top quilt. That would make my really toasty.

i can't quite get away from the need to have insulation all the way down to my feet for really cold weather.
but if your hammock didn't compress the lower part of the sleeping bag, i guess it would do just fine. i've thougt about using a treking pole spreader at the foot end for that reason.
i may play around w/ that next winter too.

[Coffee]

i can't quite get away from the need to have insulation all the way down to my feet for really cold weather.
but if your hammock didn't compress the lower part of the sleeping bag, i guess it would do just fine. i've thougt about using a treking pole spreader at the foot end for that reason.
i may play around w/ that next winter too.

My thoughts are what you are saying about the bottom of my top quilt, plus I usually put something underneath my knees anyways.

I think I will do some testing attaching my UQ different lengths until I find something that works.

[Just Jeff]

The sit pad provides the insulation under legs/feet...so it's still there, just in a different (and multi-use) form.

PreachaMan - you could use the spray...that would help with the wind resistance. But you could also cut a few ounces by using 1.1 oz instead of 1.9 oz, if weight is a consideration for you.

[slowhike]

The sit pad provides the insulation under legs/feet...so it's still there, just in a different (and multi-use) form.

PreachaMan - you could use the spray...that would help with the wind resistance. But you could also cut a few ounces by using 1.1 oz instead of 1.9 oz, if weight is a consideration for you.

you mean use 1.1oz for the outer shell but still use 1.9oz for the hammock itself don't you jeff?

[Preacha Man]

Thanks a lot, I have some spray already, and that would make it a lot easier. Yes I was plannin on 1.9 for the hammock body, but 1.1 for the outer shell and top quilt. Thanks guys you are really helping out a lot :)

[Just Jeff]

Yes, Tim - that's what I meant. Thanks for clarifying that.