View Full Version : Double Layer, Speer SPE single layer or db and spe?
Chris.Biomed
04-05-2009, 10:06
If you where to use a pad with a hammock which of the following alternatives would you choose and why?
A pad with a:
-Double layer hammock
-Single layer hammock and a Speer SPE
-Double layer hammock with a Speer SPE
Mustardman
04-05-2009, 10:08
I personally don't think I would bother with an SPE - I have no need to carry all those extra little chunks of foam.
I use a pad in the pad sleeve of my double layer blackbird, and if I feel any cold spots, I have some extra clothing or my jacket stuffed into the blackbird, shelf, and I just wedge them into the cold spot. Easier and less complicated than an SPE IMO.
Cannibal
04-05-2009, 10:13
As a hiker, I'd choose the single layer hammock and a SPE.
Why: Because if I chose to go to ground, the SPE would make the night a little more bearable as I wouldn't be 'trapped' on a narrow pad.
As a camper, I'd go with the double layer hammock.
Why: Well, presumably, there would be no reason to go to ground and the double layers do a really good job of keeping the pad in place.
That's just me, but do you really want to take advice from a guy that swears the ground is an evil plot of some kind when the only reason he gives is an "if you have to go to ground" answer. :rolleyes::laugh:
Chris.Biomed
04-05-2009, 10:24
Was out for a short hike in the woods testing out my Clark NA for the first time and I was also going to try my poncho to use as an emergency tarp. And guess what, I couldn't find a place for me to set up the poncho! With the Clark I had too many trees to pick from but a nice bit of level ground was scarce. Just goes to show that "the ground is an evil plot" ;)
riverkeeper
04-05-2009, 11:39
I only hike and that is usually in cool, <40 night temps.
My hammocks are single bottom and I often use a DIY SPE sans the little foam insert thingies....clothing fills those voids. One of our RidgeRests does the pad job and would be useful in the highly unlikely event I go to ground. A short thin Speer pad is added when temps well below 30* are expected.
Single layer and an SPE .... what I started with and works ... most of my backpacking is in cool to cold weather. One to two pads depending on conditions.