BMBH and Open Cell Foam Pad

Just got my BMBH last week, and I want to say it's really super comfortable. Great extra fast delivery. First I tried it without a pad in the sleeve and a down uq I made out of an old REI rectangular long sized down bag. It was great and kept me warm down to 40 degrees F. I am sure it will work way lower with the 2 1/2 lbs of duck down. On a side note, I bought two of these bags way back in the early '70s, and they are still great sleeping bags and have held up well under a lot of abuse. They're duck down, not goose down, which I believe equates to the lower fill power goose down. Anyway, they measure 52" by 79" for the Long, not sure about the length on the regular size one I have. All I had to do to mod it is add a grosgrain channel to the bottom of the bag for a shock cord and replace the drawstring at the top with shock cord and sewed four grosgrain loops at the corners. It works great. I like to add a windshield reflector screen in the pad pocket to get me an inch more shoulder room. Maybe in the summer forget the uq and just use the reflector and poncho liner top quilt. This rig is great for tossing in my fishing boat and island camping!

Hey, great to hear of another BMBH fan and that you are enjoying that unique bridge feel! You have joined a somewhat small subset of hammock users!

I see that you are converting down bags to UQs, but is there a question or comment in here about an open cell foam pad?

Spent three nights in the BMBH while fishing/camping in the CM Russell Wildlife Refuge on the Missouri River in Central Montana. I had discovered that a pad gives me more shoulder room in it, but was afraid of the nonbreathability of the pad beneath me, so I tried an open cell Slumberjack camp rest type pad in it for three nights. It worked great, no condensation.

Im going to be trying this 2/3 pad on my next trip with a 40 deg top quilt. http://simage1.sportsmansguide.com/a.../202177_ts.jpg

We'll see how it goes, I definitely like the idea of shoulder room. So far though I have had zero complaints with this hammock.

I wonder if there's some "breathable" pads around that are 26" wide, something with a little stiffness, like the windshield reflector, to give that extra little bit of width to the BMBH shoulder area. I tried a slumberjack self inflating foam pad which seems to be made of open cell foam, but it's big and bulky. It would be nice to have something less bulky.

Open cell is going to either be very heavy to get the support or compress easily so it will offer little insulation in the pressure points of shoulders and hips. You could try a laminated pad with a thin closed cell under the open cell. That way you have the insulation in the closed cell and some moisture transport in the open. Not sure how you will like it. Closed cell will always be stiffer than open cell because of the trapped gas bubbles.

I've tried several pads to try and widen the lay in the shoulder area and by far the most comfortable and lightest is the Neoair large. You can dial the firmness and squeeze so easily with this pad it is almost unreal how comfy you can get. I call it the sleep by numbers hammock with this pad, you just let out a little air from just under firm when you insert it until you find "the spot". You can let out little bits of air while lying in it by reaching out and giving the valve a little twist to deflate it until you find your spot. The only draw back I can find is the crinkly noise that the pad puts off when you shift around, definitely kills the stealth of hanging.

Went on a four-day float trip down the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, temps in the mid 30s to mid 40's at night and used a windshield reflector with 3/4 synthetic fill uq I made out of a down alt throw blanket, a poncho liner, plus a 4x5 piece of Insulbrite with the BMBH. Got cold. I wished I had brought the down sleeping bag for top quilt but was trying to save weight and bulk. It seemed like I would sweat a little for some reason, then get chilled. I figured it was probably the WS reflector, so I may go back to my open cell foam pad (which is bulky) but only had to carry it from boat to camp site. It's a small boat (14 ft, 8 hp.) Caught some nice saugers! Or I just might ditch the whole pad idea. I don't know if one inch extra width in the shoulder area is worth the trouble!

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Originally Posted by Chammocks

Went on a four-day float trip down the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, temps in the mid 30s to mid 40's at night and used a windshield reflector with 3/4 synthetic fill uq I made out of a down alt throw blanket, a poncho liner, plus a 4x5 piece of Insulbrite with the BMBH. Got cold. I wished I had brought the down sleeping bag for top quilt but was trying to save weight and bulk. It seemed like I would sweat a little for some reason, then get chilled. I figured it was probably the WS reflector, so I may go back to my open cell foam pad (which is bulky) but only had to carry it from boat to camp site. It's a small boat (14 ft, 8 hp.) Caught some nice saugers! Or I just might ditch the whole pad idea. I don't know if one inch extra width in the shoulder area is worth the trouble!

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I bet a simple WM blue pad ( with nothing else ) in the pad pocket would have got you thru the night OK, if not double thickness under just the torso for sure would have. You will maybe need a wider pad or a separate strip of CCF for your shoulders.

But were you cold on your back, or was it a draft or inadequate insulation problem on top? What did you have for top warmth?

I had a poncho liner, along with a sheet of Insulbrite or window insulation stuff. I was cold on top it and my feet got cold. I'll try the WM pad, and I may buy two at only $11 each or so and try half of one crossways at the shoulders. I bet that would give you extra shoulder room and plenty of insulation. I was just trying to keep from carrying a 3 or 4 lb. sleeping bag and use the poncho liner/Insulbrite for the top.
Thanks Billy Bob