Mt Wash 4/ Winter Wren

Printable View

01-11-2010, 08:11
Take-a-knee

Mt Wash 4/ Winter Wren

I just came in from a little backyard hang. The overnight low was only 20 here, not the proper winter temps many here are experiencing but it's all I've got. I slept under the stars. I used my Mt Washington 4 on a hike in similar temps last month and got a touch of CBS. I emailed JRB and they promptly replied, advising me to ensure the half-hitch is as close to the end of the hammock as possible. I also clipped the two mini-biners together over the top of the hammock ridgeline as Just Jeff suggested. Last night I felt absolutely nothing but warmth. My hammock was a no-net hennessy hyperlite (thanks Gnome). I tied the side pullouts to the corresponding pullouts on the Mt Wash to keep the hammock from wadding up in the middle of the hammock as I entered. I woke up at 0230, to answer the call, I was hot. Exiting and entering a netless hammock is so effortless, and just hiking the bottom of the Wren up to relieve yourself is so easy, not to mention warm. A little cool air on your legs for a few minutes means nothing when your core is ensconced in down. I wore only running tights, thin ankle socks, a visa endurance tee shirt and a thin zip neck long sleeve tee, about what I'd start hiking with in this weather. When I re entered the hammock I left the zippers on the Wren's arm holes open and loosely closed the hood around my face. I stayed toasty until 0630 when my sheppard started licking me in the face. I got the Winter Wren from Quoddy last year, this is my first chance to use it. The base Winter Wren is rated for 25 F, Quoddy ordered this one with 2 oz (IIRC) overfill. With 2.5in baffles and the overstuff, this bag is good down to at least 10 F for me, add a down vest and who knows. Is it as warm and do I like it as well as my Rocky Mountain No Sniveler? I don't know and I'm not sure. Hopefully I'll have the low temps this winter to test. With an overnight low of 20 F the Winter Wren passed with flying colors, the Mt Washington 4 is of course good down to at least zero for a warm sleeper. A full length thermarest SPE set up on top of a Mt Wash 4 would get you down into "Shug" conditions for sure. If the Mt Washington has a downside, it is the added bulk to your pack, I can get it all in my Catalyst with 5-6 days food without a problem though.
01-11-2010, 08:48
Shug

Congrats and good report Sir.
Nothing like backwoods success. Bulk is our curse.
Shug
01-11-2010, 09:42
BillyBob58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Take-a-knee

I just came in from a little backyard hang. The overnight low was only 20 here, not the proper winter temps many here are experiencing but it's all I've got. I slept under the stars. I used my Mt Washington 4 on a hike in similar temps last month and got a touch of CBS. I emailed JRB and they promptly replied, advising me to ensure the half-hitch is as close to the end of the hammock as possible. I also clipped the two mini-biners together over the top of the hammock ridgeline as Just Jeff suggested. Last night I felt absolutely nothing but warmth. My hammock was a no-net hennessy hyperlite (thanks Gnome). I tied the side pullouts to the corresponding pullouts on the Mt Wash to keep the hammock from wadding up in the middle of the hammock as I entered. I woke up at 0230, to answer the call, I was hot. Exiting and entering a netless hammock is so effortless, and just hiking the bottom of the Wren up to relieve yourself is so easy, not to mention warm. A little cool air on your legs for a few minutes means nothing when your core is ensconced in down. I wore only running tights, thin ankle socks, a visa endurance tee shirt and a thin zip neck long sleeve tee, about what I'd start hiking with in this weather. When I re entered the hammock I left the zippers on the Wren's arm holes open and loosely closed the hood around my face. I stayed toasty until 0630 when my sheppard started licking me in the face. I got the Winter Wren from Quoddy last year, this is my first chance to use it. The base Winter Wren is rated for 25 F, Quoddy ordered this one with 2 oz (IIRC) overfill. With 2.5in baffles and the overstuff, this bag is good down to at least 10 F for me, add a down vest and who knows. Is it as warm and do I like it as well as my Rocky Mountain No Sniveler? I don't know and I'm not sure. Hopefully I'll have the low temps this winter to test. With an overnight low of 20 F the Winter Wren passed with flying colors, the Mt Washington 4 is of course good down to at least zero for a warm sleeper. A full length thermarest SPE set up on top of a Mt Wash 4 would get you down into "Shug" conditions for sure. If the Mt Washington has a downside, it is the added bulk to your pack, I can get it all in my Catalyst with 5-6 days food without a problem though.

Thanks, useful report. Can you give- or where can I get- more details
about "I emailed JRB and they promptly replied, advising me to ensure the half-hitch is as close to the end of the hammock as possible. I also clipped the two mini-biners together over the top of the hammock ridgeline as Just Jeff suggested"?

By 1/2 hitch are you referring to the first loop in the JRB shock cord suspension? And "end of hammock", would this very(EDIT: VARY ) with which hammock and how long the hammock was?

How does the " two mini-biners together over the top of the hammock ridgeline" work? I thought the mini-biners were supposed to be clipped into the fabric loops on the MW4 with a gathered end hammock?
01-11-2010, 11:01
Take-a-knee

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyBob58

Thanks, useful report. Can you give- or where can I get- more details
about "I emailed JRB and they promptly replied, advising me to ensure the half-hitch is as close to the end of the hammock as possible. I also clipped the two mini-biners together over the top of the hammock ridgeline as Just Jeff suggested"?

By 1/2 hitch are you referring to the first loop in the JRB shock cord suspension? And "end of hammock", would this very with which hammock and how long the hammock was?

How does the " two mini-biners together over the top of the hammock ridgeline" work? I thought the mini-biners were supposed to be clipped into the fabric loops on the MW4 with a gathered end hammock?

Sorry Billybob, I should have said "As close to the end of the UNDERQUILT as possible". And yes the half hitch is the standard loop used with the JRB suspension. Keeping it adjusted as close as possible to the end of the hammock helps eliminate any potential sags. By clipping the minibiners together, what I mean by that is just pulling each minibiner (leaving it attatched to the UQ tabs) up over the top of the hammock's ridgeline, and clipping one to the other, this really snugs the UQ against the hammock. This might be a potential wear problem on a hammock with a bug net, not an issue of my no net. A piece of shockcord running from biner to biner would work as well. I will try my next hang without clipping the biners together and see if it makes a cold spot.
01-11-2010, 11:24
Mustardman

Thanks for the report - I've really been interested in the Winter Wren and similar types of bags, for the reason you just gave, but it's hard to find one rated for as cold of weather as I want. I really desire something with at least 3" baffles, to match my underquilt.
01-11-2010, 12:25
BillyBob58

Thanks TAK!
01-11-2010, 12:30
Take-a-knee

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mustardman

Thanks for the report - I've really been interested in the Winter Wren and similar types of bags, for the reason you just gave, but it's hard to find one rated for as cold of weather as I want. I really desire something with at least 3" baffles, to match my underquilt.

A 2.5in baffled Winter Wren with overstuff might be a good match for a 3in baffled UQ, the Jacks say you need a bit more below than above. I intend to find out. Like I said I'm nowhere near finding out how low this system will go.

I spoke with Feathered Friends last year about a Wren type bag with taller baffles, they said the design wasn't thermally efficient enough for a subzero bag ( center zip, arm holes, larger foot box). You can order a Nunatak Raku with 3in (or taller) baffles, but we are talking some serious change. The Raku's sleeves bypass the arm hole heat loss issue, you just pull them inside the bag and use them as draft stops.
01-11-2010, 13:00
Knotty

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyBob58

By 1/2 hitch are you referring to the first loop in the JRB shock cord suspension? And "end of hammock", would this very(EDIT: VARY ) with which hammock and how long the hammock was?

http://jacksrbetter.com/DSC00380%20-...eb%20Small.JPG

Take-a-knee, can you post a picture of how you clipped the mini biners over the top?