A few thoughts after a backyard test
I tested out my homemade hammock last night. It was a low of 25 degrees with about 10 mph winds.
Setup:
homemade Speer style hammock with asym cut
JRB nest
McCat Deluxe tarp
Montbell Super stretch #2 bag used as quilt (rated from 5-20 degrees)
MEC Northern Lite jacket used as pillow and head cover
homemade hammock sock
Clothing:
Mid Weight bottoms
swim trunks sans liner
smartwool long sleeve shirt
wool socks
windproof fleece hat
This was the first night I used the homemade hammock sock and the nest in this hammock. Before I only used the nest with my HH. Bsfore as soon as the temp got to 40 degrees I needed to add a pad for more bottom insulation. I got in the hammock around 1 am last night. The temp was about 34 degrees. I was comfortable with the clothes and gear used. I did not have the hammock sock on yet. I felt comfortable about 10 degrees colder than I did in the HH using the nest. The only reason I can think for this is that I was improperly hanging it on the HH and compressing the insulation. The hammock I am using now probibly has less insulating properties than the HH. The nylon taffeta I think will let more air pass though.
The thermometer on my ridgeline read 34 degrees. I had my tarp pulled over at this time. I then put my hammock sock on. It was pulled over my head but not tighted around the hammock. This is just a trial version with no closure option. The temp inside approached about 47 degrees. Really comfortable sleeping temp. I woke up around 4am to find a lot of condensation on the sock and my bag. The nylon material I used is not very breathable. The next version will by ripstop and should fix most of this. At this point I pulled the sock down so my head and shoulders where sticking out.
At about 7am I woke up to snow hitting my face. Unfortunatly the only hammock trees in my backyard are not perpendicluar to to wind. I pulled the sock back over my head and laid there for about 20 minutes. The temp inside the sock went up to around 45 degrees. The temp outside at this point was about 25 degrees.
At no point did I end up using a pad. I am very happy about that. It is supposed to get down to 15 degrees with 20 mph winds in Cincy tonight. I am planning on testing it again and seeing if I can get a new low. I was suprised to see that I can add about 20 degrees of warmth between the tarp and the sock. I took the ouside temp with a thermometer hanging from the ridgeline but exposed to the wind below the head end of the hammock. I think that with this setup, adding a pad, and wearing my jacket and gloves would get me close to 0.
