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I'm guessing that a UQ's temp rating would be just as important as a TQ's... But just wondering, does anyone use a summer UQ much lower than it's rating with any luck? If I can get away with a 40* CrowsNest, I'd like to!
Also, do you think a coyote brown WBBB with coyote brown TQ and coyote brown UQ is too much coyote brown?
not if you are out in coyote territory...
Not for me. I'd love to see the pics of the Brownbird.:cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by callook66
to me UQ insulation is more important than TQ insulation--heat rises eh.
too much brown--no way...Banheadboy's tot. coyote rig looked awesome in the Sipsey.
Taking a summer UQ further-you'll be amazed at what a 1/4 inch thick ccf pad can do to increase your range at very little sheckels and weight; and the 1/4 inch can usually be packed in a large outside pocket or inside especially if it is a framless pack and the ccf can become part of the support system.
My DIY 2/3 Length UL UQ only has 4 oz of down in it and i just had it down to 39 degrees with no cold spots...
But i'm a warm sleeper..:D
an UQ (and a top quilt) ratings will also depend on if you're a cold or warm sleeper. If you're a cold sleeper, you may not even get to the quilts rating of 40* !! The only way you're gonna find out though is to test it out. Make sure you bring extra insulation when you're testing in case you find yourself getting cold. Extra insulation can include things like your jacket, extra clothes, a military poncho liner, your sit pad, once I even put my backpack inside my hammock at my feet. In dire straits you can even put leaves between your under quilt and the bottom of your hammock.Quote:
Originally Posted by callook66
TinaLouise
I've been experimenting with the Crowsnest and Brownbird all weekend. With temps down to 52°F, I was comfortable with the Crowsnest and only some extra clothing. So, my solution to save some cash was to get the 3-Season Crowsnest and save the topquilt for a later time.
For colors, I went with all brown and it looks great. When I get a Winter Incubator, it will be gray because I think it will blend better in the dead winter.
I think you could take the Summer Crowsnest down to 35degrees...Quote:
Originally Posted by callook66
to be honest...spend the extra $20 ad get the 3 season...
i think in the long run it would be the right thing to do...and you won't have to worry about guessing or being cold :cool:
Awesome! Thanks for the input everyone!
Anybody think the 900fp option is worth the extra $35 on the Burrow and Crowsnest? It seems to me like it'd be worth it just to say I have 900fp down in my gear!
Where are you going to be camping, in Yellowstone? If so, summer only? To me, a 40*F rated UQ would be very marginal in the mountains of WY, even in summertime. (but I guess you already know all about that if you live there) But as has been mentioned, if you have a torso size pad ( also a sit pad), you could easily add a lot of warmth for when the cold fronts move through.Quote:
Originally Posted by callook66
My personal record for summer in WY is 24*F with well over a foot of snow, on June 27 1985, at about 10,000 feet. I can tell you I went to bed so tired and cold, had I been hammock hanging I would have loved a zero degree UQ! Even if it was almost July! ;)
I'm a cold sleeper and got chilled this summer using a Jacks-r-Better Nest UQ when night temps hit upper 40's. Would have thought it could go lower but then again I was only in boxers and t-shirt. I think it's always best to over do it when it comes to insulation. Warm sleepers may not agree.
I've taken my JRB Shenandoah down into the low 50's and I think I could have gone at least 10 or 15 degrees lower. (with a JRB Stealth as a top quilt)
I've used my JRB Nest down into the mid 20's. (with a Mountain Hardwear Phantom 45 as a top quilt)
I agree with Medicine Man!
For me at least the UQ is 75% of what keeps ME warm. I've slept down to (about) 50 with a No Sniv as an UQ but only a fleece blanket on top, no problems. Reverse the two & It's "shiver city" all night long.
I've used a 2/3 *leighs* UQ down to 32 degrees and was sweating in my old synthetic 15 degree bag.
I'll be leaving Yellowstone in about a month and then I'm headed to the south rim of the Grand Canyon for the Winter. I checked the weather from last Winter where I'll be... and I saw some negative numbers in there!! Ack! I might need to start thinking about a 3 season Crowsnest + pad vs. Winter Crowsnest!!
Not intending to hijack the thread, but, would someone please explain to me what "cold sleeper and warm sleeper" mean. I'm trying to get a good understanding of what everyone is referring too.
Thank you.
Warm sleeper means that you sweat and generally are the type to kick the covers off and stick your leg out because you are hot under and in your insulation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Quad&Boatcamper
Cold sleeper is a bundled up, tucked in sleeper who knows they will be chilled somewhere in the night.
Shug
Now my curiosity is getting to me. A 3-season will keep you warm in cooler temperatures, but what happens during the summer. Will that same UQ bake you when it is 70°? Can it work if you leave off the TQ? Thanks!
I'm comfortable at 70 degrees with the UQ in place. If it's hotter or uncomfortable, I can either push it off to the side (not under me) or slip it toward my head so that it's venting (not flush with the hammock bottom) and thus not working as intended.Quote:
Originally Posted by Goblin
As the temps cool down, I can slip in back into place for comfort.
That's the exact reason I'm going with a 3/4 UQ. I'm a warm sleeper, so I like the ability to slide it around and vent it.
Another newbie question.
I once saw a comic strip of a man in a lab coat (short sleeve) observing and taking notes. The object was a couple bundled in parkas--shivering in obvious discomfort. The caption read: "It is a scientifically proven fact that Floridians can freeze to death at room temperature." That is me. Below 60° I am at risk of frost bite.
I regularly camp (backpack) 3-4 times a year intemps below 40° and once a year at or below 20°. I understand how compression reduces insulation value (been there, got the poster). I have a Kelty 20° down bag and an REI fleece liner. Keeps me warm most of the time with double layer of padding on the ground. How effectively would you think that a adding a (semi inflated) Big Anges Insulated Air Core Mummy Pad inside the bag while hanging with say a 3/4 Yeti? Again, I am trying to keep weight (and cost) to a minimum. I can take being cool, but not cold to the core.
It will do fine ..... I have done it on winter trips in the past. Will get you down lower in conjunction with the Yeti.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalo Skipper
You more then likely won't need it in 40º ..... but you will know when you try.
Shug
So to understand this correctly, do most here who use UQ and TQ just dressing warmly and not utilizing a sleeping bag?
I know that temperature ratings are approximate, but it would help to understand what it typically does or does not include.
Thanks.
That's what I do!! I was already using a down top quilt even before I switched to a hammock. Sleeping bags either didn't fit me right and I was cold. Or in the case of hammocking, I just don't like fighting with the thing all night long to keep it in the right position while in my hammock. The clothes I wear to sleep in will be determined by the temps. I've had one trip where I packed my summer UQ and the temps dropped that night further than expected. I ended up wearing all my clothes plus I'd put my extra military poncho liner on top of me. I was chilly all night. The next day I took the poncho liner and drapped it under my under quilt, under the hammock. That night, with less clothes on, I slept wonderfully warm and toasty.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalo Skipper
TinaLouise
I think the best way to think about it is:Quote:
So to understand this correctly, do most here who use UQ and TQ just dressing warmly and not utilizing a sleeping bag?
Underquilt+top quilt(hammock)=sleeping bag+pad(ground)
Now that can be mixed and matched depending on what you have and weather.
I've got winter quilts and summer quilts, rather than trying to make one work for the ranges of temps I normally hang in. When I started looking at quilts, the first thing I noted was the temp ranges for any particular quilt. Then I noted the temps that I would normally be in. Plus then I had to add in that I'm a cold sleeper and would need the ratings to be about 15 degrees warmer (able to go at least 15 degrees colder than what I expected... I expect about 20 for the lowest so I needed a quilt to go to 5 degrees or thereabouts). This is my winter quilt and there is no way I can use that in the late spring or summer, I'd roast!! So I needed a summer quilt too. My summer quilt's rating is about 45 to 75 degrees. At 45 I'm adding more clothes to wear and at 75, I'm tieing it very loosely to the bottom of my hammock so I don't over heat. My top quilts will also vary by whatever the outside temps are. PLUS, I've found that I can use a lighter rated top quilt than what my bottom quilt is. I need more insulation on the bottom than I need on the top. There have been times, depends on the temps, where I'd pack my winter UQ and my summer TQ. Summer time, I always pack my summer UQ but sometimes I only carry a silk sheet for the top. I did a lot of testing in my backyard to figure out how to stay warm and I still will flub up sometimes. I've learned to make sure I carry enough bottom insulation, then the top isn't as critical.Quote:
Originally Posted by Goblin
TinaLouise
Phooey!Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalo Skipper
You're from the cold part of Florida. I took up the ways of the hammock while living in Vero Beach. We only had 3 days a year that it got below freezing. :scared:
Agreed with Shug, you shouldn't have any problems with that set-up and staying warm. Even with that thin blood of yours. :D
Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalo Skipper
I routinely sleep below freezing, all year, at high elevation. Here is what you do:
Get to camp, change into base layer and warm sleeping socks.
Eat and drink hot food and bevvies. Good complex carbs, sugar, comfort food.
Before bed, if it's been more than a couple hours since dinner, eat some more and have another hot cocoa/tea. Walk around (no Sweatin' to the Oldies, just stroll) and get some blood going.
Take that last pee break and climb in. Wear a warm hat.
All of this makes a HUGE difference. The one time I was chilled to the bone above 40F, I was drinking a LOT. I can have a glass of wine, a beer, but three strong margaritas messed up my thermometer big time (not to mention my judgment) and I failed to put on the base layer or eat or drink hot stuff and got thoroughly cold. When I do the above, I can get into 3 season JRB quilts in the hammock and sleep through the night in November at 9,000 feet elevation while the lake freezes over.
All your warmth comes from you... stoke it!
I took my Winter Yeti (warbonnet!) out in above-freezing weather. I think I will rename it - the Sweaty!