IX insulated hammock sock

[Knotty]

So, if Insultex can be used between the layers of a double layer hammock, in place of a pad, couldn't it also be use in the hammock, in place of a pad?

[Tedinski]

exactly my thinking -- though I haven't got material yet to try it.

If it's truly "non-compressible", it wouldn't have to hang below your hammock... you could make an interior "boat" that fits your hammock!

[MacEntyre]

So, if Insultex can be used between the layers of a double layer hammock, in place of a pad, couldn't it also be use in the hammock, in place of a pad?

That's what I did night before last... my calves extend beyond my short UQ, so I put a 20"x36" IX pad, nylon faced on both sides, under my legs. It worked well!

[Tedinski]

Can't wait to get the stuff in! Thanks for all your efforts, Mac.
I'll be looking for a note on shipping!

<--- there's no "happy Snoopy dance", so that'll have to do.

[Harpo63]

AHHH! all along I've been thinking I want to make a MacKAQ when my KAQ arrives to give me extra warmth when needed or to use it alone in warmer weather... but I didnt think I could simply put the Ix in between the layers on my double (or even on the bottom of a single) without needing to make a UQ with bungees, etc... That means I would need to cut the Ix to curve at the ends to avoid bunching especially if placed in between the double layer

[MacEntyre]

...need to cut the Ix to curve at the ends to avoid bunching especially if placed in between the double layer

I'm not sure bunching at the ends inside a double layer is a bad thing...

It isn't going to funnel air in, because it is encased. It might just provide a bit a 'IX loft' by bunching at the ends. When I've laid a piece of raw IX inside an UQ, I let it bunch up at the ends to help fill the gaps. If there are no gaps, it will press the bunched IX down.

I would cut it to fit eventually, but first try a yard just thrown in, and let us know what you think.

You also might need to come up with a way to keep it in place when you are not in the hammock.

[tbone]

I`m thinking that I want to fab a piece of it with a footbox that comes up to my knees , and set that inside the hammock and then use a mummy bag as a TQ with the mummy bags footbox inside of the IX footbox.

[MacEntyre]

Amazingly, the IX Insulated Hammock Sock fits around a PeaPod!

'Spose to get down to 18 tonight! I'll have nothing inside the PeaPod, and a Speer Top Blanket on me.

I replaced the Speer Bugnet Adjustable Ridgeline with an extra long Whoopie Sling, so I can adjust it easily from within the PeaPod.

Good night!

- MacEntyre

[Tedinski]

Good luck, MacEntyre!

[MacEntyre]

Wow! It got down to 13*F last night, and I was so warm, I had to venitlate the PeaPod the entire night! At first, I had a three foot opening in the PeaPod, and the Speer Top Blanket folded back over the opening, while I read. When I stopped reading, I pulled the blanket over me, and kept the large opening. Later, when it got down to 13*F, I adjusted the opening to about 18" and kept it that way. I had down booties, but they had to come off! I slept soundly between an old gnarly dogwood and a hemlock, under my Speer Winter Tarp, and was awakened by a bird in the hemlock shortly after 8am.

A couple of notes about how the sock works with the PeaPod...

The Adjustable Whoopie Sling Ridgeline worked very well. I was able to use it from inside the hammock to put the Insultex right up against the bottom of the PeaPod without compression. That made for a pretty small air volume above the PeaPod... a little more than you get with the Speer Bugnet. This is a winter rig, though, so the smaller volume is preferred. When I got up this morning, I noticed that the fully lofted PeaPod ends completely filled the ends of the sock. The SEEP worked perfectly; there were no air leaks.

There was snow on the inside of the roof of the sock when I got up. There was no condensation inside the PeaPod, just a bit around the opening. I'm glad the WalMart "Unknown Content" fabric was not coated!

I don't know how cold this setup could go, but it was certainly more insulation than I needed last night. If I were to supplement the PeaPod further, I would do it with Insultex instead of putting the Speer Top Blanket underneath. There is plenty of room for more IX layers underneath, and IX could be put on top of the Top Blanket.

HappyCamper asked in another thread how to maximize warmth in a down UQ, and if CCF should go outside a down UQ, or inside. I think I may have found an answer: put IX on the outside!

- MacEntyre