Skål Project (Hammock, underquilt, tarp, build and hacks...)

[Bradypus]

Hi hangers

In August my girlfriend, a friend and I are going to enjoy a 3 week roadtrip across Denmark, Sweden and Norway. That's why I call that DIY the Skål Project, as skål is the traditionnal viking cheer of health while clinking glasses (or bawls aka skåls, and hammocks look a bit like bawls don't they ? ^^).

Our needs : as our trip plan can show, some nights may be pretty fresh but we wont face northern coldness, the only weather difficulty we will encounter will be rain. Beside being protected while sleeping we may have to install and remove under rain, so we will have to make it in a pretty organized and fast way. Bugs will also be an issue as we will camp close to lakes and rivers to try fishing for the dinner.
scandi.jpg

Of course we gonna hang around so we need 3 sets, but with different approaches, so that creates 3 projects :

The Bumblebee : because my girlfriend already has a hammock and when I asked her what colour she wanted for underquilt's bungees she said "yellow, hammock being black it would look a bit like bee". So I went a bit crazy thinking "let's make the quilt with black and yellow stripes" and then saw it would be easier to make it look like a bumblebee because they got less stripes. Also she can bumble into life and is humble (bee), there's love in that choice. ^^

The R n' B : as red and black, because I thought it would be neat to have a different colour pattern for easy gear identification, and I like how these colours match together. So that will be my set.

The Hack : our friend wants to camp with his tent but I know that will be a problem into Norway's fjords as flat grounds can be very tricky to find there. A complete set is expensive, and this one wont be much used, so I go for doing with what we got.

[Bradypus]

And about what we got :

- 3 hammocks : A brand new one, with bug net, the one of my girlfriend. A neat and a "dirty" one, I'll use the neat for our friend's sleep, and the dirty (witch is clean but streched because I slept into it during some years) under it to keep sleeping bags between the two as an underquilt. So I need one for the R n' B set.

- 2 tarps : Basic but efficient. We can sleep with 2 hammocks under the largest we got, but that may not be possible everwhere. Also there will be rainy nights, so it would be great to have a third tarp for chilling / cooking / etc even if we can hang 2 hammocks under 1 tarp.

- 5 sleeping bags : 2 military grade we bought for sleeping into, 2 others pretty old to use for our friend's underquilt, and a last one he will bring to sleep.

- A lot of rigid bug net : For the R n' B I've bought supple net, but it will be handy for the Hack set.

- A slackline I don't use, and so will be cut to make anchor webbings.

[Bradypus]

What I've bought so far...

- Bunch of Climashield insulation pieces (133, 167 and 200). They were cheap because they were leftovers, but because of that I'll have to play with various thisnesses and lengths. Got enough to make 2 full length quilts.

- 45g/sqm polyesther mosquito net

- 66g/sqm black ripstop said to be great for hammocks

- 68g/sqm red ripstop I'll use to enlarge hammock's sides as previous ripstop is abit short in width

- 100g/sqm blue/blackish 2 Layer Laminate ripstop with PTFE-membrane, for one side of underquilts, I took a membrane to ease drying and because it was pretty cheap 2d choice with possible stains, so it will be the face against the hammock.

- 130g/sqm yellow PU coated nylon for bumblebee's quilt outside face (water column 5.000mm)

- 80g/sqm black PU coated nylon to match the soft aspect of the previous sheet (water column 5.000mm)

- 65g/sqm black ripstop PU coated for R n' B's quilt outside face (water column 10.000mm)

- 55g/sqm sand ripstop silicone coated for the tarp (water column 3.500mm)

- From these sheets there will be enough left overs to makes bags and pockets.

- 40 meters of various braids : 3mm for ridge lines, 4mm for whoopies, dyneema and kevlar depending on price opportunities. I love splicing and whoopies are perfect tools for hanging hammocks and setting tarps above. Some polyamid braids for an extra function I keep secret for now. ^^

- 20 meters of bungees, 5mm for quilt length and 3mm for its width, leftover will make some tarp fixations and pocket hangers on ridgelines.

- 6 meters of soft webbing to make quilts lateral bendings / bungee passage.

- 2meters of ribbon for tarp's attachment points.

- Eyelets with washers to make exits for width bungees on quilts and passages on tarp's webbings.

- 28ml Silnet to seam tarp's sewings

- Gütermann Mara 35 and 70 threads. 35 for most sewings and 70 for anchor webbings.

- A set of needles from 90 to 110 to match threads.

- A magnetic seam guide to make my life a bit easier while sewing

- Bunch of carabiners, cord lockers and fiffis to hang and tie stuffs.


So far it costed me 350€ (400$), shipping costs included. It is a budget, but it looks OK to me considering it pays for 1 hammock, 2 long quilts, 1 tarp, 1 independent hammock bug net, fixation systems for 3 hammocks and tarps, + some bags, and also considering we would have spent way more renting as Sweden and Norway are **** expensive places to visit, especially when it comes to lodging, while wild camping is authorized, free, and way more fun. I hope I've not forgotten much needed stuffs though.

[ylnfrt]

This sounds like a well thought out plan but my only concern is the PU coated material for the quilts?? You really want a breathable material for your quilts as the PU coating will cause condensation problems and there is nothing worse than wet insulation. Keep us posted on your travels.

[Bradypus]

Oh gosh, I didn't know. Thanks for sharing.

I just thought "lets put a water repellent skin on the side facing the ground so it wont let the morning condensation get into the insulation, and a membrane on the other side so it will also stop moist but breath out the few humidity that may have passed".

If it is a huge mistake that may mess up our trip I will use the non coated ripstop I've chosen for the hammock, and buy a hammock instead.
But that would bug me a lot...

[ylnfrt]

If you want to protect the UQ from rain/ splash from the ground- you might want to consider an uqp (under quilt protecter) made from material with a dwr (durable water repellant). This is not water proof material but water repellant which will keep the mud splash/ moisture off the UQ and act as a wind blocker to help with cold blowing away your thermal heat in the UQ. As a general rule the only thing you want to have water proof is your tarp (and possible stuff sacks) with the rest of your kit being breathable and warmer.
Another suggestion often pointed out here is to practice your setup at home or somewhere you can bail out in case you develope problems. It is not a good idea to go into the wilds with an unproven kit/ system.
Have fun with it and research the weather patterns for your travels and be prepared.

[Bradypus]

Thanks a lot for these informations !

From what I can find WR treatments don't last, even if said durable, and fabrics have to be retreated time to time.
I'll try to find some more uncoated ripstop to replace the PU coated one, and treat that coated with a compatible WR solution to make UQPs with it.

Practice is in my to do list for sure.
Last weekend I've tried the Hack set during two fresh nights. It was pretty warm dispite a fresh 47°F, witch should be the lowest we will get during our trip. We will take pads too in case temps go below the usual lowest.

[ylnfrt]

Sounds like a good plan- have fun and post a trip report on your completion.

[cougarmeat]

Note that in places were flat ground is difficult to fine, that also means there could be a absence of trees. Unless you know for sure that you will have the necessary hammock supports (trees) you need to have a go-to-ground plan. And if you expect to run into hard - like rock - ground, you need to make sure your go-to-ground includes a self standing shelter; ground stakes not necessary. Finally, if the ground shelter isn't staked down, it should be tied/anchored to something so the wind doesn't blow it away. All the things I've mention above have happened to me or friends.

Also, there was something about what you said that inspires me to remind you that sleeping bags in hammocks are not enough. On the ground, the sleeping bag is insulated from conduction heat loss to the ground because of your sleeping pad. In the hammock, the bottom of the sleeping bag is compressed by body weight so your insulation against convection heat loss is just a couple layers of nylon. Even on a warm summer day, you can feel the heat pulled away with a slight breeze under the hammock. You can use an under quilt or the same sleeping pad you'd have for your "ground" solution.

Before your trip, check out whatever you put together - best in rain, hard ground, and few trees - to make sure it all works in a wide range of conditions.

[Bradypus]

Thanks Cougarmeat

Southern fjords, where we will find difficult grounds, got very special biotopes and trees are very commun even if shores are not flat.
fjord.jpg
We even got a serious kayak to join some spots we couldn't enjoy otherwise.

We are serious tree lovers, our friend is a professionnal arborist, I am recreationnal tree climbing instructor and my girl friend is now into it too. Our trip is almost all for going from a forest to an other and meet some members of our tree climbing family (and future ones we hope). The idea is to discover these countries, some cities too, but especially friluftsliv (living outdoor in the scandinavian way), and mainly camp where we will climb and hoping to find good climbs where we'll camp, that's how we are building our roadmap, so trees will very likely be around. Our main concern about that are wildfires in Sweden.

Though, I learn / practice low profile tarp technics able to resist strong winds to camp also in treeless spots to get that kind of view in the morning :
fjord2.jpg
But that will be pretty rare, just glimpses we are OK to pay with some few harsh nights if needed.

You're very right about how cold hammocks can be. That's why we plan to have under quilts, additional pads for ground sleeps and just in case we need to reinforce our hammocks insulation, and now under quilts protectors. We are serious about it because we need to feel happy to camp in a comfy way most of the times. It will be a very active trip and we do need to be sure to have great rest.

So yes, we are all into your approach of being sure to be fine in various conditions, even if most times we'll be in the woods.