Think I finally figured out a system that works for me.
I purchased a micro fleece mummy bagand have used it the last few trips. I can get in the bag (unzipped) and slip the hood over my head to keep the bag in place while I get in the hammock. I carry a small foam pad in my pack to set/kneel on when needed, and have been using the pad as a "doormat" under my hammock to keep the fleece bag clean & dry when I get in the bag.
For warm weather (nighttime temps above 50°F) this bag along with my fleece shirt & pants have kept me warm & comfy!
I will probably go with an underquilt as the weather gets cooler, but for now I'm sleeping well.
Hey FB! You have been around here for years, and you don't post much compared to how long you have been here. But when you do, It's always useful info! You mostly use clothing with a thin pad, right? I have done it your way at least once. At about 50*F, with my HHSS for warmth beneath and my 14 oz Polarguard hooded jacket and 8 oz PG pants and I suppose some thin long Johns. I was plenty warm on the bottom and just warm enough on top. It sure was convenient to just go to bed in the clothing I was already wearing to keep warm around camp. This will definitely work as long as the clothing is thick enough for sleeping at the expected lowest temps.
BTW, Wabi, if you can keep the bag foot dry ( pad, ground cloth or just dry ground), getting mostly in the bag BEFORE laying down solves all problems for me. (EDIT: Nevermind, I see you are already doing that! Works good, don't it?) If you have a hooded bag, whether I get in before hammock entry of afterward, the key for me is to always get the hood over my head BEFORE I lay on the bag's inner surface. But I do wonder if a fleece bag might be even trickier in a hammock than a slippery nylon shell.
Last edited by BillyBob58; 06-27-2010 at 23:48.
Yup...3/8" pad and my jacket and insulated pants. The rest of the sleepwear is the same whether I'm in a hammock or on the ground; bag, quilt, or nada.
This usage is practical for me because summer nights are always chilly or freezing in my home range. In May and October I see a lot of 20's, during the summer months I see a lot of 40's. Incorporating the cold weather clothing, which I always carry, into the system results in a dual use benefit. Of course there's a lot of mix-and-match depending on the forecasted conditions and the point in time of that May-Oct season.
All sleep systems are specific to the sleeper and the conditions to be faced. I just think this one is more 'individual' than others...
FB
Great tips in this thread! I can't offer advice, only my own observations so far.
I've done two trips using my 15 degree down, mummy bag as a quilt and learned a few things. Let's just say I started off thinking the sleeping bag/pad combo would be fine, which it would be, though I've also recently purchased an underquilt and, after this last weekend, will be purchasing a top quilt today.
Good luck in your quest.
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