I was thinking of a heavy duty blanket, like Cabela's http://tinyurl.com/2ggaay The lightweight foil type would be too flimsy. Letting it hang just a little loose from the underside of the hammock might take care of any condensation. I would imagine this blanket would be lighter than an underquilt, too. Sewing velcro to the underside of the hammock would facilitate removal of the space blanket for warmer weather. Since I'm hammock-less right now I can't try this.
Last edited by Splat; 03-11-2008 at 11:39.
Because it isn't tough to make, I was going to make one hammock with the blanket, and one without. This way I would have a "cool" weather blanket and then a "warm" weather blanket. This would also cut down on the wear that the SB would be subjected to.
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Kyle
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"Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle" - Casting Crowns
Last weekend, a buddy (ground dweller) and I went camping. He forgot his sleeping pad and I (being a good friend) let him use my zlite pad on the rocks. I had a space blanket in my pack and used it and some extra clothes between the layers of my hammock (homemade zhammock) with great success. The space blanket did a great job reflecting my body heat back to me and I could tell the difference when my shoulder slipped off the blanket. If I had opened it all the way, I wouldn't have had any issues.
Has anyone tried this or something very similar? Sew a layered hammock pad - 1.1 oz ripstop, ccf sheet (~1/16" thick), space blanket, a second ccf sheet, and fleece on top? Quilting it will add lots of little perforations to give it a tiny tiny bit of breathability and also keep everything together properly (but it will still mostly be a sweat trap for those of you who have trouble with ccf pads under you). Cut the ripstop about an inch larger all the way around so you can use it to hem the edges. Make it large enough (mine is a full 3'X5') to compensate for the shoulder wrap phenomenon. Use it as a pad under your sleeping bag or overquilt, in the hammock. I think this could be a way to use the space blanket without worrying about it falling apart.
From what I've read it seems you need a dead air space between you and the space blanket for it to work properly, the ccf sheet and fleece would create this. The ripstop would keep it a rugged piece of gear, and the ccf sheet below the space blanket would keep heat being reflected from being lost to the cold air below.
I've built this layered pad after reading lots and lots of posts about keeping warm, but have yet to really give it a serious trial (I only do 3 season hammocking, it's a wee bit cold for me here in Maine). If any of you have the mind to try this (should only cost ~$7.00 or so to build) I'd love to hear your results. Or even if you think it would work. Granted, I don't expect it to bring you into low digits without an underquilt added - it's simply not thick enough. I suppose you could use it above a regular ccf pad as well. But that seems like too much gear, why not just spray adhesive a space blanket to the bottom of the ccf pad for that matter. I've done that as well, but again, have yet to try it out.
Did this test last February with a sandwich UQ. It works OK, but doesn't pack down very small.
My first post - just been badly bitten by the hanging bug. Have made my first hammock and am working on insulation system. I like the idea of CCF as it gives flexibility of using it on the ground in an emergency.Originally Posted by sclittlefield
Sticking the space blanket to the CCF pad sounds like a great idea to me. Eliminates the noise of the blanket, gives it strength and I figure that it will be warmer with the space blanket on top than underneath so you can flip it depending on how much insulation you need. Anyone else tried this and want to comment.
I found a supplier of 700mm wide (that's about 27 inches for those of you that don't speak metric) CCF matting. I was thinking of cutting some to shape and then laminating one side with space blanket. sclittlefield - How successful was your attempt? Did it bond OK? Anyone else try this? What adhesive did you use? I was thinking of trying the diluted silicone as per seam sealing - any thoughts?
"I come from a land down under, where beer does flow and men chunder" - Men at Work.
It bonds very well. I'm pleased with how it turned out. I just bought some Elmer's Craft Bond - General purpose spray adhesive. You can get it at Walmart in the crafty section, and I bet most similar stores. Just do it outside or in the basement/garage - the stuff is fairly strong smelling. I found it easiest to spray about a foot or across at a time and smooth down the mylar with my hands. Spray it to the foam, not the mylar.
I think you're right, would work best with the mylar side up - if you use a sleeping bag. If you use a top quilt and would be sleeping directly on the pad, just make sure you have something between you and it - space blankets need a dead air space to work properly. The bottom of your sleeping bag would be ideal.
Use spray glue to attach the SB to nylon BEFORE attaching to hammock, can use same method for sleeping bag insulation...spray nylon, lay insulation onto, then sew to hammock, make sure nylon/insulation go from side to sude fully, not just down the middle where you THINK you'll be sleeping. I use this method, works for me....
Has anyone tried this?
Wrap the space blanket around the underpad of the HH ocf and tape it off. Essentially just wrapping the pad in aluminum foil so it wont be so dang dificult to put into place and fold back up in heavy winds. This way you just pull out the pad and roll the entire thing up. Will it still insulate the same?
I like simple and that drops one step and sounds simple. Did I mention I like simple.
BEAS
From the Great Southern state of
TENNESSEE
Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less. General Robert E. Lee
Splat: I have made an "underblanket" for my Clark N/A using the heavy duty Cabela's Space blanket, which is tough mylar, with red or green colors available. I took advantage of the velcro and accessory loops that come standard on this hammock to attach my blanket with. I also used very thin bungy cord (the type found in ski jackets, etc) to make 2 'wrap-arounds' that keep the blanket snug to the hammock bottom, but also allows for movement and changing of shape when I fill the underpockets with clothing items for additional insulation. I set up the hammock, had the wife climb in (told her to doze off for an hour or so) and then began trimming this blanket to conform to the hammock. I removed the outer edging (cut the seam with a single edged razor blade, sliding it along the seam) for resewing later on the finished blanket. As I trimmed the Cabela blanket around the hammock, I duct taped the blanket to the hammock in order to tack it into position. Where pleats had to be made around compound curves, I duct taped the pleats in place. Where Velcro was to be added to 'mate' onto the hammock's own velcro along the sides, we marked the position with a magic marker. After this blanket 'pattern" was made, We took it to the sewing machine, where we reattached the edging around the entire outside of the space blanket. If you don't do this, your blanket will eventually tear. We then sewed the velcro pieces on to the blanket where they mate onto the hammock. This is where the Clark design comes in really handy, as there is about 36 inches of running velcro along the hammock sides, normally used for sealing the underpockets. When the blanket is used, the pockets are left unsealed, as they are all within the blanket. Nice and tidy and strong. Lastly, we sewed a number of reinforcements at points along the bottom of the blanket where large tarp style brass grommets were placed to allow for any perspiration to vent. If you're interested I can send a few pics sometime. This thing works very well, and makes a noticeable difference in warmth. The blanket is about 8 oz, and packs into a size of a 12 oz plastic Coke bottle. You WILL have some perspiration condensation present on the blanket bottom near the vent grommets on a cold morning, since this material is not breathable. My underside never was cold. I have frozen my *** off too often in my old Hennessy. I leave it home if it ever threatens to be cool. I love my CLARK, and this little twaek makes it great. Hope this has helped. rmwac
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