Poncho Liner Greenhouse

**default** · 10-02-2011, 20:06

This weekend at my hang I had some pretty cool temps, and it made me really wish i had a good TQ....

But I did have a 55* mummy bag (not meant for fat people) and a Poncho liner blanket....so I improvised.....

Heres the basic idea, if you have a Poncho Liner and an exposed RL (or even a way to tie it like a tarp)

Throw it over your RL length wise, giving you about 3.5 feet draping down the sides. I tied the center strings around the RL at first, but then switched it to tying it UNDER the RL and had better success overall with that way, since the top of the PL will droop slightly...

In the under RL setup, i tied the strings of the PL on the foot end to the area past the gathered end, basically sealing it off and the head end could slide along my RL.

Then, tie the CORNER strings to themselves, basically making it a tube, but LEAVING the center strings (on the long edge under the hammock) untied so you can get in and out still.

if you wanted to improve this design, you could add a strip of fabric under the hammock (basically connecting the 2 long edges) and it would double as a UQ protector, but my idea is to take 2-3 lengths of shock cord and put them across to pull the bottom sides snug and sealed.

What all this does for you is make the hammock its own greenhouse, with a vent of maybe 6" at the head end (far enough away to not get a draft). condensation was NO issue at all, and i never got a draft. I was able to get loosely in the mummy bag and put my button down shirt on backwards (all i was wearing was shorts & a t-shirt) to cover my arms and i was more than warm enough in weather that was supposed to be in the 40's. YMMV

so if youre not a UL guy, try this out. works really well except for high winds (it did get pushed in a little, but not so much to loose the greenhouse effect)

try it!!!

**mwm** · 10-04-2011, 19:39

sounds interesting, gonna have to try it!

**nothermark** · 10-04-2011, 20:06

Neat trick. You are approximating a Hennessy over cover. I've done similar with a space blanket. Getting the wind off that way should be good for around 10 degrees.

**default** · 10-04-2011, 20:27

that and the fact your breath can keep you a few degrees warmer, this trick is pretty handy if you have one with you and are freezing your sensitive bits off. and cheap too

**BigTurtle** · 10-04-2011, 22:11

wow bud thats using your noodle lol ill have to remember this will a coated ripstop military poncho work for this too

**nothermark** · 10-04-2011, 22:46

Anything that limits air movement will do it. It's one of the reasons I don't like most tents made today with their big mesh panels to save a few ounces. Use a closed tent or hammock and you capture some of the heat your body generates. The downside is you also capture moisture you exhale and perspire. It is quite possible to keep things adequately balanced by airing and drying. Under certain conditions like hanging in fog you may even be dryer by limiting moisture absorption to what you produce. ;-)

**JohnSawyer** · 10-04-2011, 23:08

Been doing that for a while. Works great! Safety pins work well for keeping it in place.

I find that leaving a small area uncovered by my feet helps it from being too humid, but it doesn't get THAT cold where I'm at...

**default** · 10-05-2011, 01:11

yeah, i had it vented near the head end thinking that most of the moisture would be coming from that end (and a little from the other end....) and the fact that my feet were FREEZING.

im thinking about making a sock with this concept in mind.

**lattie11581** · 10-05-2011, 02:10

Thanks for the post... I sewed a quick over cover using 1.9oz uncoated rip stop on my nettless DIY HH. I used a loop of shock cord at the head and foot to loop around the whipping. At the tie outs I sewed on a loop of fabric that I pass my tie out through, leaving about 4-5" of fabric hanging past the loop helped it seal.. works great in blocking the cool night breeze and trapping some heat.

**dkperdue** · 10-05-2011, 08:37

I've posted about doing this in the past as well.
Worked great for me.
I just used a couple of the metal "bulldog" clips to hold it on the SRL and they allow me to slide it back and forth to get the best coverage. I was really surprised at how much of a difference there was just sticking my hand up on a cold morning and then moving it outside the "coverage zone".
Here are a couple of pictures in my back yard of the set-up.
One shows the bulldog clip arrangement.
DKPerdue