Cool weather in MS!

[BillyBob58]

Hammock camping at Trace Park in north MS, with low's in the high 50s to mid 60s. Could not pass up this unusual ( for MS) cool summer weather.


HHULEXP under Claytor tarp on the left. Claytor Jungle hammock ( sticks for net spreader bar) on right.


But you can see what I had to brink along for my wife, who so far still refuses to hammock!


That is a HHULEXP under the Claytor diamond tarp. We were supposed to get some heavy rain but it all bypassed us except for a few sprinkles. I had been hoping to test the weather worthiness of this tarp used with the HH.

Under the JRB tarp is the Claytor Jungle hammock. Since I had never slept in it, I did this night. I had my 20 plus year old summer weight synthetic bag, I don't even know what the insulation is. Maybe it is quallofill? And it is either a 40 or 50 degree bag. I used to use it on my summer river trips out west.

More details later, got to go!

[BillyBob58]

So anyway, though the storms didn't blow in as forecast, about 0200 the wind picked up pretty good. It was about the mid 60s, and when I woke with a need to water the bushes, I also noticed that my back was just about to be uncomfortable, at least when the wind blew. I had the JRB pitched pretty wide open, with basically no wind protection. ( BTW, that JRB tarp is, I noticed yet again, a very quiet and stable tarp in the wind).

So, to assure being able to not have to get up again in case it got a couple of degrees colder, I threw my 20" wide full length Ridgerest into the hammock sleeve. I just laid it right down the mid line. I certainly did not need it for my legs or feet and I could have just used my half length blue pad. But I wanted to try the full length pad in the JH.

It worked just great. I would say that the hammock is not quite as comfy with the pad in there, but the difference is not immediately obvious. The differences were subtle. But the warmth boost was stout, to the degree that I virtually didn't need my bag on top. It seems to me that by morning I noticed my lower back did not feel quite as good as it did normally without a pad, but it was not any thing major and could have been related to something else.

I spent the 2 days going back and forth between my Claytor and HH. To my amazement, I'm still going to give the nod( just barely though) to my HH for comfort when laying flat on my back. I think my knees have slightly less need of anything under them, especially if I don't have the entry way velcroed shut. I know this will potentially let insects in, but none ever came in. Also, because the HH is wider and deeper, my head and feet are not against the netting. With the Claytor, I had to have my feet in the bag, and something between my head and the net, to assure no bites. Plus I have more "room" to spread out in the HH compared to the Claytor with the net zipped closed, for example with both hands behind my head. I also noted that if I disconnected my RL and flipped the HH over, it made a pretty fair top loader.

OTOH, it was nice to be able to reach outside the Claytor the one time I needed something out of my pack, by just unzipping the net. It IS more comfortable for side sleeping. It works far easier with a pad and no real need of an SPE( of course, I can use my SS with the HH, thus not needing a pad). Without the pad, there is no need to spray the bottom with Permethrine ( I hope), due to the double bottom. If I am not in need of closing the net ( or when using my No Net), then the lesser width is not a negative. In fact, it is a positive when using my PeaPod.

So, pros and cons, but I'm pretty fond of both hammocks. But which ever hammock I was using, it was a nice couple of days for hanging out in the woods.