hh in the cold

[Ramblinrev]

Synthetic what ever I've got. Mostly I have adapted sleeping bags to an underquilt. I am currently muddling through a KAQ design using an old comforter I picked up for $5. Wally World fabric.... Like I say I can live with the weight penalty and I don't go long distances partly because I can't. But the compression ratio stinks.

Anyway, if you need cheap... there are ways of doing it, but the penalty is there... no question about it.

[JaxHiker]

To this day I have yet to find anything I can use at Wally World. Wish I could get some silnylon scores in the $1 bin like others have. I'll see what they have in the way of insulation though. Maybe I should scour the Salvation Army and Goodwill stores but I can't remember seeing any sleeping bags. The comforter might be a good source for some insulation though.

I've got the KAQ guide in front of me right now. Started reading it at breakfast.

[Ramblinrev]

one of my quilts was a wally world 40 F sleeping bag for $9

I am not overly worried about the silnylon fabric. Like I say there are trade offs when doing it on the cheap. I've had this comforter out in the rain and it survived pretty well without a nylon cover. I'm just making a nylon shell for it. I'm trying to replace a sleeping bag I tried to adapt for the HH. It just doesn't work right and I don't want to chop it up right yet.

[toddkmiller]

thank you all for the great info, still not sure about the ss
down to -25°c is about what I'm looking for!
so one last question, ss or uq?
the sleeping bag issue is a no brainer sine I have a -20°c bag + overbag.
is't just the bottom I'm worried about.
thanks in advance
FRED

As noted above I got down to -25 C with the SS and an additional space blanket. No cold spots. My two fellow scout leaders had the same configuration and they were toasty as well. We didn't have Over Covers.

[fred1diver]

hi guys, sorry it took so long for me to leave a reply,
thanks for all the great info, one last question, how good is the KAQ?

is it pretty warm or does it only add a small amount of insulation?

I already have a speer type SPE and curently have a -20°c
should I add a uq or should I be good
as usual, thanks in advance
FRED

[2Trees]

I originally posted this in:
Tips & tricks > Will a Speer PeaPod work on Hennessy Hammock w/ 2Q Zipper Mod #2?

But, thought I'd copy it to this thread about HH in the cold.

Here's my experience with -10* F Hennessy Hammock camping.... Yep, I have spent some cold nights in my HH Backpacker Ultralight w/ the Super Shelter. I have the complete setup: the undercover, open cell foam pad, and the overcover. First I set up my hammock perpendicular to the wind and low to the ground so that I was only inches above the snow when I got in the hammock. I used my HH 70D Hex Shaped Green PU coated rain fly and guyed it out close to the ground and just inches above the top of my hammock. I piled some snow up around the bottom of the fly on both sides to keep any wind from blowing under the tarp. (I always find a spot back in some trees so I'll have some cover from the wind. I do love the sound of the wind through the pine trees!) I would set up the SS as suggested by Hennessy. I wear a heavy, insulated hunting jacket and bib overalls. I would take these and place underneath my -40* F Cabelas XPG goose down mummy bag inside the hammock to lay on for more of a barrier on my backside. This really helped, because the foam pad seems somewhat useless. I wear a heavy extreme cold thermal underwear, heavy wool sweater, wool pants, heavy wool socks, rag wool gloves, and a thick thinsulate stocking cap. I climbed in my Cabelas goose down bag and cinched it tight around my face. It was plenty warm above me. (This Cabelas bag is the best and tons of loft and waterproof coated material!) But, my backside would compress the down and did get cold. I would have to turn from one side to another every so often to keep the chill off. It wasn't to the extreme cold, just slightly unpleasant. (Remember, I did have alot of layering.) I would get some crystallization of condensation from my breath on the bug mesh and overcover, but nothing to really worry about. The overcover is great to have. It does help hold in the heat. And, I almost always sit around my campfire (very small and sit really close) as the sun goes down and sip on warm pine needle or green tea. This really helps get my body temp up and I'm already hot when I get in my sleeping bag.

So, this has been my sub zero setup for several winter camping excursions. But, if I can beef up the loft on my backside and use an enclosed tarp/tent (as 2Q has pics of in his Images Folder), I would have no problem spending a week or a month out in sub zero temps in a hammock from my past experiences. The sealed off tarp/tent would definitely help hold more heat in and keep any wind chill from flowing through, under, and around the hammock and robbing me of any heat.

Cheers,
Mark