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  1. #1

    Pad or underquilt, and WHY?

    Im starting to DIY a hammock, and i want to know which type of insulation is best to use, so:

    Which did you choose and why?

    -Sleeping pad

    Or

    -Underquilt

  2. #2
    Senior Member Disco's Avatar
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    I've used both and UQs are much more comfortable and warmer, IMO.
    With beauty all around you, may you walk.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Bubba's Avatar
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    UQ's wrap around you so there is more coverage and therefore more warmth and I find them more comfortable. For down UQ's keeping them dry is extremely important.

    Pads retain moisture so its possible to end up with a moist back and they can shift positions on you and are a bit more difficult to readjust once in the hammock. Since they are narrower you can also end up with cold shoulders unless you fashion some pad extenders.
    Don't let life get in the way of living.

  4. #4
    Senior Member MedicineMan's Avatar
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    underquilts :)

    all of the above and they pack up much smaller than a given pad.
    but a lot of use use both at the same time.
    A lot of backpacks have a foam panel, part of the backpacks structure and load transfer system.
    One example of this is the ULA Ohm but the pad that comes in the OHM is smallish...so I subbed it out with a thinner pad that when unfolded gives me coverage from shoulders to hips...cheap way to increase the range of your UQ for little money and you're already carrying the weight anyway.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    Quilts all the way.
    For all the reasons already pointed out above.
    Trust nobody!

  6. #6
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    I use an underquilt beause used a pad first. Even though I put it in the pocket of the HHDJ, I couldn't get it to lay right, and was never comfortable.

    Had a UQ made from a mummy bag and oit was lke being hugged by my mother. Won't be going back to a pad.

  7. #7
    Senior Member MedicineMan's Avatar
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    Vinny, you're new to this so I will also add

    that for a pad to be wide enough to cover your shoulders it almost always has to be strapped to the outside of the pack...think 24-27 inches on average width to prevent CSW=cold shoulder wrap. When this monster is strapped to the outside it catches limbs/brush while your hiking.
    Normal Thermarest type pads can be packed in the backpack but they are rarely wide enough to prevent the CSW mentioned above.
    For years there was a product on the market called a Speer Pad Extender
    which allowed one to use your existing Thermarest or even too narrow a closed cell pad by slipping it into a central sleeve. Adjacent to this wide central sleeve (all made out of ripstop nylon) were smaller sleeves that would accept pads 4-6 inches wide---wings if you will. So the SPE had 4 wings on it because somethings you'd get CHW=cold hip wrap too.....these smaller pads would fit in the pack or strapped to the bottom of the pack since they were not so wide.
    Then the miracle of Jacks-R-Better with the introduction of the Nest and the rest is history!

  8. #8
    Senior Member Bondo's Avatar
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    I am at the PLUQ stage. I started with pads and found it frustrating. Always seemed to have a cold spot somewhere and they bunch up. I still carry a pad when the situation dictates. Just incase I have to go to ground or it's gonna be in the mid to low 30's. Then I just slip the pad in the PLUQ. I will be getting a UQ for white winter camping. Just haven't made a decision on which one yet.
    "Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books."

  9. #9
    Senior Member Fish<><'s Avatar
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    Ever try catchin' a greased pig? That's a pad for me...Uqs all the way.
    "We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it."- G. W. Sears

    My forum name is Fish<><; I'm in the navy; and I hate sleeping on the ground. If I didn't need ground to walk on or measure resistance to, I think I could happily give it up.

  10. #10
    New Member Rothman's Avatar
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    Glad I saw this thread. I use a reflectix windshield protector as a "pad" for insulation right now. I don't do much winter hiking, coldest I've been out is 30 F at night. Definitely was cold but I have a very cheap sleeping bag and I'm sure that didn't help.

    I plan to stick with the reflectix pad and make anchor points like the HHDJ for a while. It does insulate enough for most situations I've been in.

    Maybe I'll eventually make a DIY down UQ but, I'll never pay for one I'm just too cheap for that.
    If at first you don't succeed...
    You're doing it wrong

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