Let's talk about winter weather in this thread

[Beast 71]

Good post, and many good answers. "Worst case" conditions are often right around 32° F. Heavy wet snow, sometimes changing to rain, can get you wet and cold in a hurry. Exertion when overdressed or wearing rain gear gets you wet from the inside. Temperatures drop at night (which comes early).

I agree totally with this! If you can't keep your feet dry, get a pair of Mickey Mouse or bunny boots, at least then your feet will be wet and warm.

[720fly]

A 8x10 Wally world tarp burrito wrapped around you ( and sleeping bag ) is a life saver. I've done this in some EVIL weather above 10,000 ft. And been toasty warm. I've never done this in a hammock, but I'm sure it will work just as well
Never got wet doing this either
I think??? It's the same thing as a sock, but you can do this inside your hammock, and all you need is to be able to fold a tarp around yourself

[MDSH]

- More comfortable (nothing between you and the hammock fabric)
- More breathable (excess body heat and moisture pass through the quilt)
- No compression of the insulation (Because it is suspended on the outside of the hammock, your body weight doesn't compress any of the loft and render it less effective)
- No wrangling in the hammock trying to keep any insulation that's in the hammock actually 'underneath' you
- Underquilts (down in particular) often pack smaller than an equivalent pad for a given temperature

Lets not deflect the conversation though. There are lots of threads about underquilts and their merits. This one is specifically about hammock considerations in winter weather.

But now I don't have to go read them all, sparrow, because you were so kind (and convincing) to answer with excellent bullet points.

[tjm]

I highly recommend the manual posted at wintercampers.com

IMO hiking in the rain with the temps at 35F is more dangerous than hiking in the snow at 10 deg F.

Staying Dry also mean not sweating into your insulating layers, so while hiking you need to be continually changing your layers and your rate of exertion to always be slightly cool.

Find a partner who knows what he or she is doing for the first few trips.

[Doctari]

And, if you want to test you set up in a "safe" environment, we have a winter hangout in southern VA on January 18th to 20th. We take over the group campground (OK, the whole campground ) & have a great time, testing gear, sharing tips (trust me, in person & hands on is best) & food, which, oddly enough is also better in person.

Will probably be posting something about it by end of Sept. But to see what we have done in the past:
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ghlight=Rogers
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ghlight=Rogers
And the planning forum for that year:
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ghlight=Rogers

[Cranky Bear]

There has been great info already given on ways to combat moisture, warmth while in hammock or in camp, attire while on the move, and the like!

There are a many great posts and Video's from fellow HF'ers like Shug, Fourdog, Mac, Fronkey, and many other's from up North that will give you an astoundingly wealth of information on winter hammocking (and more).

The Quote below is most likely the best thing to do first before going out on any winter adventure/hike/excursion!

Before going out on a longer trip, some winter car camping trips are a good idea or at least a backyard hang if possible. It lets you test out your gear and there is always the bail out of leaving. Just this past January I had to bail on a trip when the weather turned colder than I was prepared for. It even helps to just do a day trip. The main thing is to go out and test yourself and you gear in a relatively safe setting for a shorter time before going further afield for days.

[Oper8or]

Some really good info in this thread. Keep putting the info in here! Some of us need it for encouragement and just need the info. I've made a little list for myself on a few things here. They are all sound ideas on how to do this in cold weather.

[CatSplat]

Since hammock socks have been mentioned, I got to wondering. If you're out in the cold where liquid precipitation is not a concern, does one use a hammock sock instead of a tarp? I presume a water-resistant sock or overcover would do just fine to keep the night's snowfall off.

Edit: Did some more thinking, maybe making the sock out of a truly waterproof-breathable material like eVent would work best as it would keep condensation from building up inside and still keep snow/meltwater out of the hammock. eVent isn't readily available so maybe something like Epic or a breathable DWR-finished fabric like Pertex would be sufficient.

[behappy]

Lots of good information here. Thank you for the tip about Refletix at Lowes, I might pick a piece of that up next trip out there.

Still, there's no information on how to camp on the ground. Even if I handicap my adventures and only stay near trees, there's always the possibility of the hammock falling through (or me dropping a knife!). I know these are slim chances, but I would worry a lot less if I knew what to do.

I'm thinking some sort of tarp shelter, and a bivy sack with sleeping pad (or maybe a hammock sock used as a bivy?) to keep me out of the mud and slush?

Thanks again for all the information! I will keep studying on it

[Shug]

Here is some visual info......
Maybe glom a trick or too.
Shug 0' Cold