So I live in MI and I've been hanging pretty much every night for the past three months. Generally, I've been very comfortable. But last night (and about two other recent nights), my feet were pretty cold. I'd love to get some feedback for why -- and what I might do about it. It got down to about 13* last night. I'm thinking that, with the below setup, I should still be pretty comfortable. What am I doing wrong???
Here's my setup:
1) Hammock: WBBB
2) Tarp: WBSF with two doors closed, two open (for easy entry/exit)
3) Sock: WB Travel Sock (zipper fully closed for max heat retention)
4) UQ: HG Incubator 0* with 2 oz overfill. I verified that my feet are completely covered by the UQ. My heels are definitely on the UQ (and the UQ is properly adjusted to be hugging the hammock close there). My toes (flopping against the WBBB's footbox) are definitely covered by the UQ. So I shouldn't need a foam pad under my feet -- right???
5) TQ: EE RevelationX 10* with 5 oz overfill. This was my first night with this -- now my warmest TQ. It was VERY warm everywhere except my feet! It appears not to be a down distribution issue -- appears to be plenty of down in foot area.
6) Headgear. I know -- if your feet are cold, put on a hat. But I'm thinking that I'm really well covered already:
- Seirus Neofleece Comfort Masque.
- Outdoor Research Sonic Balaclava.
- Zpacks Goose Hood.
7) Pillow: Cabela's Camp Pillow.
8) Footwear: Extreme Alpaca Socks.
My only ideas are as follows:
- Maybe in the coldest weather, my Incubator UQ can't adequately insulate my feet and I just need a CCF footpad?
- I've been kind of skeptical of "gathered-end" style TQs like EE's. I've been thinking that in the middle of the foot area, where the end is all gathered together, there is basically zero insulation and therefore a thermal short between the inside and outside of the TQ. Are "gathered end" type TQs just inferior in this way, as I'd been fearing? I've admired the sewn-end TQs for some time, but they are all much more expensive than the amazing deals that EE has been running on their "Ready to Ship" X-line TQs.
- Should I put Plastic Bags over my warm socks as local Vapor Barriers?
What do you think?
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