An Argon cloud has arrived aka 'The Roan'

[MedicineMan]

Big excitement yesterday as FedEx dropped off a huge advancement in peapod style sleep systems. 'The Roan' by Insulhammocks (http://camping-hammock.us/) finally in my hands.
Historically I've always loved my Speer PeaPods...all three of them; but the Speer PeaPod always had some weaknesses. The largest of which was the large gap between the bottom of the hammock and the peapod and a large gap between the occupant the the top portion of the peapod.
Another hindrance to the peapod was having to dial it in to your hammock..not a big negative but we've all had times when the faster we could get into the warm downy goodness the better.
'The Roan' has addressed the above and in a huge way. There is no gap between the 'peapod' and the occupant. The top portion drapes within 2-3 inches of the user allowing the use of camp clothing in the sleep system without compressing it.
In the Insulhammock line of offerings 'The Roan' is further advanced by the use of hydrophobic (e.g. highly water resistant) down which is also hypo-allergenic (a huge plus for those like me who have become intolerant to breathing the dust of down).
The Roan is conservatively rated at -5F; warm sleepers will do fine; with my history of freezing in August I think as supplied to be good to 5F but smartly Riven of Insunhammocks has installed windows into the double layer hammock where a foam pad can be inserted-something I always carry.
Speaking of the double layer hammock, it is integral to the system, e.g. there is no dialing in the insulation to the hammock. It is there attached the moment you pull the hammock out of the bag.
This goes back to the Hangnout inspired one bag solution where you pull out the suspension from your storage sack, clip around tree one, walk and 'dispense' the Roan to the next tree, clip and your done.
Done? What about the tarp? Well I'm using a hammock sock that the Roan will live in, the HNO derived hammock sock and the Roan all come out together at the same time.
I plan on using this higher grade Insulhammock on this years Roan Higher Colder hang=here's hoping for cold weather.

p.s. good news for snow. 5 inches at Ripshin so probably 7-10 at Roan High Knob this morning

[chickenwing]

That is a really nice looking piece of gear their. Can't wait to hear your review.

I would also like to see some pictures of the hammock occupied. How well does is sleep on the angle. Initially it looks like it may be an inline sleeping hammock - especially with the pod closed.

[lazy river road]

That's a cool cool system their. Can't wait to hear how it performs in the field. A few questions. Is their enough room in the hammock to use a TQ inside if you wanted to boost temps? Also instead of using a pad inside would it be possje to hang an UQ instead to boost temps? What about attaching woopies and taking the straps off? Thanks for sharing MedicineMan enjoy the new rig.

[dragon360]

Nice new piece of kit - congrats!

[MedicineMan]

When I first saw an Insulhammock at the Big South Fork Hike-n-Hang I too thought in-line but the happy reality is an asym lay is easily and comfortably done.
Another happy suprise is that The Roan is differentially cut in every possible direction ~you'd have to get with Rivendell for the specifics~ but I could not creat a cold spot in any position I got in including the 'laying indian position' where I crossed my legs and really pushed my knees into the insulation with ONE exception and that is the zipper.
When I first set it up and did the head to tail fine tooth comb examination I found 2 deficits in my mind, that is two things I'd change. One of which the manufacturer Insulhammocks has agreed to address in future models and that is a draft tube either in front of or behind the zipper.
Speeking of zippers. Compared to the velcro closure of the Speer PeaPod I greatly like the zipper better--much faster in use and with the velcro it took lots of effort to get a good seal. Also you can zip/unzip from the inside or outside with pull tabs.
Topquilt inside or additional bottom quilt? OK remember I mentioned the top portion of the Insulhammock drapes nicely toward the body with at worse a 2-3 inch gap (this changes as you reposition..and that this gap would easily be closed with camp clothes, so you could add a topquilt inside but nothing like a Winter Mamba; well you could be something that lofts at 5-7 inches is just going to be wasted loft and weight..this of course baed on my body size. Now adding bottom insulation is also possible, it is built with 2 openings to facilitate the addition of a foam pad and/or a summer weight underquiilt---again the Insulhammock does not have the big sag gap the original PeaPods had between the bottom of the hammock and the pod itself. BUT with 4.5 inches of loft below (and me in a hammock sock) this wouldn't be an issue until well below 0F and beyond.
Attaching whoopies-
The Roan as supplied had by my request short continuous loops of Amsteel I use to attach to Dutch Biners used in the Hangnout designed suspension for the AirShip. Rivendell did his best guess but there were two short....2 minute job here at the house to pull them out and pull in longer continuous loops through a sewn channel. Once through and larks headed you can attach whatever you want-from quick easy heavy webbing to whoopie slings, your choice.
My only regret is that I didn't have this 2 weeks ago when it was -7F. I feel that me, the eternal cold person, would have had no issues in warmth (of course I'd also been wearing my down pants inside, a down balaclava, and a down top).

First sleep report! I was at work so Poof gave it a go in the living room on the hammock stand. Poof says great comfort, very cozy completely surrounded by down, like a PeaPod but not as restricted, the Argon feels like silk BUT inside she just zipped it partially up over her lower leggs; the micro climate still maintained a great amount of warmth (this room is not heated so ranges from 58F to 60F). What she discovered was Roan won't be solely for deep winter hanging. Insulhammocks 'regular' offereing, i.e. the 'Insulhammock' has a shifted temperatue range-remember The Roan is the seriously for cold use model-so the Insulhammock is probably good up to the 60s.

[Cranky Bear]

Sounds great MedicineMan, I look forward to hearing your results on how it performs on your outing.

[nothermark]

Looks nice! I'm looking forward to trip reports. ;-)

FWIW I wonder why we do not see more insulated hammocks. Requirements change enough between winter and the rest of the year that it makes sense to buy a separate hammock focused on warmth rather than bug resistance. By the time one buys a set of winter quilts the hammock is incidental.

[MedicineMan]

NotherMark- I reached the same conclusion after realizing I always use an underquilt and at minimum a 40F one. That led to me seeking out the Bonefire by FIMB. It is rated to 35F and is now my 8-9 season hammcock. The Roan will be the set up for the 3-4 months of cold->seriously cold months. There will be overlap and that's ok, it won't be more than a month.
Either the Bonefire or The Roan fit perfectly into the one-bag scheme in conjunction with the HNO Hammock socks I use. Each is based on a double layer hammock so one can always add the 1/8 ccf for big temperature surprises.
It might not sound like much but each system eliminates a step, installing the insulation; and eliminates the possibilty of coming off the insulation during sleep. The HNO socks did the same thing by eliminating the tarp, the tangle lines, and the set up time. It all adds up to less time fiddling and more time doing whatever (sleeping, eating, hiking).
While I'm working tonight Poof is going to give it the first outside test hang....anticipated low is 18-20F...should not be a challenge.

[grannypat]

Have fun with your new gear. Can the hammock part be detached to be washed separately?

[MedicineMan]

funny Grannypat, I've never washed a hammock
But No it is not detachable....but there is no reason the whole kabudle can't be washed together...thinking back, I've never washed a sleeping bag or quilt either.

Also forgot to mention, we discovered the mesh bag inside The Roan above the head and a tie off of amsteel at either end, both strong enough to use to pull your weight. Nice touches.