Just had a brainwave, inflatable insulation

[Shewie]

Has anyone tinkered with the idea of inflatable insulation? By that I mean something along the lines of a NeoAir mat, but quilt shaped and suspended underneath the hammy.

With the technologies available now such as the aluminised fabrics and internal baffles is there any mileage in a quilt system? A top quilt probably isn't going to work but with some careful design and calculations I think an UQ might.

I'm not sure how the new XTherm works but how would the 5.7 R-Value work as a quilt?

Down is so good because it traps the air right, is there scope for these new reflective fabrics to work in quilts?

Would the fabrics alone be warm enough or would there still be a need for fill material?

Horizontal baffles for underneath (NeoAir style) and lengthwise baffles for the sides (P.O.E style)?

Pros would be:

Lightweight
Packs smaller than down
Easier to weatherproof (if it's even necessary?)

Cons:

Difficult to dial in?
Hard to get the fit right for each particular brand of hammock
Expensive?


Apologies if this stuff is already out there, it probably is. I've seen the cuben UQ which somebody made, but again it had down so it was only a weight saving on the shell material.

Shoot me down, I'm ready for it. It's not often I have a sensible idea

[Cali]

The down UQ's work so well since they snug up to your body. I would think using inflatable insulation under you would not snug up as well and you would have air gaps. Plus I would think that you would need some insulating properties, as just air would not keep you warm in cold weather. Just my thoughts.

[Cst]

I would think there is potential in the future for this, but condensation would be a huge problem.

[WV]

I agree with Calli and Cst. I made the cuben UQ, but have since recycled the down in a top quilt.

[Shewie]

I would think there is potential in the future for this, but condensation would be a huge problem.

I'd not considered that, pretty basic stuff really but I think you're spot on.

I suppose there's potential for the condensation to travel along the baffles and escape somewhere? I have the original NeoAir in the short model but I've not really noticed much condensation when ground dwelling, it's not really something that gets discussed a lot with the tenters and tarpers.

But yeah certainly another one to add to the Cons list unless somebody can come up with a clever solution.

[psyon27]

This has some merit I think. You could mitigate the air gaps with some down draft tubes. Also possibly have 1/4" - 1/2" UQ built into the side that snugs against the hammock. In essence using the "air mattress" part as the major insulation. I get it, might as well make a whole UQ and this is a lot of work to make it a little bit lighter/bulky. However, this could be the next new gadget.

Ken

[Boston]

Air pad's don't really insulate you. On the ground they work well because they add comfort, and the ground doesn't draw a lot of heat. In a hammock, the air outside draws significantly more heat (convection vs conduction of heat). It may work in moderate temps, but even on the ground you need a (heavy) insulated air pad to keep warm at cold temps.

[Rockdawg69]

Air pad's don't really insulate you. On the ground they work well because they add comfort, and the ground doesn't draw a lot of heat. In a hammock, the air outside draws significantly more heat (convection vs conduction of heat). It may work in moderate temps, but even on the ground you need a (heavy) insulated air pad to keep warm at cold temps.

+1.
I was using an Exped 7 down mat in my hammock when temps went to about 36*one night on the AT. The mat deflated somewhat during the night due to the colder air temps I think. This had not happened the previous 6 nights when temps were in the 50's. CBS followed pretty quickly and I'm lying there wondering why. As a rule, I only inflated the Exped about 1/2 way so that it would conform to the hammock better. This probably contributed to the extra deflation more than expected. That was the last time I used an inflatable pad inside a hammock. Lesson learned - UQ's rock!

[kayak karl]

been discussed back in '08. this was around then http://www.balloonbed.com/

[Gqgeek81]

Yup, I believe Gardenville created that on the backpacking light forum. There were a few versions. I think that in the picture uses balloon animal type balloons. IIRC he went on to get rolls of plastic like you'd heat seal into product packaging. He cut these to length and sealed one end, loaded them with down and made them inflatable on the other end.
No idea how they worked out for him in the long run.

If you can handle using a blue foam pad without condensation being an issue for you, i see no reason why something else would be any worse.

The issue is absolutely something to keep in mind and if you're going to the trouble to DIY something, then the breathable options are probably a better idea, but there's no hard fast rule that something like this won't work.