It's the new guy again! New question. I am about to head to Minnesota for a week, and although we have a cabin, sharing with family, I am planning to take the ENO double w/ bugnet, profly, etc. Hope to hang at least one night.
Question, it still gets down to about 50 F wach night. What do I need to stand that? Realize, flying w/ wife so packing space is limited. Thanks! (also, i am hot natured and love to be cool)
I'm sure others with more experience will give better info but..
This is in an ENO doublenest.
I live in GA so nights are warm/hot this time of year. When lows are near 70, a Neatsheet underneath me does fine with a 45 degree bag as a quilt. I don't use the sleeping bag at all until about 3:00am when the temps drop near the low. If there is a breeze, maybe a little eariler.
If it drops below 68-70, I get cool on the bottom with any breeze at all with the above setup. I usually wake up cold and find myself rearranging to make sure the Neatsheet is underneath my shoulders and back/kidneys. Monday night, I folded my down sleeping bag underneath me. I'm sure I compressed the down, but adding a sleeping bad underneath me helped cut the light breeze. This would not work for 50 degree temps for me. I would freeze.
I have once used a Thermarest Prolight 3 short under me and felt like it would be fine down into the 50s. It was about 65 degrees that night and very windy on the edge of a lake. My inexperience created a nice wind tunnel effect with my rain fly as well. I just had a hard time staying on top of the pad.
I will very soon build an underquilt because I don't like sleeping on a pad in the hammock. I have yet to spend the night in my double layer hammock with the pad between the layers.
So far I have just used a foam pad underneath me. It seems to work pretty well.
That and I grew up in Minnesota. I don't remember 50 degrees at night this time of year. Maybe in the mid to high 60's.
I've gotten down to 55 degrees buy using a foam pad that I got from Wal-Mart ($5 or $6 - the thin, flat one... not the egg crate style), along with a sleeping bag. I just put the pad in the hammock, under the sleeping bag.
Hammocking suffers from cold temperatures worse than tenting because of the moving air underneath you. Most everyone seems to be of the opinion that any temp under 70 calls for something under you (not everyone, some people sleep pretty hot).
At 50* you will need something fairly significant. A CCF (closed-cell foam) pad would do the trick and be your cheapest option at under $10.00. A nice underquilt would be nicer... but now you're talking around $200.00 (word on the street is that ENO is coming out with a way to handle the cold temps).
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Underquilt, you need an underquilt!
Nah, not really. They're way nice, but the blue pads folks are recommending work just fine...as long as you aren't a sweater. I used the blue pads for months before I got my first underquilt. While I don't think they provide the same type of warmth as a good (or even bad) underquilt, they do keep you warm.
Plus, you mentioned pack space due to traveling with the wife (I feel your pain). You don't even have to pack it since there are Walmarts everywhere. Just pick it up on your way to camp. Cheap enough to dispose of or give to one of the people that becomes interested in hammocking; you know it's going to happen.
Trust nobody!
Would a therm-a-rest work just as well as the blue wally world pad? I have one of those now, and it's a full length deluxe (slightly thicker) version. Thoughts on that? Or just pick up the blue pad when I stop for the cooler and beer for right beside the hammock?
It's been cool at nights lately. I'd say if you're going to be in the Northern part of the state you're likely to come across 50 or even 40 degree nights. You're going to need bottom insulation of some type.
Underquilts are the best option, IMO. Pads can be made to work. I hear they can even work well although I moved to an underquilt as quickly as I could.
If you go with a pad, wider is better within reason. I've slept OK using a thermarest zlite.
Get a bugnet or you'll be hating life.
Where in MN are you going to be?
Last edited by guySmiley; 07-02-2009 at 10:28.
Yes, the thermarests are a bit narrow, but they will work fine. Might want to bring a couple of extra pieces of clothing to tuck under your shoulders where they touch the hammock just to avoid cold spots.
Trust nobody!
the larger thermarests are 26" wide, and that just works for me. The "packing" versions are 20" wide and that's too narrow for a hammock. But here your cheap Walmart CCF pad can be purchased and cut in half to make the top of a T for your shoulders.Originally Posted by enolounger
The thing about therarests though is that they are slippery. I tried using one in a HH a couple of nights and I was like one of those guys who rides a motorcycle around in a spherical cage scooting around trying to stay on top of it. Best you try that solution at home first.
Whereabouts in MN are you going?
Grizz
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