New bridge hammock can't get warm.

**mtinaz** · 06-02-2014, 09:30

Well as the title states I made a new bridge hammock and have woken up every morning absolutely freezing. My entire back will be ice cold and I cant get warm. I am using the same set up I used for my gathered end hammock, which is a 20deg top quilt with a homemade climashield under quilt. On my old hammock this was good down to freezing. The low was only 50 last night and I was still cold. I had someone look at at with me in it and they said it was sealed up all around. Could it be to tight? When I first get in I can feel it get warm then I freeze. Any Ideas?

**Tendertoe** · 06-02-2014, 09:35

I'm not sure how your UQ suspension works but the below may help.

**Boston** · 06-02-2014, 09:41

Even though the quilt is sealing, make sure it isn't sagging underneath you. the quilt need's to be snugged up to the hammock completely to be effective. It's possible you have a gap - which means you'll basically have a draft trough the hammock body material.

My guess is the temp is higher when you go to bed, which will explain why it feels warm at first - it still offer's some insulation, even with a draft.

**sodakgrrl** · 06-02-2014, 09:49

I just recently made a bridge for boothill and this last weekend was his maiden voyage with it. He used the down DIY UQ he had been using with his WBBB. We were able to make it work, but he had to sew on some loops and use a bit of shockcord across the top to get it snug under his legs. Don't check just the edges; you'll need to have someone feel for space underneath you while you are in it. Any voids underneath you are places that will get cold!

**mtinaz** · 06-02-2014, 09:50

Thanks, I watched the video and did a similar set up on mine. I will try to get someone to take some pictures while I am in it and post them.

**BrianWillan** · 06-02-2014, 10:02

Originally Posted by mtinaz

Thanks, I watched the video and did a similar set up on mine. I will try to get someone to take some pictures while I am in it and post them.

When I first started using bridge hammocks with underquilts, I would get cold back syndrome. I found that the underquilt wasn't sealing off properly where the quilt was higher than the edge of the hammock at the low point of the suspension arc. One solution was to add loops at the mid point of the quilt and attach those to a ridgeline on the hammock with shock cord. This worked well enough. However I found the better solution was to cut down the width of the underquilt to be a bit less than the width of the hammock at its narrowest point. This way it is pretty difficult for the quilt to not to seal properly to the hammock.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Brian

**gmcttr** · 06-02-2014, 10:17

You need to slide your (or have someone) hand between the hammock and UQ while you're in it. As stated, any gaps will be cold spots whether the edges are sealed or not. Using a standard UQ on a bridge may require something to pull up both sides in the middle.

**mtinaz** · 06-02-2014, 11:12

Not sure if they really help, but here are some pictures. I did make it skinnier due to it sticking up over the sides do much and have shock cord pulling the part under my legs up.

**mtinaz** · 06-16-2014, 11:19

Well I spent 3 nights in Colorado this past week and while I was able to get rid of the cold back I still woke up cold every morning. I had on the same cloths, underquilt and top quilt that I used 2 months ago down to freezing and the lows were only in the 40's on this trip.