How to be cold in a hammock. On purpose.

[Can't Wait]

Great test of the gear and yourself I still need to test limit of my 20 ° bag and winter incubator may hang in my garage this weekend to get at least a feel not heated door is off so just like outside lol

[Beast 71]

SOTM=?????? Huh?

[animalcontrol]

make a great point though. I find that temp ratings are like ranges on walkies.. They say they're good for up to 32 miles, but theydon't say that that's in perfect conditions, on the ocean with no obstruction in ideal atmospheric conditions. For most of us, they work about a mile or two.

while true that everything is subjective to the end user, I would add that in the case of insulation, the end user makes a much larger variable than an electronic radio...

EVERYTHING matters in a test example the OP conducted...the person, the hammock, the location, the UQ, the TQ, the clothing, the food, the temperature, the wind, etc, etc, etc...

as a small example, my maiden voyage with the exact same UQ yielded at low of 15*F with a summer tarp setup (read no doors). Now, IMO, it would be unfair not to point out I was using a 0*F rated TQ and located on a hill side out of the wind (20+ mph).

at the end of the day, there are many changes the OP could try to use the same UQ/TQ at the exact same temps and have 'possibly' better results.

My goal of backyard/car camping tests were to establish safety parameters on when to use what gear. IF I brought a 3 season setup and the weather took a nasty turn, where are my safety limits? That was the goal.

Again, no 1 piece of your winter kit is the key...ALL OF IT matters!!

[Jsaults]

I coined the acronym "SOTM" for spur of the moment.

And Animalcontrol: I agree wholheartedly with you. I had the opportunity to see what a worst case scenario might yield, so I decided to go for it. I could have eaten before hiking, but as I was running on empty I decided to throw that into the mix as well.

Seakayaker Mag routinely publishes sccounts of trips that go bad - sometimes resulting in the need for rescue of the participants, sometimes resulting in fatalities. One account that has haunted me was of a couple who made some bad decisions, became wind-bound on an island, but had food, water and a stove. Yet they failed to heat any of their food, failed to stay hydrated and simply stayed in their tent becoming more and more hypothermic. Luckily they were rescued just as the batteries in their VHF radio were dying.

I was not willing to place myself in such dire straits, but just wanted to test the lower envelope of comfort.

BTW: I have winter camped in the Adirondaks and White mountains, and in teh Allegheny NF in PA and the Mon NF in WV, but always in tents. Mt hammock hanging was always for beating the summer heat, so I am just now "dipping my big toe" into the challenging world of winter hanging. I have much to learn!

Jim

[gunner76]

What I like to see. Testing your gear to see what works. Good report