Five things I learned this weekend

**Seeker** · 11-30-2006, 13:41

michele,

loved your post... nice to watch your progress. i use the 'biner' system too. from jeff's warning, and after much thought, i upgraded from some cheap aluminum 300# biners to regular climbing ones. only a bit more weight, but a lot more peace of mind. you can also then clip that rig to the top daisy chain loop on a packstrap and use the tree huggers as thumb-loops (that was jeff's idea, not mine.)

i've got a 35* bag that i normally use as a quilt, but below about 55, i just get inside... i hate rolling over and getting that cold blast of air on my legs or back or wherever... different strokes for different folks i guess. works for you and me.

i too find about a 3*-5* difference in inside and outside temps. the closer the tarp is, the better it seems to be.

top of your sock works good for the stake dirt too

**Peter_pan** · 11-30-2006, 14:32

Originally Posted by Michele

Really? I'm using the Nest as an underquilt and a CCF pad inside the hammock. I don't know what else to add besides another CCF pad, but I'm not really willing to do that because it adds more weight/bulk. It's weird, I'm not horribly uncomfortable, it's just waves here and there of cold chills, but you must understand that when I lived in Hawaii, I'd be lying on the beach and when clouds went in front of the sun, I'd get cold chills then too. It doesn't take anything for me to get chilled.

I learned that in the 40's...I'm good, in the 30's is when I need to start taking cold-weather measures. I could have pitched my tarp a bit closer to my hammock and I think that would have helped. My thermometer (inside of my hammock w/me) showed 35 degrees...so I'm thinking it was probably closer to 30-32 outside. I had ice/frost built up on the inside/outside of my tarp in the morning and there was frost on the ground too. I also had some condensation built up on the bug netting of my hammock...I kind of expected that though.

Do you think more bottom insulation would help due to my heat being robbed by convection?

Michele ,

Something is not right...With the bottom insulation you are describing low 20s should be a given...Also what is the rating ,age and amount of past use of your top bag ?....How thick was the ccp? also what was its size?

30-32 is not cold... yea , it is freezing but so what... it is not real cold, especially for the gear you are describing... ok, women sleep cooler but still...

Do you eat cheese or some other slow digesting food right before turning in?

Pan

**ringtail-THFKAfood** · 11-30-2006, 15:01

Originally Posted by Michele

2. When you pull your tarp stakes out of the ground to pack everything up, if they're coated w/mud or dirt, just use some leaves on the ground as a "cloth" to get the dirt/mud off if you can't just knock it off (which I couldn't this weekend).

If you use round stakes and attach the guylines with a clove hitch then sliding the cord off the stake also cleans the stake.

Just an idea. YMMV

**stoikurt** · 11-30-2006, 15:07

Maybe the "Nest" is not adjusted properly to the hammock.

**Ewker** · 11-30-2006, 15:37

maybe it is a defected Nest

**slowhike** · 11-30-2006, 15:49

Originally Posted by Ewker

maybe it is a defected Nest

that`s better than an infested nest:~o

**Aramis** · 11-30-2006, 18:01

What do you mean by 'lounge' in your HH? Do you mean folding it in half and sitting on the fabric part like in the pictures at Sgt Rock's site?

**FanaticFringer** · 11-30-2006, 18:15

After reading your post and SG Rocks about the biner and the tree huggers, I think I'll look at doing it myself. Sounds like a plan.

**Certain** · 12-01-2006, 09:07

Originally Posted by Aramis

What do you mean by 'lounge' in your HH? Do you mean folding it in half and sitting on the fabric part like in the pictures at Sgt Rock's site?

Yes...so using it like a chair to sit on and cook/change clothes, etc. Just be careful when cooking under your tarp not to get the flames too close! I had a close call this past weekend.

**Certain** · 12-01-2006, 09:19

Originally Posted by Peter_pan

Michele ,

Something is not right...With the bottom insulation you are describing low 20s should be a given...Also what is the rating ,age and amount of past use of your top bag ?....How thick was the ccp? also what was its size?

30-32 is not cold... yea , it is freezing but so what... it is not real cold, especially for the gear you are describing... ok, women sleep cooler but still...

Do you eat cheese or some other slow digesting food right before turning in?

Pan

My bag is a brand new 20-degree WM bag, this weekend makes use #4, so that's definitely not an issue. For an example of how much body heat I lose and how cold of a sleeper I am, in the 30's I have to wear a full face balaclava (OR brand) AND my wigwam skull cap to feel warm.

My ccp is that $12.00 blue Wally-World pad that Rock talks about on this site. If zipped up in my bag, I stay right on it. I'm only 5'6", so I trimmed it down. I can't say that I feel my underneath side getting cold, it's just an overall chill that I get, and this weekend, it was only my upper body (arms, because I had a vest, not a full jacket), but when one part of my body get's cold, I get chills throughout.

I ate a snickers bar right before bed. I really think I am just an exceptionally cold sleeper.

I could mess w/the adjustment of my Nest. When I adjust it, I pull the draw strings so that I can still place my hand in the end and feel a small gap between the nest and hammock. One night (it was again in the low 30's/upper 20's w/wind) I didn't tighten my Nest as much and had a pretty cold lower body, so it made me think I left it too loose.

If anyone has any suggestions I'm open to them. I'm definitely going to start throwing a hot water bottle in my bag.

What about the myth(?) that maybe I'm wearing too much clothing? Is there any truth to the advice I've read that sleeping nude keeps you warmer?