-10 and below Weather

[Alamosa]

I have just used my winter bag inside my hammock with my winter UQ in my trips reaching the -30* nights.

I made a DIY winter hammock that has no bug net. Messing with the additional size of the bag, extra layer of clothes, etc. is enough of a challenge without trying to deal with the bugnet - either zipping or keeping it out of the way.

My winter UQ is oversized so that it gives the hammock a taco effect. The sides actually come up about 6 inches higher than the side of the hammock. I can place additional clothes or shed clothing inbetween the hammock and UQ, which makes it very convenient.

[raiffnuke]

I have just used my winter bag inside my hammock with my winter UQ in my trips reaching the -30* nights.

I made a DIY winter hammock that has no bug net. Messing with the additional size of the bag, extra layer of clothes, etc. is enough of a challenge without trying to deal with the bugnet - either zipping or keeping it out of the way.

My winter UQ is oversized so that it gives the hammock a taco effect. The sides actually come up about 6 inches higher than the side of the hammock. I can place additional clothes or shed clothing inbetween the hammock and UQ, which makes it very convenient.

Do you have any pictures of your setup? Did you use your bag as a bag or a TQ?

[Alamosa]

Do you have any pictures of your setup? Did you use your bag as a bag or a TQ?

I did a report on it here: http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=29240

Not the most detailed pictures, but hopefully you can see well enough. I zipped in as a regular sleeping bag so I could close the face hole as much as possible.

[jwright]

110 deg heat index today here in MD. God bless you all for this post today.

Jason

[BillyBob58]

Though I can not really contribute, as I have only slept a few times at a balmy 10F way down here in MS, and many times in the teens and 20s( MS and the Rockies), I still feel confident in saying there are many ways to skin this cat.

Minus 27 has even been done in a "lowly" HHSS with appropriate added insulation.
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=6740

Night two, -27F: added my down +30F REI Sahara down bag between Multimat and OCF in the UC.
Bag: added fleece bag liner, and Primaloft parka thrown over legs
Clothing - Torso: 300 wt Polarfleece as outer layer
Clothing - Neck: fleece neck gaiter to pull up over eyes...............................

I was plenty warm both nights. No sensation of cold except for the bridge of my exposed nose.

I love a Speer PeaPod. Even a MS southern boy like me has been able to sleep warm enough at 10F by wearing a 14 oz PG jacket, 8 oz PG pants, a summer bag as quilt on top, and a space blanket in the bottom. By substituting a winter bag on top, and adding maybe the same into the bottom ( or a pad in the hammock or even down in the pod) I think well below zero would be a cinch. For example, a 20F TQ, inside the pod, should give you a good 5" loft or more total on top(pod + bag loft). 5" of single layer loft is some kind of warm. With something similar on the bottom, you could end up with a ton of loft.

It can be used with the WBBB, just close it under the RL as others have said. But, the "wall" on the right side really tends to lift the pod up on that side. Any TQ you add will be able to fill that gap/space, but I still think a more narrow hamock works better- like the Claytor No Net. It allows the hammock to drape down better, and leaves more room for adding other insulation.

But at some point you start running out of room for more insulation. The PolarPod would allow a lot more room for adding extra insulation.

I suspect it will be tough to use a bag as pod over the WBBB. That wall/shelf, again, still leaves you with a big area that needs covering, even if under the RL. I think it will need to be a pretty wide and long bag. The PeaPod product is ~ 6 feet wide in the middle and 9 ft long, the PolarPod even bigger. If you can picture your entire hammock, from near the end knots on both ends through the middle, being completely enclosed with thick loft ( though you may leave various sizes of breathing/vent holes), that is the PeaPod. I think it is the easiest way to get a draft free sleep. IOW, there simply is no draft.

Also consider a JRB MW4 or other winter UQ, full length or torso, with leg pad. These will get you to zero or a bit below. You can add a space blanket for another 10 or 20F, maybe. Or of course add pads or additional UQs. Then just use your winter bag on top.

Consider augmenting any of the above with an IX UQ. I found that to REALLY boost my PeaPod.

[wisenber]

- 25 F average! That is pretty darned low! I think the only -30 F nights I've ever been out were climbing Mt. McKinley and Grossglockner and those were WAY above treeline using expedition climbing gear and clothing. I was also sleeping in either a tent or a snow shelter.

The lowest I've hammocked was in the -15 F range, and I stayed toasty. I'll add my voucher for the peapod method. I used a 20° Speer Peapod with a JRB No Sniveler between the hammock and Peapod on the bottom and a JRB Old Rag Mtn on top. That meant I had about 5.5-7 inches of down surrounding me. I was warm enough to require venting a couple of times with that set up.

While the air is dry at that temperature, your breath and your body are not. If you are going to be out more than a night or two in those temps, adding a layer of vapor barrier clothing will keep your down from getting frozen with respiration and perspiration. At those temps, that can be a life saver.

Keeping things simple is also critical in those temps. Find the simplest way to hang your tarp and your hammock. Complicated knots and tiny strings can become impossible to manage in frostbite conditions. I'd go with straps, cinch buckles and biners just to give me peace of mind in the dexterity department. At minus 30 F, you can only expose your fingers for a few minutes at a time at best. Tying a marlin spike hitch in gloves might be entertaining at home, but I wouldn't care to rely on it if my life depended on it..and it would.

Another note of concern is the actual hammock suspension. Many of the materials used to suspend a hammock can become brittle and fail below minus 30 F. Bringing all of that gear to stay warm in a hammock only to see your suspension fail could lead to either a premature end of the hike...or the hiker.

As a footnote, I love cold weather hiking and climbing as well.

[MedicineMan]

Cant contribute either--my low is 1.6F--but am willing. Maybe more of us southern folk might get invited to the winter bash Shug and FourDog host??

[The Rambler]

Thanks for all of the ideas and information thus far! Looking into pods more, my current sleeping bag a 15F bag is not wide enough to make an effective pod. I dont think i would be able to put an uq on because its so tight.

[bhinson]

I would like to see how it would work in
The -40's•c we get up here in Winnipeg Mb Canada
After a winter of -40's when we get up to -13 or -10 it like
Shorts and t-shirt weather

[MacEntyre]

If you have enough insulation in your UQ and TQ, and you don't have a pod, your WBBB will do well at those low temps with the addition of a Bear Burrito Oven, or BBO, a top cover for the WBBB from AHE.

FourDog and I had great results from our canvas hammock socks last winter. He used his at -15*F, around his peapod. I used mine at 0*F on Roan Mtn, with a howling wind, and nothing but a Snugfit and a single Top Blanket inside.