Not Fancy but hot pea pod!!

[BillyBob58]

Here is how sag is taken care of with the Speer PeaPod:

On each end of the pod are nylon cords much like shoe strings, which pass through channels. I wrap these around the hammock end knot


and adjust tightness so that I normally have about 6" of sag between the bottom of the pod and the bottom of the hammock. Also, when these cords are tightened up even a little bit, it causes the pod to cinch down tight onto the hammock ends.

Once I get in, usually the hammock sags more than the pod and I end up with the pod just barely touching my back, no gap. If I want a little more gap for some reason, or if it is tight enough to compress the loft, I just loosen up on one end a little at a time until it is where I want it.

So you might want to add some channels to the ends and run some nylon cords through them. Though I'm not sure if the hood and all would interfere with any of that. But on the Speer Pod, it is hard to imagine a more draft free approach unless you are actually inside a mummy bag or rectangular bag with separate hood. It is draft free enough that small gaps under me don't destroy warmth. But if you have any openings on the end, cold air will rush in to fill those gaps and it will be cold.

[Lowrider]

That sure looks like a nice fit and a warm sleep. Do you find that the face hole for lack of a better term...will move with you if you go from laying on your back to your side? The "pucker" strings on both end makes a lot of sense to seal the gaps.

Great ideas...keep em coming...I'm learning!!

[sleestac]

i slept in mine in a blizzard 7degf and 40 mile an hour wind and snow.was warm all night.was actually a bit surprised to wake and see all the drifted snow.the thing i do not like about it is i can not curl up in a ball in it the bag is to narrow.
i think the way you have yours will work just stuff something in the foot end to stop any drafts and figure a way to hang the front end a little so you can get rid of the air space.
Bill

Lonetracker, you know cold up in Iron Mt, MI. That is a nice set up. Thanks.

[Yojimbo]

I've been facing the same issue as I am setting up a system for my son. I have the hammock going through an old camp style sleeping bag. This leaves a lot of over gap at the foot end a a fair amount at the head. My solution was to suspend a second hammock below the sleeping bag which will lift it up to the bottom of the first. Testing it this weekend worked just fine. He moves around a lot when he sleeps and this worked well with that as well.

I thing a hamkock sock would work the same way if not better. Plus it would be better against wind and upsplash.

[BillyBob58]

Here is how sag is taken care of with the Speer PeaPod:

On each end of the pod are nylon cords much like shoe strings, which pass through channels. I wrap these around the hammock end knot


and adjust tightness so that I normally have about 6" of sag between the bottom of the pod and the bottom of the hammock. Also, when these cords are tightened up even a little bit, it causes the pod to cinch down tight onto the hammock ends.

Once I get in, usually the hammock sags more than the pod and I end up with the pod just barely touching my back, no gap. If I want a little more gap for some reason, or if it is tight enough to compress the loft, I just loosen up on one end a little at a time until it is where I want it.

So you might want to add some channels to the ends and run some nylon cords through them. Though I'm not sure if the hood and all would interfere with any of that. But on the Speer Pod, it is hard to imagine a more draft free approach unless you are actually inside a mummy bag or rectangular bag with separate hood. It is draft free enough that small gaps under me don't destroy warmth. But if you have any openings on the end, cold air will rush in to fill those gaps and it will be cold.

That sure looks like a nice fit and a warm sleep. Do you find that the face hole for lack of a better term...will move with you if you go from laying on your back to your side? The "pucker" strings on both end makes a lot of sense to seal the gaps.

Great ideas...keep em coming...I'm learning!!

The "bump" of this thread let me see that I had never answered this question. Sorry Lowrider, but here you go just 3 months late:
The "face hole" moves with me where ever I need it to be. Mainly because the vent ranges from wide open head to toe, or as you see it in these pics, or only a 1/2" diameter vent an inch or 3 in front of my face, or fully closed. That is because it is a full length Velcro closure and you just put the vent - or vents - wherever along the length that you want it to be.

The other thing is that I can rotate the Pea Pod a fair amount on it's axis. So If I have the vent right over my face while on my back, and turn to my side, I can just rotate the pod so the vent is line up as needed. With some hammocks, this all adds up to the most bomb proof system I have used, once you start adding unused clothing or Quilts ( even the lightest summer quilts put on top or in the bottom- add a huge boost). Not necessarily my favorite system because:
1: It does not work as well with all hammocks and does not work at all with some hammocks like a bridge or hammocks where I can not get the net enough out of the way.
2: It is not the lightest approach in all situations. Although, it does not really weigh any more than most full length TQ/UQ combos plus suspensions. But due to the usual gap on top, you may have to add cloths or a very light quilt to be as warm on top as the same weight TQ. And a short UQ approach, used with a sit pad ( or your pack) that you have with you any way will def be lighter and less bulk.
3: for some, it is a claustrophobic approach, but never a problem for me.

But, there is a reason why Fourdog and Shug and some others have been able to use pod style systems in the coldest temps imaginable. And Shug for one has reported that he has never been warmer than when he tried a rigged up pod system. Just like when zipped up in a mummy bag, there is no draft developing along an edge or at the neck when you move in your sleep. There is nothing to slip off of your shoulder, no suspension to sag during the night, etc. you can twirl around like a top in there, and all stays in place with no drafts developing.

Sorry to be so late with this Lowrider, but if you see this post, maybe now it is getting cool enough that you can test your system out! In fact, as you are in Idaho, no doubt it has been plenty cool enough for testing! If you are still using this system, let us know how it has worked out!

[thekevinator]

now if I could only bring myself to hack a hole in the foot end of my 300$ sleeping bag lol...how do you commit to such a thing?

[BillyBob58]

now if I could only bring myself to hack a hole in the foot end of my 300$ sleeping bag lol...how do you commit to such a thing?

That would be hard for most of us to do! It sure would be easier to start with a bag with a zipper that opens all the way around the foot. Or something like a FF Wren or Exped Wall Creeper.

[fishfish]

The perennial problem with sleeping bag to peapod conversions is how to get the bag snugged up to you underneath the hammock. Air space equals cold space.

velcro on the pod and the bottom of the hammock.