Question for the hammock people

If you guys were to go hang in the next couple weeks, what would you take to stay warm?

Right now I don't have anything extra to go with my hammock except for a bag and a sleeping pad. I have a coleman inflatable pad and a coleman 30 deg. bag (I have a buddy who's a vendor to Walmart for Coleman...gotta love freebies!). Will that be enough for this time of year when the temps dip down into the 40's?

I cant afford to go out and buy new under/over quilts and such right now.

how thick is the pad? I think with a 30 deg bag and a pad, you should be okay in the upper 40s. Taking a jacket and some kind of long bottoms would't be a bad idea either. One other thing I do when I am a little unsure about being warm is take a couple of handwarmers with me. Put them in your bag right when you make camp (one in the foot box and one around your torso) and they will be nice and toasty by the time you get to bed.

"The hammock people." That cracks me up... LOL...

It's a little thicker than a Therm-a-rest and can be inflated more if wanted/needed.

I like the handwarmer idea...have to remember that! Thanks Willky

Jay wrote:"The hammock people." That cracks me up... LOL...

I've heard once you hang...you'll never lay on the ground again! Not sure about that but I'll find out soon!

This time of the year I use a sleeping bag without insulation underneath. It is a Big Agnes Horse Theif. I got one of the blue pads from walmart and cut it to fit the sleave for the pad in the bag. I can also use my insulpad, insulated mummy shaped mattress, just under inflate. I haven't played with that yet. I normally use a short sit pad under my sholders or just my fleece vest. This has worked for me.

THICK SOCKS for bed time helps a lot as well. I just picked up Reflex alum. insulation with the bubbles in the center. Working on a few ideas with that stuff. Made a fleece bag and put the Reflex inside it and sewed it up. Seems to be warm enough on its on. I plan on testing it tommorrow and or Sat. night. I already have a mod I am going to do to it if its half as warm as I think it is. Do the fleece, but only on one side with a peice of nylon on the otherside. That way you can roll it up inside itself and its trail ready. No need for a stuff sack. Plus, in the lord forbid circumstance that you MUST sleep on the ground, it could go directly on the ground with no ground cloth. Its a little bit on the heavy side but I think that the extra warmth that you can get from this is worth the trade off as from what I am reading its got like a R 6 -8 value, then add in the fleece and wow....

You should be fine, and just in case take a space blanket with you. A boy that was with me got cold one time, and we tied his space blanket under his hammock like an underquilt. It was loud, but it kept him warm down in the 40's. You would be surprised what a pair of thermals will do for you, and extra clothing. The key is to test, test, test. If you need to borrow stuff, I live down the road, just shoot me a pm.

Eddie, tell me how you like the Reflex, I have been wanting to experiment with it for some time.

Dwight