The Hammock in cold tempreatures.

[Camper101]

Hello:

I have just returned from a camping trip with my company (Ii am 14 and belong to the glencairn 79th ventuers). It dropped to about -8 degrees celsius (17.6 degrees farenheit) the second night with my HH expeditoin asym.. The real feel was about -13 degrees celsius(8.6 degrees farenheit). I had a -18 degree celsius sleeping bag along with a fleece which was wrapped around me. I wore a long sleeve sweat shirt with a pair of sweat pants and two pairs of socks (cotton or poyester/cotton) with a blue pad beneath me. I had a great night except for my feet, they froze. I pushed the fleece to my feet because they were so cold but the rest of me was fine. But the weather wasn't my problem (only my feet) what i had noticed was the frost that collected right above and beside my head..
I then thought that it would be nice if i could hang somthing in my hammock to collect the moisture before it freezes beside my head.
If you have an idea or any other tips for winter camping in my hammock (Canada gets cold in winter)

[Hikerhead]

Check out a Clark Jungle Hammock. You'll sleep warmer. I've never had a frost problem the times I've had it out in sub freezing temps.

[Just Jeff]

Wear a balaclava.

How thick was your pad?

[peter_pan]

Be sure that your bottom/end insulation provides for your feet as well... Down booties are absolutely great for the cold footed sleeper, generally only 4-6 oz /pair and the ones with a waterproof bottom and internal cc pad can double as camp slippers in the winter ( just be careful in wet weather, ie save for sleeping use).

Pan

[Camper101]

thanks!


I am deffenatly planning on investing in booties ( my leader and a venture have a pair) the pad i was using was just under a centimetre.

I would though like to find a way to get rid of the frost...am afraid it will get worse if i get an overcover.

[Just Jeff]

A centimeter-thick pad kept you warm at 8*F?!

Holy cow - you must have the metabolism of a...well, something with a very high metabolism...

I could stay warm to about 30-40F with a pad that thick.

[The HotDog]

:welcomeMan, That's cold I hardly ever seen temps that cold were I live. I am just now thinking about cold weather. since last time I wen,t I got cold with a fleece 50-60° and that was tent camping.I am going to try out my hammock in cold conditions this winter.

[Camper101]

ha,ha,ha. Well it only fall and i plan to use my hammock during a Canadian winter. I deffenetly plan to go to -20* celsius(-4*fahrenheit) but i would like to go all the way down to -30*celsius(-22*fahrenheit) but i think it'll be pushing it! But i will attept it but i will have to have some gear to help me. If you have any idea that are fairly cheap i could use them.

[Youngblood]

Camper101,

For the frost collecting by your head you need something breathable covering you mouth and nose. You exhale warm moist air into a cold dry invironment, it will try to condense on the first cool surface it hits and when you breath in the cold dry air it is tough on your mouth, throat and lungs. Remember that cold air can not hold the amount of moisture that warm air can... the air we exhale is warm and very humid. Whatever you breath through will get damp but will help in this process as it will humidify the air you draw into your lungs. You will be more comfortable, stay warmer and have less condensation to deal with. I typically use a cotton bandana for this in cold weather and tie it on the shoulder straps of my pack the next day to air out because it will get a little funky.

Also, in those cold temperatures you want to consider using some vapor barriers to your advantage. Plastic bags on your feet with your heavy socks over them... sometimes light weight synthetic liner socks under them make them more comfortable. Keep in mind that this will usually slightly dampen your feet and liner socks underneath the plastic vapor barriers. This adds a significant amount of warmth so you have to pay attention and vent or remove them if and when your feet start to overheat. You have to pay attention when you use vapor barriers, so you don't you overheat and sweat. You can make a vapor barrier vest out of larger plastic garbage bags and use it in a similar way to easily add warmth to the core of your body. Vapor barriers work on the principle of stopping your body from using energy to maintain the air close to the skin at a relative humidity of at least 70% by trapping and maintaining that moisture close to your skin... when this happens you are not losing the heat required to evaporate water at your skin by a process known as insensible perspiration. However, when you overheat another system in your body generates sweat in the form of direct moisture so you can cool off by evaporative cooling. Since you have a vapor barrier, it prevents the evaporation from occuring so you do not cool off. Therefore your bodies response is to produce more and more sweat, which is not what you want. You have to be aware of all this and vent accordingly so that your natural body response doesn't do just what you don't want it to do... you have to manually respond by venting some of your insulation or removing the vapor barrier.

Is the 1 cm (roughly 3/8") pad all you have? That only provides so much insulation and it is not a lot. Sounds like you are wearing about that much insulation with your clothing. When you get cold, it is very important to concentrate and realize exactly where you are getting cold at. That is half the battle, once you isolate where the problem is often you can figure out a way to help. For instance, when your feet were cold, was it where they made contact with the hammock or pad on the bottom or was it through the top and the sleeping bag? If you were cold because you didn't have enough insulation underneath you, adding insulation on top isn't going to help much and if you overdo that, you might sweat from overheating on top while still being cold on the bottom and get your insulation wet... and really get into a mess.

Cold weather camping can be a lot of fun, but it is more unforgiving as the weather gets colder so it is more important for you to pay attention to what is going on and know how to handle it. The general rule for hammockers is that if you can't stay warm on the underside, then retreat to the ground where it is usually easier to stay warm. At other times you might want to hang your hammock lower to the ground and take advantage of whatever nature insulation is about to increase the underside insulation.

Have fun.

Youngblood

[Camper101]

Thanx young blood. I'll take that into consideration! besides my clothes and sleeping bag the pad was the only thing underneath me. I was warm and toasty but my feet were cold. It was mostly the tips of my toes but it was my whole foot that was cold.


thanks for the insite!

[Just Jeff]

Some things that help me:

If the tips of my toes are cold, it might be the wind blowing across the top of my sleeping bag down there. Rigging my tarp lower/closer on that end can help block the wind.

Sometimes it's because my feet are elevated a little, and my knees are straight, which helps the blood drain from my feet. Good thing after hiking all day, not so good in the cold because it drains some of the heat away. Bending my knees from time to time, or sleeping on my side, keeps fresh blood pumping good and helps sometimes.

Also, when my feet lean against the side of the hammock, I'm compressing the insulation (unless I'm using the underquilt, which provides uncompressed insulation outside of the hammock). Moving around a bit so my feet aren't right against the hammock allows that insulation to loft and can warm me up some.

Some of these might have contributed to your cold feet, too.

[Youngblood]

Thanx young blood. I'll take that into consideration! besides my clothes and sleeping bag the pad was the only thing underneath me. I was warm and toasty but my feet were cold. It was mostly the tips of my toes but it was my whole foot that was cold.

thanks for the insite!You're welcome. The vapor bags on feet ought to help that, but do you have too large or too small a bag or maybe a cold spot at the foot of the bag? Another thing to remember when your hands or feet get cold is circulation... sometimes flexing your fists or wiggling your toes for a minute will help re-establish circulation and help warm them. You do know to keep your head good and warm, right? If your head is cold your body will sacrifice the rest of your body to keep your head warm, starting with your extemities like your hands and feet. Your brain controls blood flow, along with other things, and it is partial to itself.

Youngblood

[flyfisher]

Hello:

I have just returned from a camping trip with my company (Ii am 14 and belong to the glencairn 79th ventuers). It dropped to about -8 degrees celsius (17.6 degrees farenheit) the second night with my HH expeditoin asym.. The real feel was about -13 degrees celsius(8.6 degrees farenheit). I had a -18 degree celsius sleeping bag along with a fleece which was wrapped around me. I wore a long sleeve sweat shirt with a pair of sweat pants and two pairs of socks (cotton or poyester/cotton) with a blue pad beneath me. I had a great night except for my feet, they froze. I pushed the fleece to my feet because they were so cold but the rest of me was fine. But the weather wasn't my problem (only my feet) what i had noticed was the frost that collected right above and beside my head..
I then thought that it would be nice if i could hang somthing in my hammock to collect the moisture before it freezes beside my head.
If you have an idea or any other tips for winter camping in my hammock (Canada gets cold in winter)

I would have been cold with your bottom pad. There is lots available on the web about cold weather and the hammock.

Here is a link to my page on the subject:

http://www.imrisk.com/hammock/ultrahammock.htm

One device I have used for the frost problem is a countercurrent exchange element. It is warmed by my breath and then warms/humidifies the air about to enter my body while I sleep.

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Clothing/Hats/Psolar%20Balaclava/Rick%20Allnutt%20III

is a series of reports on the PSolar balaclava.

When I find my feet feel cold, it is usually a sign that I am chilly overall. This might be due to losing heat through my head, or body. Regardless, the circulation starts to shut down in my feet to save heat. Hence, insulating my feet is the least effective way to warm them. Adding insulation to my back or top or head is more likely to warm my feet.

Have fun, but stay safe.

[Camper101]

Thanks!

I had my head covered and warm, like i've said the rest of my body was warm.

[Jonas4321]

I am going to echo what Risk said- if your feet are cold, it's usually because not enough blood is reaching them (okay, if you are standing in icewater, that might be the cause...).

Your body has built-in survival mechanisms for keeping your core (trunk) warm enough so that vital organs can survive. One mechanism works by shutting off blood flow to extremeties as the core of your body cools below certain levels. First your feet, then hands, lower legs, forearms, etc. These "valves" (for lack of a better term) kick in because our core is getting chilled. Flexing your wrists and ankles can help temporarily, but it's not going to prevent your body from doing its thing.

There are no such valves in your neck, and we radiate a tremendous percentage of our heat through our heads, which cools our blood, the cooled blood then circulates back to the core and lowers ITS temperature. So if you find your feet getting cold, put a hat on to stop this radiation, and make sure your core is well insulated. Seems strange:-?, but it's what we teach our Scouts, and it works.

[Camper101]

thanx, yea friday i had a toque on friday night just not saturday