http://cruisenews.net/backpacking/February2006 (http://cruisenews.net/backpacking)

Last night! (Friday)

Great setup! I'm interested in how you made the pod. It looks like it covers the whole bottom, coming up over the ridgeline at the head and feet. How do you secure the rest of the top? Does it close completely over you, or is the top of the pod left open?

I tried to follow Risk's pattern, however due to a cutting error it is a little shorter. The pod is not done yet, it needs a zipper or two, and some velcro to manage air openings. After trying it I think it is too small for me, maybe needs another panel to make it bigger(?). It needs more room on the bottom for an air pocket between my butt and the pod fabric. The strings are what is holding it up. At least I need to leave the foot end open so my feet can stick out. I am also concerned about breathability, somehow I need to comprimise between keeping the warm air inside and letting the humid air out.

On the pictures the top of the pod is open (no zippers yet). There are double sided velcro straps on the ends of the pod which wrap the ends around the hammock straps and snug up against the ends of the hammock. There are strings holding it up as indicated in Risk's pattern. I found these strings to be a pain when getting in and out.

i have an underquilt on order and want to try the underquilt first before I go on with finishing the pod.

I'm not sure if the above is clear. Here is what the pod will be when it is finished:

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

I may need to modify it to get it to fit over an underquilt.

Thanks...I've seen Risk's design before. What I found interesting is that without the zippers, yours looks like the HH SuperShelter top with the undercover included. In the HH, humid air is "billowed" out every time you move.

Makes me think that using the open pod just as you have it, but over a ridgeline and with a bugnet, would be a good cross between ventilation and heat retention, plus provide some weather protection on the ends of the hammock (from windblown snow, for example). Maybe put a shockcord drawstring around the opening. Now you got my wheels turning!

Bugscreen is a good idea. A bug screen on top would stop some wind but still allow ventilation. It won't be too many months and bugscreen will be necessary for survival around here.

One thing I noticed is that when I was sleeping slid down toward the feet end, was that my face was quite comfortable, the fabric on the sides went up above my head by 4" to 6", maybe a little more at times. This side protection seemed to be enough to prevent cold wind from hitting the face directly. It was still open to the top and very well ventilated, its just that the wind did not hit directly. The body warmth from the sleeping bag created a certain amount of warm air that tempered the air around the face.

The down sleeping bag was warm when my feet were hanging over the edge with a lofted bag all around. So insulation on top is not really necessary, its the compressed areas underneath that need help, which is where an underquilt would work. My goal is to eliminate the pad and just use the underquilt. The pad causes condensation in the hammock and is bulky on the pack.

So here are some thoughts for modifying my pod:

1. Rig the pod to hang lower than the hammock. It should be a loose fit around the underquilt, preferably with airspace underneath to allow moist air to flow out the top of the pod. This may mean extending the length of the pod and side height of the pod with ripstop. Or could also be achieved by sewing another panel into the bottom. Experimentation needed.

2. Raise the sides of the pod to reduce direct wind to the sleeper.

3. In order to allow airflow, a well rounded 6"x12" side pocket on the side of the pod (the inside) near the sleeper's behind could be used to store clothes, gear, etc and create an open path for airflow on the sides. This may not be necessary if the ends provide a lot of airflow. However I think it would be beneficial in venting moist air.

4. Attach the pod support lines at a higher location to keep the pod side walls up higher. Support the pod from the top instead of the sides? The supports may may need to be connected at the tree to be high enough. This adds some complexity because another design goal is to be able to enclose the whole hammock system in the skins. How about a single loop of shock cord that goes through the top of both sides of the pod, and clips in to clips attached to the hammock support line or the trees. If you want out, just grab one side and pull it down, the whole loop will stretch to let you out. The problem here is that the shock cord might pull the sides of the pod together, eliminating ventilation. Maybe it is just a matter of using the right length shockcord so it is loose enough to allow the pod sides to separate.

5. Make a bugnet with a grosgrain ridgeline. Fix attachment points to the hammock tree straps so that the bugnet hangs higher than the top of the pod sides. If the pod is too high for this, the bugscreen could just be a normal bugscreen that falls over the hammock, inside the pod.

I saw your (Jeff's) trail notes about Lake Winnemucca. That type of weather is very much a possibility here in Michigan although we do not have mountains to funnel the winds and probably would not get such high winds. Our blizzards can be brutal. It would be nice to have a system that would allow for survival and even a degree of warmth comfort in that situation, although hanging through those winds would have been like riding a carnival ride.

Added some stretchers to hold the pod up, see

http://cruisenews.net/backpacking/PodWork.html