Keeping a hammock cool

[blackbishop351]

Maybe I'm missing something in the archives. If I am, I apologize to Just Jeff ahead of time I see tons of threads on how to stay WARM in your hammock, but no really good tips about how to stay COOL!

I took my brand new HH UL Asym out last weekend. It was incredible! I had NO setup issues, NO stretching issues, NO tarp issues...basically, it worked exactly as it was supposed to. Somehow I managed to skip every difficulty I've read about in forums. Other than the problem mentioned below, I had the most comfortable nights' sleep I've EVER had on the trail!

I only had one problem (well...a minor second problem, but that was just me being an idiot). I'm in North Carolina. The summers here get insanely hot and humid, unless you're in the mountains (and many times even there). My first hammock trip was to Uwharrie National Forest, just south of me (Greensboro). The nights were 75-80 F, relatively normal for this time of year. Also 70+ % humidity. The first night, I knew there was no rain expected, so I left the tarp off. I still felt like I was boiling alive. The second night I used the tarp and I was near miserable. I'm a VERY warm-natured person; I generally leave the thermostat on about 65 F in my bedroom so I can sleep comfortably.

The hammock just didn't feel like it was breathing near as well as I'm used to. By the way, my previous shelter was an MSR Trekker Tent, sans insert.

Any tips, observations, or helpful fingers to point out obvious newbie mistakes?

[Just Jeff]

Well, if it's hot, then there isn't much you can do about it other than finding a spot that isn't so hot...it's all about site selection. I have this little blurb at the bottom of my staying warm page:

When selecting a site to stay cool in the summertime, look for sites that are:

Exposed to the wind:
-No natural windblocks
- On top of a hill or ridge
- On the windward side

In the bottom of a valley to be in the "cold sink"

Near running water

Oriented in-line with wind direction (use tarp to "catch" the wind)

Other than that, you might consider making a hammock from a more breathable material...most of mine are untreated ripstop nylon (i.e. not DWR). I guess skeeters could bite through them more easily than the HH material (depending on which HH model you have), but soaking in permethrin would solve that issue if you're not averse to chemicals.

Maybe you could get a soft-sided nalgene cantene and fill it with cold mountain stream water and use it like a "cold water bottle" just like folks use them for hot water bottles - good on the neck, hip, etc.

Maybe someone else has other ideas?

[peter_pan]

Here are some warm weather tricks....extracted from the article, Nesting Tricks From An Old Coot" on the JRB website.



Warm Weather Tricks

Let’s talk warm weather and bugs. This old coot uses his Nest all year. There are many reasons to do so. One never knows when the temperature will drop in the middle of the night. And remedying the problem is a pain at 3 AM. Cold awakenings are unnecessary. But is it too warm? Not if you pick the right site and use these tricks.

First, recall the first paragraphs about sites and trees. There are often breezes. You must select your site to take advantage of them.

Still warm? Open the “windows”. Those cinch cord on the end of the Nest are there for several reasons. In summer they are there to be opened, a little, a lot, or all the way. Opening the head window will allow heat from the head and shoulders to escape and/or be cooled and still keep the vital organs warm. This technique still provides a wind screen of sorts that is sufficient for normal temperature drops. If the temperature drops severely, close the window.

But my feet sweat. So do mine. The foot window opens too.

Ever been bit by a mosquito through the hammock bottom? Many have. Some skeeters are reportedly big and mean as woodpeckers. Just ask around. Some have gone so far as to hang false bottoms of no-see-um netting below their hammocks. Summer users of the Nest will not have this problem. The longest reported skeeter needle is only one inch. They can’t get at the wise coot in a Nest.

Yea but… The attached Nest doesn’t let the Velcro on the hammock close and there is an open slit above it. The skeeters can get in this way. This potential problem is real but not necessary. The Hennessy slit is designed to close by weight alone. The original versions didn’t have Velcro on the entrance slit. The Adventure Racer still does not have Velcro. The Velcro is there to keep the hammock sealed while no one is in the hammock. If the two sides of the opening slit do not close flush there may be some Nest between them. Simply push the hindrance outside the slit and it will close fully.

Oh, you want to keep the skeeters out before you get inside. Put your top quilt and clothing bag inside. They have to be in your camp some where. They might as well be working for you as laying around on the ground or in your pack, otherwise in the way. They are normally enough weight to hold the slit shut.

Hot summer nights in a Nest can often be spent without any (or with minimal) top cover because of the micro-climate created by bottom insulation, side insulation and rising body heat - quite pleasant.

Hope you get an idea or two here.

Pan

PS Another great trick on a pretty still warm night is to camp higher on the windward side of a mountain and rig the tarp as a sail high over the head, on the west end, and tight to the feet on the esat end. The rising thermals will be caught and brought down as a breeze even when little to no true wind is present.

[SuperTroll]

Light cotton Muslin....(I have a od green

It's great as a Sun Shade, and if you tie it up somewhat like the tarp on hot warm nights, I't will keep you cool; here's how:

Fill your waterbag (Coated nylon or silnylon) place the bag above the head of your hammock, then dampen the muslin in the nearest water source. Place the end of the muslin in the waterbag and drape the muslin down around the hammock, (it works best if you use a ridgeline higher at the head than the foot).....the water in the bag will be wicked up through the Muslin and down around the hammock where it will evaporate and keep you cool....(CoolER).

Works for me, but then I'm no ultralighter so I'll carry the weight of the Muslin, prolly 1 lb or so).

Keep the thought of a wet T-shirt in mind here, and how much cooler you are in it until it dries out through evaporation.

[Hana_Hanger]

Congrats on your first successful Hammock Camp blackbishop351

We use two simple tricks here:
Wet your body down including your clothes before going in the hammock or
Have a cheap air conditioner...you know the plastic bottle container with the spray nozzle...give yourself a slight mistly from time to time. Works wonders

[jlb2012]

Congrats on your first successful Hammock Camp blackbishop351

We use two simple tricks here:
Wet your body down including your clothes before going in the hammock or
Have a cheap air conditioner...you know the plastic bottle container with the spray nozzle...give yourself a slight mistly from time to time. Works wonders

I had a similar thought - wet the hammock down, wear minimal clothing, re-wet hammock any time it dries out and its still hot

[funbun]

Maybe I'm missing something in the archives. If I am, I apologize to Just Jeff ahead of time I see tons of threads on how to stay WARM in your hammock, but no really good tips about how to stay COOL!

I thought your were joking at first.

Get a hammock that has a removable bugnet. that netting block all kind of airflow. That's the main reason I made a Speer style hammock.

I guess Speer Hammocks are like Linux and Hennessy Hammocks are like Macs (before the Unix core). One is "harder to use, but much more adaptable for your needs. The other is stupid siple but you can't change crap: you have to take it the way Hennessy gives it to you.

[Just Jeff]

Haha - that's a good way to put it, funbun.

[the goat]

I see tons of threads on how to stay WARM in your hammock, but no really good tips about how to stay COOL!

that's 'cause hammocking isn't cool, no matter where you do it.

[Nightwalker]

that's 'cause hammocking isn't cool, no matter where you do it.

Gee, and I just got my first hammock today.

Guess it's a good thing that Kewl issue ain't an issue wit' me...

[blackbishop351]

Just being curious...has anyone tried making the HH bugnet removable? Seems like a guy could strip the seam and put a lightweight zipper(s) all the way around...maybe not?

[funbun]

Just being curious...has anyone tried making the HH bugnet removable? Seems like a guy could strip the seam and put a lightweight zipper(s) all the way around...maybe not?

Why pay $150 to $200 for a piece of equipment that needs extensive modification? Seems like a waste of money. Just buy the right equipment to begin with and be done with it.

[Just Jeff]

Extensive? It's one seam all the way around. Point taken, though.

Brian from Tampa did exactly what you said. He's on the hammockcamping group if you want details. Here's a pic...top of the page on the right:
http://www.tothewoods.net/HammockCampingBugfree.html

[SteveJ]

Hi, Blackbishop. I'm a little confused by your initial question! Are you saying that you think you would have been cooler on the ground under a tarp than you were in your hammock? I took my son to Scout camp last weekend (Sunday through Wednesday, an 'outback adventure' for Webelos Scouts) here in northeast Georgia. Temps similar to what you experienced. Even tho I had the option of sleeping on a mattress in a scout tent one night, I happily set up my HH because I knew I'd be much cooler (and more comfy) than in the canvas tent on a mattress!

Other than being a little confused , I agree with what others have said.... I did find that I had to pull my lightweight sleeping bag over my legs early in the morning, because I had cooled off quite a bit.....

I did have one 'learning experience' this time. I don't usually camp in the summer - much prefer cooler weather. This is the first time I've slept in the HH without a pad. I have never staked out the side tie-outs - I prefer to swing a little as I hang. I didn't this time, and found that the side of the hammock was much too close to my face without a pad - evidently the pad keeps it off my face... I will stake this out next time I don't use a pad.....

Welcome to the tree-hanging crowd - I suspect that you'll never willingly 'pound ground' again!

Steve

[blackbishop351]

Steve - yeah, I'm definitely hooked! I LOVE my HH!! Just a couple of 'minor' details to work out.

I was, however definitely hotter in my HH than my MSR Trekker tarp. Most prevalent reason being, I think, encloser. The Trekker is so versatile, I can set it up with pretty much unlimited airflow. The HH nylon was fairly high around my body, and the bugnet didn't allow much flow at all either. But I've seen a lot of good suggestions in everybody's responses, so I've got some things to try. I'm pretty confident I'll get it worked out.

Next project - COLD weather (hopefully without shelling out more than I paid for the HH in the first place!)

[titanium_hiker]

funbun- tents are like microsoft windows, eh? I have a mac, and I can actually do stuff with it, but it's like putting a zip on a hennessy- possible, but not pretty. I'm stuck with this computer though, I guess people buy the hennessy then realize that they need/want to change something. It's a bit too late to buy a speer then. (But then again, a homemade is cheap...)

TH

[funbun]

funbun- tents are like microsoft windows, eh? I have a mac, and I can actually do stuff with it, but it's like putting a zip on a hennessy- possible, but not pretty. I'm stuck with this computer though, I guess people buy the hennessy then realize that they need/want to change something. It's a bit too late to buy a speer then. (But then again, a homemade is cheap...)

TH

Notice I said before the Unix core. Now that Apple has gone Intel what the difference other than the OS? I have a music background; we used macs in the studio all the time. But considering they are all PC in hardware, I'd rather build a PC and just install Linux. So the PCs must be doing something right if after 20 years Apple desides to change the core of thier os and use all PC hardware. So yeah Windows sucks, but PC hardware is superior to what mac used to do on thier own.

Anyway, you have a point. It seems quite a few people jump in a buy a Hennessy without shopping around. I don't know why. I guess it may be personality: when I first heard about hammocks most people were raving about Hennessy. Just my defiant personality made me want to look for another brand just so I could be diferent from other Hennessy Hangers. I was gonna go witr a Clark Hammock, but then I saw a Speer Hammocks from somewhere, bought the book, made Risk's test hammock, then bought the materials and made my own Speer style hammock.

[Seeker]

The HH nylon was fairly high around my body, and the bugnet didn't allow much flow at all either.

if you stake the side tie outs (the elastic pieces) to the ground, pulling the sides down, rather than to a nearby bush at hammock level, this will help airflow (when there is a breeze at all, scarce in the South during the summer.) the bugnet seems to keep the temp inside about 5* warmer than without (at least down in the 40-50 range.) i was surprised it was so much... it's worse in the summer, though i never bothered measuring it... once it's "hot", it doesn't really matter how hot... it's just uncomfortable. but like Pan said, keeping the "windows" of the underquilt open helps.

the only time i wear a cotton t-shirt is in the middle of summer down here, and it's wonderful for soaking and draping over you at night... cools you down nicely. sometimes, if i'm near a creek, i'll go sit in it just before bedtime, getting good and cold (even when the water's 75*, you can cool down). then, as needed, i go back in (no big gators here, yet!).

[T-BACK]

Why pay $150 to $200 for a piece of equipment that needs extensive modification? Seems like a waste of money. Just buy the right equipment to begin with and be done with it.

Because I couldn't find the right equipment to begin with. A hammock that fits my year round needs does not exist off the shelf. I feel it's much less of a waste if I can modify the HH into something that works for me than to have it sit on a shelf unused. Since I posted those pictures I have completely removed the bug net from the hammock. I did this to make top entry easier. I now just use netting draped over the ridgeline to keep the bugs out. The HH has the potential to be a very cool summer hammock because it is wide and roomy. On the other hand, the hammock is easily bitten through by mosquitos (along with every other single layer hammock I have tried). Any bottom insulation makes the hammock unbearably hot. The key to staying cool on hot summer nights is to sleep bare skinned against the hammock material itself. I have had mixed results with permethrin and while I feel it definately helps, I don't count on it as my only bottomside protection. I have installed fine mesh tulle (wedding type) on the bottom of one of my homemade hammocks and this works well for me. On my HH I have sewn the same 5' wide tulle around the perimeter of the hammock. I then hang the HH low enough to let the netting seal to the ground and secure it with shoes or whatever. This gives me a small screened room if you will in order to eat, bathe, and just relax out of the reach of the bugs. I can then retire for the night by slipping up through the bottom entry slit without ever exposing myself to the bugs. In my opinion, where my HH shines above the rest is in very buggy environments like I encounter while canoeing or hiking in swampy areas. To cool off just before bed I try to take an alcohol bath. I have also modified a Coleman tent fan to the point to where it only weighs 2.2ozs (3.1oz with a AA battery). I clip this to my ridgeline to make a crude "ceiling fan" that helps to keep me cool until the temperatures drop at night. I have also seperated the layers of a neatsheet and bring one in order to cover up in the early morning if necessary. At altitude on the AT, I use a JRB Stealth quilt in the summer. I hang it loosely at first and as I get cool I adjust it by tightening the drawstrings. This is possible without getting out of the hammock because the bugnetting has been removed. I've never had a problem with mosquitos in the mountains so I usually have the upper netting stowed around the ridgeline. I am a very warm sleeper so maybe that's part of my summer problem. I've developed these techniques over several years after realizing that staying cool and bug free (at least for me) in the summer is as problematic as staying warm in the winter. There is no easy answer because there is no one solution that works well in all conditions especially when trying to keep weight to a minimum. Blackbishop, I hope some of these ideas help in your quest to stay cool. Good luck.

Brian (from Tampa)
AKA T-BACK

[blackbishop351]

Thanks for the post, man....and thanks for the great ideas, too! I've continuously gone back to your pix on hammockcamping since I first saw them...a LOT of great mods there. Keep up the good work.

As far as my own HH, I don't think I'm ready to try installing a zipper myself yet....I can't get my sewing machine to work for me at this point So I'm looking around for someone to do it for me.

Thanks again to everybody for the great ideas. I'm going out again this week (a little more delayed than I wanted), and I'm definitely going to try some of your suggestions.