Pad vs. Underquilt?

**Dhorochokaro** · 08-04-2006, 14:13

Hello hammockers!
Let me preface this thread by mentioning that I plan to hike the trail in 2007. My partner in crime has already bailed on me so I am planning this thing solo. Two years ago I purchased a TT Squall, expecting that I would need a two person shelter, all of a sudden the curtain has been lifted and I can get a hammock! I have not decided it is correct for me, but I wanted to voice some concerns and let the well informed, well experienced community ease my mind.

Q1: I have a WM Summerlite (32 degree bag), if I were to pick up a hammock, would you suggest an underquilt and a pad for, say a mid march start?

Q2: I have read a great many threads suggesting that underquilts are more popular amongst hammockers. I have this bright red flashing light going off in my head that says, if I don't have a pad it will become very difficult to spend the night in a shelter. Assuming there will be those days where it is raining or that I am too tired to set up a shelter for myself. For this reason, I assume a pad would be mandatory? If so, do you think I could get away with my WM bag and just a pad?

Wow, I never expected to even contemplate a hammock and now I am as thrilled as ever at the thought of sleeping i one for 120 nights!

Thanks all,
David

**Seeker** · 08-04-2006, 14:43

A1- don't know about the bag... i'd go with a 20* bag for awhile at first. someone smarter than me could tell you about when/where you can swap it out for the lighter bag. you'll need a pad or underquilt regardless, up to about 65* temps. some people, like me, use one up to about 75* or higher... we just don't like our backs too cool. you'll figure it out as you practice with the hammock (and i recommend lots of it. there's a learning curve... not hard, but different.)

A2-sure, you can take just a pad. but you'll need it a bit wider to insulate your shoulders (like some sort of pad extensions). but once you get used to sleeping in a hammock, you won't be too tired to not hang it, and will certainly not want to ever sleep on the ground again.

this link has average and record hi/lo temps along the AT. be aware that these are towns, and some places you spend a night will be higher in elevation, and therefore colder.

http://www.thru-hiker.com/temporal.asp

**Just Jeff** · 08-04-2006, 15:32

Many hammockers think underquilts are more comfortable than pads. I don't know if that means more hammockers use them (i.e. more popular), but I don't know of any hammockers who have tried an underquilt and gone back to pads for good.

But you're right about not having anything for shelter sleeping or cowboy camping. It's a trade-off...get some practice and decide which is more valuable to you. And if you decide a JRB or KAQ underquilt isn't for you after buying one, I bet a post to sell it here on WB will take it off your hands within a few hours.

Like Seeker said, be sure to practice with the hammock. And once you get it dialed in, on the days you're so tired you'll want good sleep so bad that you may not even consider sleeping in the shelter anyway. Good sleep is more valuable than quick sleep, and may be worth the extra 3 minutes to set up your hammock.

But YMMV - some folks enjoy shelters and some folks don't like hammocks.

I haven't used that bag so I can't comment on how it works in a hammock, but I'd be prepared for temps below 32F. If you have warm enough clothes to sleep in, the bag might be ok. Just have to consider everything you carry as part of a system, rather than "this is for sleeping" and "this is for something else." You can even sleep with hot water in a Nalgene or Platy to get you through an unexpectedly cold night, and you'll already have warm water ready in the morning.

So - pad vs underquilt? Depends on your style of hiking. More about it here:
http://www.tothewoods.net/HammockCampingWarm.html

**StarLyte** · 08-04-2006, 15:35

Seeker-
Thanks for that link to average temps on the AT.

**Dhorochokaro** · 08-04-2006, 15:36

I appreciate both of your comments, as it does ultimately boild down to personal preference. I am very happy with what I have heard so far regarding this topic.

**peter_pan** · 08-04-2006, 19:44

There is nothing like a good hanging!!!!

Grab a hammock and join the hanging crowd....sort out your preferences on some fall shakedown hikes.

Pan

**neo** · 08-05-2006, 15:17

my favorite set up is this

my 12x12 guide gear camo tarp

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=97247

with my tom claytor jungle hammock ,it has a double bottom so using a pad is no slip and very comfortable

http://www.mosquitohammock.com/junglehammock.html
i like this full length milatary ultralite therma rest,i paid 20 bucks for it at an army store

http://www.tadgear.com/x-treme%20gea...g_military.htm

i like this sleeping bag in camo of coarse less than 20 bucks it doubles as a parka and has a hood,actual wieght is less than 3 lbs

http://www.majorsurplusnsurvival.com...tegory_Code=35

no matter how ya hang or what gear you prefer,happy hanging to all

neo

**River Runner** · 08-07-2006, 02:39

I haven't used an underquilt. I did use a Hennessy Hammock super shelter setup (undercover/underpad) and found it pretty much a hassle to set up and not warm enough under 40 F. I am currently using a RidgeRest large that I custom cut to fit my hammock. It's wide enough to do a good job. I cut about a foot off the length, and angled each end to fit the angles of my hammock and it works very well down to freezing at least. It has the advantage of providing insulation if I want to "go to ground", which I ended up doing in the middle of the night on Blue Mountain, when gusts of 30+ mph winds took my tarp stake out for the second time, and I bailed to the nearby shelter. (Probably my own fault for not situating the hammock better in the first place.)

**DawnTreader** · 08-07-2006, 12:22

1 vote for underquilt.. I'm a cold sleeper and found my nest indespensible.. even in the summer, it gets cool at night, especially in the woods.. I used it every night except one, and I bitched about not hanging it the next morning.. those cold spots suck, and so does having to adjust yourself on a pad constantly..
I just hung the quilt and slept like a king.. sometimes with an overquilt,

**Spock** · 08-07-2006, 12:47

Dhoro,
Listen to Just Jeff. He just about covered it all.
I like to carry both an underquilt (18oz down) and a pad (nightlight for cold weather - until just past the Smokies - and a 3/8" afterward) in order to have the option of staying in a shelter. Sometimes conditions just dictate using a shelter. I also use a hammock basement - a subhammock that holds the pad, underquilt, arm loads of leaf litter - whatever I need to get enough insulation underneath if things get really nasty. The basement eliminates all the futzing around to get the pad positioned right.

**Ewker** · 08-07-2006, 16:09

showing my ignorance on hammocks here. I assume a pad is just like a pad you would use in a tent. I have no clue what an underquilt is. I would guess by the name it is quilt you lay on?

**Just Jeff** · 08-07-2006, 16:52

An underquilt hangs below the hammock, but still touching it. If you lay on top of it, you'll compress the insulation.

Scroll down to the underquilt section here for pics and more details:
http://www.tothewoods.net/HammockCampingWarm.html

**Smee** · 08-07-2006, 16:54

No. An under quilt suspends below the hammock.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/...p?i=2697&c=577

**hogn8r** · 08-08-2006, 23:29

Pads, the colder it is, the more (thicker) I use. But then again, I'm cheap.
Is it as comfy as an underquilt, NO! Is it more comfy than the ground, YES!

However, I did build a FrankenPod last year, but I only got to use it once. But it was nice. So there might be something to this underquilt thing afterall.

**Ewker** · 08-09-2006, 00:06

if the underquilt is below the hammock then do you still use a pad to lay on? It seems to me that the underquilt would get damp from moisture even with a tarp over you

**Just Jeff** · 08-09-2006, 00:47

No pad with an underquilt unless you just want extra insulation, and the underquilt doesn't get any more damp than a top quilt. Windblown rain in the ends can sometimes spray onto the underquilt but site selection and an adequate tarp can take care of that.

**toddhiker** · 08-13-2006, 01:15

Have used my JRB quilts in horrendous Florida storms - Just Jeff is right - site selection matters, and JRB's weather shield is invaluable for this as well. (Not to mention the top part of the weathershield works as a bivy or a great warm-weather "sheet" when a top quilt / bag is too hot.

Cold weather hasn't been a problem (maybe I'm a warm sleeper) - just follow the website's instructions - Pan gives excellent telephone support if you're "challenged" like me!!!

A 3/4 pad of your liking would be my choice for shelter / ground nights. I don't care for 3/4 pads but if they will work for the occasional night out of the hammock, and weight is limited.

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