Thinking of hammock camping

[Cottontp]

It will be a five day trip, in north Georgia. Temps around freezing at night.

Thought the five day trip would be a good benchmark test to see if I want to continue hammock camping.

So I thought I would ask the pro's what can I do to make this an enjoyable experience.

And was planning on using a Hennessy explorer:zip side. With a two layer(foam/egg crate style) pad. And 40 degree mummy bag

[Loneoak]

Your hammock questions will be better answered at hammockforums.net. Sister site to this one.

[gunner76]

+1 on go to Hammockforums for your questions

[WingedMonkey]

What makes a sister site? Who is WhiteBlaze's brother?

[dla]

It's a pay site. Whether or not you'll get better information is anyone's guess. Usually there's just more noobs chiming in without contributing much other than thread activity.

Your setup seems OK but a 40* bag is gonna be a little light if the temps really get down to freezing at night. I think the pad will work ok. If you are car camping, bring along an extra 20* bag - just in case. If you are backpacking, bring your cold-weather gear (balaclava, booties, poly-pro tops/bottoms, etc.) and a foam sit pad you can use for cold spot treatment when sleeping.

[Hooch]

It's a pay site.

As pointed out to you previously, this is not so. Hammock Forums, like WhiteBlaze, has a donating member status, but no payment is required to access the wealth of information regarding hamocking that is contained at HF. In order to access the donating members off topic forums (topics that are not directly hammocking related, such as backpacks, paddling, camp kitchen, clothing, and cutlery, etc), you have to be a donating member. The main reason these topics are "off topic" is because at Hammock Forums, we tend stay focused on hammocks. There are enough websites, including WhiteBlaze, among many others, that discuss these other topics at length. Without a doubt, Hammock Forums is the go-to resource on the internet for all things hammocking.

[Hooch]

What makes a sister site? Who is WhiteBlaze's brother?

It has no brothers. It's a sister site because both HF and WB are owned by the same person.

[1azarus]

just make sure that one of the pads wraps up around enough to cover your shoulders and the pads should be fine at that temp... but I would definitely not take a 40 degree bag. and set up out of the wind, somehow...

[gunner76]

"It's a pay site"....

we had poster in Hammockforums.net recently who could not understand that all the hammock related topics are free to everyone and the non hammock stuff was available to donating members only.

[Cottontp]

as for hommockforums.net i totally get it a forum that is based around hammock camping. Just didnt want to have to re register with another site just to ask a question i can ask here.

thank you for those who answered the question instead of not answering the question and directing me to another site. geez do you people make money off of the other site or something, weird....

ok so now that that is out of the way.

do you think the 40 bag, and pad i describe would work if i use some under armor, or is it useless to argue, and i should save myself/my balls and buy a warmer sleepign bag?

[Cottontp]

oh and i dont think that pad is wide enough to cover my shoulders

[KnotHere]

I have a 40* mummy bag and am playing around with different setups using just pads. I will let you know if I strike something good.

[russb]

if possible, take the second ccf pad and cut it in half. Use those two sections perpendicular to the other pad. This will give you the shoulder and hip coverage you want (make the hammock feel wider too). Also, a poncho hung below your hammock will block a significant amount of air movement greatly increasing the warmth.

[dla]

oh and i dont think that pad is wide enough to cover my shoulders

Depends on how you lay in the hammock. If you lay on your side, your back & bottom will get cold. If you lay on your back the tips of your shoulders will get cold. Any area of your body that compresses your bag against the hammock wall needs extra insulation. And insulation can be coats/pants/sitpad, etc. If at all possible, try out different combos in the back yard to see what does and doesn't work before hitting the trail. Have fun!

[1azarus]

if possible, take the second ccf pad and cut it in half. Use those two sections perpendicular to the other pad. This will give you the shoulder and hip coverage you want (make the hammock feel wider too). Also, a poncho hung below your hammock will block a significant amount of air movement greatly increasing the warmth.

this is good advice. real cheap fix would be to go to Jacks r Better and buy their modified driducks pancho... really cheap. they do really really help under the hammock and will hang on a HH really easily.

about the bag -- it does get cold in a hammock and if it is below 40 you are probably going to be unhappy. if you are committed to the 40 degree bag, i'd suggest you try a home made breathable fabric overcover which would clip to your ridge line and hang down over your bug net on both sides -- perhaps with little pockets for pebbles to keep it hanging in place. this could be as simple as a rectangle of fabric with a few strings tied on. the hh overcover (not sure it is still available) used to be silnylon and had a breathing hole in it... it fit loosely enough so that condensation wasn't a huge problem. i've been happier with a "sock" of breathable material, which I hardly ever pull up over my head, and hangs over my ridgeline (like your ridge/bug net). another option is to get that driducks poncho and use it over the top of your hammock as an overcover or as a bivy-like blanket in your HH.

I apologize for the quantity of unfocused advice... hammocks do require experimentation, so some back yard time, as others have suggested, may be in order.

[sonnynGA]

I froze with a pad and a zero bag. Eventually went to an UQ and a TQ. Have been very happy since. They are light weight and packable. A bit pricey but I have found they meet all my needs. I too have a HH explorer with zip mod. Ill be doing a 6 day in NC next month and hoping temps will stay above freezing.

[kayak karl]

With a two layer(foam/egg crate style) pad. And 40 degree mummy bag

are these 1/2 in thick pads? are they ccf? if not you won't get to 20 degrees. extra cloths will help from top with a 40 deg bag, but not from the bottom.
cold where you are now. test it.

[Loneoak]

as for hommockforums.net i totally get it a forum that is based around hammock camping. Just didnt want to have to re register with another site just to ask a question i can ask here.

thank you for those who answered the question instead of not answering the question and directing me to another site. geez do you people make money off of the other site or something, weird....

ok so now that that is out of the way.

do you think the 40 bag, and pad i describe would work if i use some under armor, or is it useless to argue, and i should save myself/my balls and buy a warmer sleepign bag?

I make no money off the other site. Just offering you the best information out there. Didn't know it was a crime and that hard to register at yet another site. Don't lose your log in information for WB, I would hate for you to have to reregister.

[kayak karl]

I make no money off the other site. Just offering you the best information out there. Didn't know it was a crime and that hard to register at yet another site. Don't lose your log in information for WB, I would hate for you to have to reregister.

and you don't need to register to read past posts. guy asking tonite about pads over there.

[KnotHere]

I registered there about 18 hours ago and still have not been added by the mods. Excitedly yet impatiently waiting Also do they have an app for the phones like WB does? I am sleeping in my HH and browsing the forums as I speak. Love it!