View Full Version : First Cool night
i did my first cool night in my HH. i think it was in the mid 40s. i used my old cats meow as a quilt and a cut down oware pad. worked great except my feet got a bit chilly where they were off the mat. I am going to use the foam i use as my pack frame to keep my feet warm next time. This time i was doing a bit of stealth camping on an island on lake lanier. well, i was stealth. my friends kind of stood out in their huge dome tents on the beach. I slept better though. Also, thanks to everybody for all their input on using pads. Hopefully, I will get an underquilt for the spring but who knows. not in the budget now.
Grumpy
i did my first cool night in my HH. i think it was in the mid 40s. i used my old cats meow as a quilt and a cut down oware pad. worked great except my feet got a bit chilly where they were off the mat. I am going to use the foam i use as my pack frame to keep my feet warm next time. This time i was doing a bit of stealth camping on an island on lake lanier. well, i was stealth. my friends kind of stood out in their huge dome tents on the beach. I slept better though. Also, thanks to everybody for all their input on using pads. Hopefully, I will get an underquilt for the spring but who knows. not in the budget now.
Grumpy
Congrats, Grumpy! It's a very satisfying experience to wake up after a good night's sleep and realize that all your preparation was on target, and assumptions about your gear were correct! My experience is that the toes are the hardest to keep warm.....definitely keep bottom insulation on the feet. If I expect it to be below freezing, I'll bring hand warmers to put between my sock liners and sleeping socks - just need to be sure the socks & liners aren't constricting so that blood flows well.....
How low can you go?!
I slept out in the backyard last night in my hammock, too. I use a cheap Byer hammock from which I've removed the strings, replacing them with 6mm parachute cord threaded from one end of the sleeve originally created for the strings through to the other end (maybe not such a good explanation). I string the hammock through the sleeping bag of my choice (must be snug - last night it was a North Face semi-rectangular Polarguard 40degree bag). The temps. fell to 39 and I was warm in Dickie's work pants, a cotton/poly polo shirt and a hooded synth. jacket made by REI oh, 25 years ago. If the bag is too loose underneath, the cold air hits your backside, so you need a snug wrap. I have a picture on my Webshots of an older version, more complicated, from when I first tried to mimic the Speer Peapod using easily accessible (cheap) gear.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1237105322059664855pnMvee
Using a warmer bag, obviously, you can sleep in colder temps.
headchange4u
10-09-2006, 08:48
I spent the night at the Red River Gorge Saturday night. I stayed in a very low valley on an island where two small creeks merged. There were steep hill and rock faces all around me. Beautiful spot. This was my first night out with my used-but-new-to-me WM Apache. I used a Wal-Mart blue pad that I cut down to a 3/4 size.
It got cold that night. I would guess low 40's or upper 30's. I stay toasty warm in my HH with my WM bag. I wore a set of Fruit Of The Loom thermals and wool socks. My legs got a little cold but it was not at all unbearable or anything that kept me from sleeping, but I am a warm sleeper.
Has anyone ever tried lining the inside of their HH with fleece to help insulate it?