BillyBob58
01-01-2007, 18:25
Now I'm trying to run some tests under somewhat controlled conditions. So the test you'll see from me in the future on the Super Shelter I message is not count my weeklong use in the field. I don't feel like that should count as a true test, since a lot of the problems had to do with me being on the learning curve and struggling with that, in addition to suffering from out to sickness and having no appetite. Which means I could not shovel in adequate calories considering the huge exercise load from the day's hiking, which meant inadequate stored fuel for keeping warm at night. Of course, all of these are factors that we can indeed run into deep in the wilderness, plus worse. But when trying to gauge how warm the system is, it just seems to me like we should start from some kind of conditions that are repeatable for comparison sake. And that to me includes not being in a debilitating condition and having plenty of calories onboard.
Test number one: late November, my front yard, hanging from the only two trees that I had that are both adequate in girth and close enough together. I would have much preferred to have been in the backyard, away from neighbors and street traffic and the barking dogs across the street. But you use what you got. Conditions, approximately 31-32°F with high humidity and very light wind. Hennessy hammock ULBA Explorer with Super Shelter including under pad, the additional torso and kidney pad, a space blanket between these and the hammock, and the undercover beneath the pads. No over cover, I don't have one yet. Stock Hennessy rain fly Asym. Clothing= 100 weight fleece jacket and bottoms, pile balaclava or 100 weight fleece hat (I can't remember which), and lightweight REI brand underwear top and bottom. Sleeping bag= North Face Snowshoe polar guard 5° rated, about five years old.
Results test one: I went out and crawled in about 11 p.m.. At first I got all the way in the bag and cinched it down mummy style, but pretty soon I had loosened all that up. I gave up after about four hours, realizing I wasn't going to get any sleep due to the noise of cars driving by, dogs barking, et cetera. So I went in about 3 a.m. at about 32 degrees Fahrenheit, however, I had been completely toasty warm for the entire period. I had no sensation of coolness either top or bottom, and would have been most comfortable if it had just been a little quieter. Despite the noise, I actually fell asleep several times, but noise would always wake me back up.
Test number two: late December, on my back porch hanging from the Risk hammock stand. Equipment same as above, but no space blanket, for the sake of experimentation. Also, switched back to the lighter duty 15° North face Cats Meow Endurance. Though I do not believe that for me this is a 15° bag. And lastly, no rain fly though I was just barely underneath the porch roof. There was a change in clothing, I used a somewhat warmer Patagonia pile jacket and a new marmot hood that I bought for the purpose of later using it with a semi-rectangular bag or a top quilt. Went to bed at about 42° F. with the bag cinched around my neck and the hood on. Within the hour, I had to remove the hood because I was too warm. By the time several hours had passed, I moderately cinched down the regular hood on the sleeping bag. By about 3 a.m. I had to get up to answer the call of nature. That's when I decided I would go ahead and go in and join my wife in bed. At this time, I noticed that I was sleeping flat on my back and was pretty much toasty warm EXCEPT the back of my legs at the calf area, which were just starting to feel a bit cold. I was not cold overall, but I could feel a cold spot in this small area. Under my butt and lower back (kidney area) or upper torso, the normal areas where I first feel cold, I felt no cold at all. It seems that the additional kidney and torso pads are quite a help. My feeling is if I had the space blanket on like I was supposed to, that would have solved the cold lower leg problem. I'll find out later.
I have been intrigued with the idea of using the Garlington insulator trash bag\space blanket placed in the undercover beneath the foam pads. This sounds like it would help a good bit, with very minimal weight added I hope to experiment with that later. Does anybody here have much experience with the Garlington insulator used underneath in some sort of "nest"?
It seems to me like the under cover of the Super Shelter has a lot of potential as a "nest". But I think it might need some sort of augmentation with elastic straps or some means of keeping heavy jackets and such from pulling it too far away from the pad and bottom of the hammock. But I may not ever get around to really checking this out, since I got the Spear SPE. Since I'm thinking I need to take a minimal pad anyway on any trip, in case I have to go to ground for any reason, and to use for sitting around camp with my fellow hikers, and since I now realize how well the SPE works, the simplest approach may end up being just determining the temperature limit of the Super Shelter for me. So let's say that's 25 or 30°. If it turns out to be colder than that one night, the simplest thing might just be to then go to the SPE using whatever pad I have brought along for backup. Though I realize many people say that a pad ruins the comfort of the hammock, my initial impression is that it did not affect the comfort by a whole lot. Though it did some, plus the hammock seemed a little less stable.
Or I suppose another thought might be just using the SPE and forgetting about the Super Shelter. But I've got a feeling that might be actually more weight and bulk then the combo, if I'm going to be prepared for the teens or lower. Plus I would always be on a pad, even when it was not all that cold. There are many things to think about while trying to stay warm in the hammock and keep weight and bulk reasonable! :-?
Bill
Test number one: late November, my front yard, hanging from the only two trees that I had that are both adequate in girth and close enough together. I would have much preferred to have been in the backyard, away from neighbors and street traffic and the barking dogs across the street. But you use what you got. Conditions, approximately 31-32°F with high humidity and very light wind. Hennessy hammock ULBA Explorer with Super Shelter including under pad, the additional torso and kidney pad, a space blanket between these and the hammock, and the undercover beneath the pads. No over cover, I don't have one yet. Stock Hennessy rain fly Asym. Clothing= 100 weight fleece jacket and bottoms, pile balaclava or 100 weight fleece hat (I can't remember which), and lightweight REI brand underwear top and bottom. Sleeping bag= North Face Snowshoe polar guard 5° rated, about five years old.
Results test one: I went out and crawled in about 11 p.m.. At first I got all the way in the bag and cinched it down mummy style, but pretty soon I had loosened all that up. I gave up after about four hours, realizing I wasn't going to get any sleep due to the noise of cars driving by, dogs barking, et cetera. So I went in about 3 a.m. at about 32 degrees Fahrenheit, however, I had been completely toasty warm for the entire period. I had no sensation of coolness either top or bottom, and would have been most comfortable if it had just been a little quieter. Despite the noise, I actually fell asleep several times, but noise would always wake me back up.
Test number two: late December, on my back porch hanging from the Risk hammock stand. Equipment same as above, but no space blanket, for the sake of experimentation. Also, switched back to the lighter duty 15° North face Cats Meow Endurance. Though I do not believe that for me this is a 15° bag. And lastly, no rain fly though I was just barely underneath the porch roof. There was a change in clothing, I used a somewhat warmer Patagonia pile jacket and a new marmot hood that I bought for the purpose of later using it with a semi-rectangular bag or a top quilt. Went to bed at about 42° F. with the bag cinched around my neck and the hood on. Within the hour, I had to remove the hood because I was too warm. By the time several hours had passed, I moderately cinched down the regular hood on the sleeping bag. By about 3 a.m. I had to get up to answer the call of nature. That's when I decided I would go ahead and go in and join my wife in bed. At this time, I noticed that I was sleeping flat on my back and was pretty much toasty warm EXCEPT the back of my legs at the calf area, which were just starting to feel a bit cold. I was not cold overall, but I could feel a cold spot in this small area. Under my butt and lower back (kidney area) or upper torso, the normal areas where I first feel cold, I felt no cold at all. It seems that the additional kidney and torso pads are quite a help. My feeling is if I had the space blanket on like I was supposed to, that would have solved the cold lower leg problem. I'll find out later.
I have been intrigued with the idea of using the Garlington insulator trash bag\space blanket placed in the undercover beneath the foam pads. This sounds like it would help a good bit, with very minimal weight added I hope to experiment with that later. Does anybody here have much experience with the Garlington insulator used underneath in some sort of "nest"?
It seems to me like the under cover of the Super Shelter has a lot of potential as a "nest". But I think it might need some sort of augmentation with elastic straps or some means of keeping heavy jackets and such from pulling it too far away from the pad and bottom of the hammock. But I may not ever get around to really checking this out, since I got the Spear SPE. Since I'm thinking I need to take a minimal pad anyway on any trip, in case I have to go to ground for any reason, and to use for sitting around camp with my fellow hikers, and since I now realize how well the SPE works, the simplest approach may end up being just determining the temperature limit of the Super Shelter for me. So let's say that's 25 or 30°. If it turns out to be colder than that one night, the simplest thing might just be to then go to the SPE using whatever pad I have brought along for backup. Though I realize many people say that a pad ruins the comfort of the hammock, my initial impression is that it did not affect the comfort by a whole lot. Though it did some, plus the hammock seemed a little less stable.
Or I suppose another thought might be just using the SPE and forgetting about the Super Shelter. But I've got a feeling that might be actually more weight and bulk then the combo, if I'm going to be prepared for the teens or lower. Plus I would always be on a pad, even when it was not all that cold. There are many things to think about while trying to stay warm in the hammock and keep weight and bulk reasonable! :-?
Bill