View Full Version : Big Agnes meets Henessey
Toothless
09-25-2007, 18:16
Anybody have any experience using a Big Agnes insulated bag with a HH?
Toothless
BillyBob58
09-25-2007, 18:22
Anybody have any experience using a Big Agnes insulated bag with a HH?
Toothless
I don't, but my friend used the Zirkel and an insulated air mat (15*) in a HH on our recent Olympic National Park trip. He voiced no complaints, annd seemed pretty satisfied. I'll ask him for more details later.
crinklroot
09-25-2007, 19:47
I've been using them together for about five years and really like the combination. Couple of things to think about: to keep warm at your sides where the hammock may wrap around you and compress the bag's insulation beyond the sleeping pad's width...think about some extra clothing stuffed at your sides as insulation...also been adding a sleeve of fleece over the mattress to cut possible condensation.
I have used a small thermarest Z-Lite sideways to cover my shoulders & arms where the hammock wraps around me. This underneath another pad running long ways in the hammock. It gives a little extra R value at my torso too.
Egads
RadioFreq
09-26-2007, 13:02
Anybody have any experience using a Big Agnes insulated bag with a HH?
Toothless
That is exactly what I use. What's your question?
:) T Minus 17.25 months...and counting :)
Toothless
09-26-2007, 17:13
Is there anything I should be aware of when using BA with HH? Like inflation, etc.?
RadioFreq
09-26-2007, 17:30
Is there anything I should be aware of when using BA with HH? Like inflation, etc.?
I have a Walmart CCF pad (full length) that fits quite nicely in my BA. One of the problems I first encountered with my HH was keeping the pad and the sleeping bag aligned when I crawled in. Switching to the BA solved that as the pad and bag become one unit.
Crinklroot is right about compressing the area outside the pad and thus getting chilled biceps. If you lie on your back you can try to sleep with your arms across your chest (like a guy in a coffin). However, if you can string the hammock real tight that makes it easier to sleep on your side and thus no compression outside the pad.
:) T Minus 17.25 months....and counting :)
I have a BA Cross Mountain with a 3/4 length InsulMat Max.
http://bigagnes.com/str_bags.php?id=cm
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/Product.aspx?baseNo=89149
It's a great late spring thru early fall combination. And the contour prevents condensation.
The lack of the lower quarter makes enter/exit easier.
I inflate so that my butt and shoulder blades doesn't quite contact the bottom of the mattress.
I use a Big Agnes insulated air core mummy (20" x 60" x 2.5" thick) whether I'm sleeping in my Hennessey or on the ground. Very, very, very comfortable....zzzzzzzz
RadioFreq
10-12-2007, 00:14
Steep and Cheap had a sale today on BA inflatable pads.
I ordered one to see if I think it is better than my CCF pad.
Stay tuned
:) T minus 16.5 months and counting :)
envirodiver
10-15-2007, 15:55
I don't, but my friend used the Zirkel and an insulated air mat (15*) in a HH on our recent Olympic National Park trip. He voiced no complaints, annd seemed pretty satisfied. I'll ask him for more details later.
What kind of temps did you guys get down too? I'm intrigued with the Big Agnes combo also for colder temps. I was wondering about a 15 degree BA insulated pad with a 0 degree bag. Maybe even slipping a 1/4" CCF pad in with the BA pad.
I'm just getting started with Hammocks and the only concern that I have is the issue of insulating in cold weather. I don't want to end up carrying so much stuff that it negates the weight benifits of hammocks.
RadioFreq
10-15-2007, 16:32
What kind of temps did you guys get down too? I'm intrigued with the Big Agnes combo also for colder temps. I was wondering about a 15 degree BA insulated pad with a 0 degree bag. Maybe even slipping a 1/4" CCF pad in with the BA pad.
I'm just getting started with Hammocks and the only concern that I have is the issue of insulating in cold weather. I don't want to end up carrying so much stuff that it negates the weight benifits of hammocks.
I didn't know pads came with a temp rating. :-?
Anyway my setup is exactly as you described.....BA zero degree bag with a 1/4" CCF pad. In addition I have a Jacks R Better underquilt. In the bag I wear wool socks and a pair of cheap synthetic long johns (tops and bottoms) that I picked up at Fleet Farm. Also don't forget the stocking cap. I've used this setup in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho and all over here in MN. I've kept comfy warm down into the low teens. I have yet to have the opportunity to test it at even colder temps....perhaps in the backyard this winter.
:) T minus 16.5 months...and counting :)
envirodiver
10-15-2007, 16:37
Big Agnes is one of the few places that I have seen that does actually give a temp rating to their pads.
Excellent info
Thanks
whitefoot_hp
10-15-2007, 18:56
i just got my big agnes insulated pad in the mail today. it is awesome.
generoll
10-15-2007, 20:27
I tried a BA 15 deg pad this weekend in my Eagles Nest. The temps were in the lower 40s and I did find some cold spots towards morning as I began to stir. I didn't fully inflate my pad since I was concerned that doing so would overstress it when it was bent in the hammock, but I found that where the pad was compressed I had a cold spot. I'll have to do some more experimenting, but I'm thinking the BA pads aren't going to do the job in a hammock.
Probably the best choices are CCF or underquilts.
Bigby 2007
10-15-2007, 23:02
I used a BA insulated, full length pad in my hennessy on my thru. It is amazingly comfortable, one of my buddies likened it to sleeping in a la-z-boy. However, if anything it can be TOO warm and well contoured to your body! I was sweating through my bag and onto the pad regularly, until i started sleeping directly on the pad with a quilt.
Good luck!