View Full Version : Jacks R Better Hudson River Quilt
asimpson1983
10-20-2007, 19:35
Hey...I'm quite undecided over here...I want to get a sleeping bag or quilt, but I'm not sure what to get. The reason for this is that I have not yet decided between hammock or tent for my 2008 thru-hike.
I guess my question is this - the Jacks R Better Hudson River Quilt looks really nice...but if I decide to sleep in a tent on my thru, would I be better off with a sleeping bag like the Marmot Hydrogen or is the quilt totally adequate for the ground as well?
Thanks,
Andrew
Frolicking Dinosaurs
10-20-2007, 19:46
The Dinos have used quilts for years on the ground. Can't beat them for adjusting to varying temps and staying warm in camp before bedtime. JRB has exceptional quality and customer service.
take-a-knee
10-20-2007, 20:02
Buy a Feathered Friends Rock Wren and you'll have a bag that works well with or without a hammock. With a Hennessy hammock you'll enter the hammock wearing the bag with your feet sticking out the bottom, it is the bee's knee's. The only downside is you'll carry a couple of extra ounces because the bag isn't a tight mummy taper.
Cannibal
10-21-2007, 09:10
Quilts work in any situation you would use a bag. Ask Ray Jardine (http://www.rayjardine.com/ray-way/quilt/index.htm).
take-a-knee
10-21-2007, 12:08
Qui9lts do work, I have a jardine quilt, they are light but you HAVE to add some head insulation to get below freezing with one. I plan to order one of those polarguard balaclavas that Backpacking Light sells. Jardine has plans for a bomber hat, if you make his quilt, you should make this also.
Cannibal
10-21-2007, 13:01
Another thing to consider is that you can use a quilt for a hammock or the ground, but using a bag in a hammock can be a pain. More at issue for me are the zippers on bags. I'd rather not risk putting a tear in my hammock because a little chuck of metal got stuck between me and the hammock. Quilts don't have zippers!
FanaticFringer
10-21-2007, 13:55
Another thing to consider is that you can use a quilt for a hammock or the ground, but using a bag in a hammock can be a pain. More at issue for me are the zippers on bags. I'd rather not risk putting a tear in my hammock because a little chuck of metal got stuck between me and the hammock. Quilts don't have zippers!
You can also just cut the zippers off the bags. Did that with 3 of mine.
take-a-knee
10-21-2007, 15:10
Using a Rock Wren or an Exped Wallcreeper is anything but a pain in a hammock. It is no more difficult than using a quilt, and unless the quilt is a No Sniveler, you can't use it for campwear.
Another thing to consider is that you can use a quilt for a hammock or the ground, but using a bag in a hammock can be a pain. More at issue for me are the zippers on bags. I'd rather not risk putting a tear in my hammock because a little chuck of metal got stuck between me and the hammock. Quilts don't have zippers!
Do you sharpen your zippers? Because I've yet to meet a zipper that would puncture a hammock body simply from the pressure applied by an average adult. But if you sharpen your zippers ... all bets are off.
FanaticFringer
10-21-2007, 19:09
Do you sharpen your zippers? Because I've yet to meet a zipper that would puncture a hammock body simply from the pressure applied by an average adult. But if you sharpen your zippers ... all bets are off.
Some hammock materials might could take the pressure from a zipper but others such as the lighter fabric Hennessy Hyperlight for example would not be worth the risk at a $220 price tag.
FanaticFringer
10-21-2007, 19:10
Using a Rock Wren or an Exped Wallcreeper is anything but a pain in a hammock. It is no more difficult than using a quilt, and unless the quilt is a No Sniveler, you can't use it for campwear.
You still coming up in a few weeks to hit the AT?
take-a-knee
10-21-2007, 22:28
FF, my final is 12 DEC, I'm gonna do some hike up there, maybe not the DRT/AT loop, we'll see. I haven't forgotten about you.
Some hammock materials might could take the pressure from a zipper but others such as the lighter fabric Hennessy Hyperlight for example would not be worth the risk at a $220 price tag.
Hyperlite and Adventure Racer are made with a 30D 1.1oz ripstop. I've spent plenty of nights in hammocks made of that material with sleeping bags, wearing shoes, or whatever. Maybe if you're sleeping bag uses one of the old brass zippers ... but the molded plastic things used on anything outdoorsey now-a-days? It'd take a LOT of wear and tear to ever see damage caused by the weight of sleeping on the zipper.
SGT Rock
10-22-2007, 01:20
If you get the JRB it can "convert" to work like a bag - especially if you get one of their ground pads. I've got one of the pads and have mated it up with my No-Sniveler.
http://www.jacksrbetter.com/index_files/Pad.htm