Pads for Hammocks with quilts

[brownrandy]

I have a HH and have used it on several occasions. My only complaint it that when it is in the 50's and 60's I need a pad to keep from getting chilled with my quilt. However, I have tried a Thermorest and a Wal-Mart blue pad and have gotten soaked in sweat by lieing directly on both pads. What do you guys use? I have thought about something with an open-cell component but they are normally pretty heavy. What is out there that is light/thin and not too sweaty?

Thanks
Randy Brown :eek:

[Egads]

I often use a Sm. Ridgerest or a POE Hyper High Mtn pad w/o sweating issues.

[doggiebag]

I have a HH and have used it on several occasions. My only complaint it that when it is in the 50's and 60's I need a pad to keep from getting chilled with my quilt. However, I have tried a Thermorest and a Wal-Mart blue pad and have gotten soaked in sweat by lieing directly on both pads. What do you guys use? I have thought about something with an open-cell component but they are normally pretty heavy. What is out there that is light/thin and not too sweaty?

Thanks
Randy Brown :eek:

Welcome to Whiteblaze Randy. In temperatures that can get me sweating in the evenings - I usually dispense with the sleeping pads altogether. I do have an extra large tarp that I can pin down almost to the ground which limits the airflow under the hammock. As far as sweating is concerned - I never had that problem since I've always had a sleeping bag between myself and the thermarest. I bet you one of those military poncho liners could do the trick - if your quilt is not large enough to provide a layer between yourself and the underpad.

[dixicritter]

I have a HH and have used it on several occasions. My only complaint it that when it is in the 50's and 60's I need a pad to keep from getting chilled with my quilt. However, I have tried a Thermorest and a Wal-Mart blue pad and have gotten soaked in sweat by lieing directly on both pads. What do you guys use? I have thought about something with an open-cell component but they are normally pretty heavy. What is out there that is light/thin and not too sweaty?

Thanks
Randy Brown :eek:

Are you just using a top quilt? or also an under quilt?

You might try getting one of these pads from Gossamer Gear (http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/thinlight.html). They can be cut into a mummy shape to fit the hammock nicely.

[brownrandy]

I use just a Ray Jardine kit quilt. I had looked at the Gossamer Gear pads and was wondering if they worked. They are trimable and seem very light. I think I'll try one. I had also thought about a 3/4 length ridge rest. I may try both, I have a friend with a ridgerest. BTW how do you manuver to get in a HH and not have to wrestle with your pad to get it under you?

Thanks
Randy Brown

[doggiebag]

I use just a Ray Jardine kit quilt. I had looked at the Gossamer Gear pads and was wondering if they worked. They are trimable and seem very light. I think I'll try one. I had also thought about a 3/4 length ridge rest. I may try both, I have a friend with a ridgerest. BTW how do you manuver to get in a HH and not have to wrestle with your pad to get it under you?

Thanks
Randy Brown
I use the bathtub strips that keep people from slipping while getting in and out of their bathtubs. I stick these to the bottom of the thermarest and it provides a good anti-slip grip to the hammocks bottom. It should keep it in place to keep you comfy once you have the pad situated.

[dixicritter]

Something else you might consider then is checking into an underquilt instead of a pad. Something like the JRB No Sniveler (http://www.jacksrbetter.com/index_files/Products%20List_files/No%20Snivelling%20Quilt.htm) (which is what I use).

As for getting the pad under me, I usually just put the pad in the hammock first then crawl in. With the Gossamer Gear one I mentioned, it doesn't slip around very well so I try and get it in the right position before I climb in or else I'm in trouble once I get on it.

I've also switched from the HH mostly to a hammock that I made because I was feeling claustrophobic in the HH so I don't really have the same issues with pad placement anymore.

[FanaticFringer]

I use just a Ray Jardine kit quilt. I had looked at the Gossamer Gear pads and was wondering if they worked. They are trimable and seem very light. I think I'll try one. I had also thought about a 3/4 length ridge rest. I may try both, I have a friend with a ridgerest. BTW how do you manuver to get in a HH and not have to wrestle with your pad to get it under you?

Thanks
Randy Brown

The downfall of the Hennessy hammock is that you will almost always have to wrestle with pads. It does get somewhat better with practice. Have you considered an underquilt such as a JRB Nest or No Sniveler? www.jacksrbetter.com Or a Speer Snugfit? www.speerhammocks.com/Products/SnugFit.htm
Check out www.hammockforums.net for good hammock talk.
Search the hammock camping archives here also. Go to www.tothewoods.net for great hammocking 101

[brownrandy]

Thanks to EVERYONE for the great suggestions. I will look into them all. I am considering a Colorado Trail thru-hike this summer and am thinking about hammocking it. I don't intend to camp above the timberline and flat campspots are hard to find. It seems like the hammock might be a Godsend for that. I walked a good portion of the Ouachita Trail in Oklahoma and Arkansas last spring and used my HH and was happy because I could camp anywhere there were trees, which translates to anywhere. Though I will admit that getting out of the HH in the middle of the night to pee can be fun if you forget what kind of incline you are on. I will check out the underquilt and the Gossamer gear pad.

Randy Brown

[River Runner]

Randy -

Those are both good choices, and they work well together too when temperatures get down really cold. The 1/4 in wide GG pad is the one I prefer. Instead of trimming in a mummy shape, I just trimmed the upper and lower corners off to roughly match the contours of the hammock so it provides more protection on the sides (due to the way the hammock wraps around your sides).

[take-a-knee]

Some people get a sweaty back lying on a closed cell pad, some don't, you must belong to the former category. I have a JRB Nest (designed for the Hennessy) and it works really well. Since you have a Jardine topquilt you might want to stay synthetic. There is a guy over at Hammockforums.com named Patrick that was making a synthetic underquilt called the KAQ (Kickass Quilt) or Potomac UQ by some, he doesn't make them anymore but he has the plans on his server (home computer, he's an IT guy I think). There is another guy at HF named Warbonnet that has designed a short underquilt but he doesn't have it in production yet. Pads work great under your butt and legs, you need more insulation for your torso. Warbonnet designed his so you could add climashield to the UQ through a zipper, way cool. The short UQ would really reduce volume, that Jardine quilt is bulky enough. If you make your own UQ just buy JRB's hammock suspension kit, it works well.

[Tinker]

Don't rule out open cell foam padding, available in billets at most fabric stores. It compresses pretty well if you roll it tightly and secure it with straps. It shouldn't collect sweat like the closed cell types do, shouldn't slide around like a Thermarest (I tried that one, and it worked if I didn't inflate the pad too hard). At pressure points (mostly your butt), you might want to have a small piece of closed cell foam, but I believe open cell will conform better to your body and stay in place better. Durability might be a problem, and you'll have to keep it dry.

[FanaticFringer]

Don't rule out open cell foam padding, available in billets at most fabric stores. It compresses pretty well if you roll it tightly and secure it with straps. It shouldn't collect sweat like the closed cell types do, shouldn't slide around like a Thermarest (I tried that one, and it worked if I didn't inflate the pad too hard). At pressure points (mostly your butt), you might want to have a small piece of closed cell foam, but I believe open cell will conform better to your body and stay in place better. Durability might be a problem, and you'll have to keep it dry.

An open cell pad will not hold warmth because it isn't windproof and will compress if you lay on it. Open cell pads can also soak up water like a sponge, which may be a disadvantage on the trail.

[mkmangold]

Just a thought experiment, although I will try it if I find a 6 foot length. What about those flimsy, lightweight rubber-like pads with holes in them that are used under silverware trays and in toolboxes? Believe it or not, air trapped in holes like that really insulates.

[Tinker]

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/237103382ByZIeG

Here's a possible alternative. You can get a bug net at 7oz. from Mountain Laurel Designs which you might be able to use while you sit and eat, as well. I will be trying this combination this year, with the upgrade of a Golite feather-lite bag replacing the Marmot, which is a pound heavier and has large air gaps because it is semi-rectangular. I've used the hammock with the Golite bag down to 19 degrees even though it's rated at 40. I'm a very warm sleeper.
Btw, being non-windproof isn't a big deal with open cell foam in a hammock. The hammock bottom is, for the most part, windproof (at least I wish it breathed better in the summer heat). It won't compress to nothing, either, and, as I stated, at maximum pressure points you can supplement it with closed cell foam. Since keeping it dry is a necessity, you might be better off using a Thermarest. Though heavier, it gives you the option to sleep on the ground with reasonable comfort as well. You will need to stuff clothing along side it to keep your arms and shoulders warm, though.

[Cannibal]

There is another guy at HF named Warbonnet that has designed a short underquilt but he doesn't have it in production yet.

But, he has a tester! :D :banana

Pads suck! I'm like you brownrandy, they make me sweat like crazy. Dealing with them in a HH is simply advancing to the next inner ring of Hell. However, one thing did help with both of those problems. I got an SPE (http://www.speerhammocks.com/Products/SPE.htm) and it made the shifting pad problem in the HH MUCH easier to deal with. The sweating was still an issue, but much less of one. Easy to make one yourself, but not a horrible price for a well built piece of gear from the Speers.

[Fiddleback]

I don't think pads make you sweat...they merely prevent the sweat from wicking away.:rolleyes:

When I first started out with a hammock and pad I covered the pad with a light fleece throw to help with the condensation (an idea I got from Sgt Rock's site). When I've used this combination I've not had a problem...but when I've not used the combination I've also not had a problem.:-? Bottom line: I can't draw a conclusion about the efficacy of the throw but I think the idea behind it is valid.

I backpack in an arid region and my sleep system is 'light'...there's no way I'm going to overheat and sweat a lot and the crisp nighttime temps and low humidity don't encourage a lot of sweating either. I'm sure these factors are the important ones affecting condensation under a sleeper in a hammock and are the first things to consider when addressing the issue of condensation. The basewear I sleep in helps with wicking too.

I use the extra-wide, non-slipping Oware pad and the fleece throw, which is perfectly size-matched to the pad, is still offered by Campmor for about $12. The clips I use to attach the throw to the pad I got from the office supply section at Target but I haven't seen them there for a long time. Total weight of the set up is about 21oz and, in combo with the rest of my sleep system, is good to the mid- to low-20s. I've never used anything else with my HH.

FB

[take-a-knee]

Some people's back just continues to sweat once a high level of humidity next to the skin is reached. Other peoples' sweating response is locally turned off once that humid microclimate is reached, this is probably neurological and not subject to change. I have the Oware pads and I can sleep directly on them without excessive sweating, others can't. If you can use the pads, and the Oware pads work great and don't move around (trim them coffin shaped, thirty inches wide from shoulders to hips). Sgt Rock is using these pads with a JRB underquilt on his thru currently. He posted a low temp of six degrees last week.

[BillyBob58]

Some people's back just continues to sweat once a high level of humidity next to the skin is reached. Other peoples' sweating response is locally turned off once that humid microclimate is reached, this is probably neurological and not subject to change. I have the Oware pads and I can sleep directly on them without excessive sweating, others can't. If you can use the pads, and the Oware pads work great and don't move around (trim them coffin shaped, thirty inches wide from shoulders to hips). Sgt Rock is using these pads with a JRB underquilt on his thru currently. He posted a low temp of six degrees last week.

Does he have a trail journal, and if so do you have a link?

[take-a-knee]

Does he have a trail journal, and if so do you have a link?

He does but I always have trouble getting the trailjournal links to work, find one of Sgt Rock's posts and there should be a link at the bottom of the post to his trail journal. You could also search here using his trail name/hammocks and you'll find plenty of good info.

I believe he's using a homemade hammock currently to save weight (no netting) and he'll switch out to a hyperlite in bug season. He has his namesake JRB No Sniveler UQ (he designed it and named it) and two coffin-shaped pads (28in wide) from Oware and the JRB weathershield system (out of production but will be available again soon). For a top quilt he's using one made from Hungry Howie's plan at Thruhiker.com.