View Full Version : sleeping pads and hammocks
The Will
01-31-2005, 17:46
Does anyone have any experience using the Gossamer Gear ThinLight insulation pad with their hammock? By appearences, it seems it would fit the task superbly. I have been using a 1/2 length auto reflector sun shield that works well, but has its limitations when temperatures drop. I'm a late spring to early fall hammock user only and so, depending upon lattitude and elevation, would not intend to encounter temps lower than the upper 30s.
I appreciate the response.
David S.
02-02-2005, 20:07
This pad looks promising. For the price, you can't loose if you at least try it.
It looks very low weight from the specs. I wonder if they can make them longer and wider? I think I'll get me one.
i use an oware pad,trimmed down to 36 in by 48 in trimmed at each corner
it rest between my silnylon undercover and my hammock i have used it down to 30 degrees so far,i have pics posted on my gallery:sun neo
it only weighs 5 oz
titanium_hiker
02-03-2005, 15:53
I have made my hammock so that it's double bottomed in the middle. this means that I can slide my pad in this pocket, and it doesn't get lost.
stickman
02-04-2005, 11:50
Ti Hiker, how much does your double bottomed hammock weigh? I'm not a gram weenie, but curious. Thanks.
Stickman
Ti Hiker, how much does your double bottomed hammock weigh? I'm not a gram weenie, but curious. Thanks.
Stickman
my silnylon under cover wieghs 5oz and cost 35.00 bucks
i have a couple pics posted in gallery,my custom pad only weighs 5oz:sun neo
titanium_hiker
02-04-2005, 17:07
Ti Hiker, how much does your double bottomed hammock weigh? I'm not a gram weenie, but curious. Thanks.
Stickman
Too much. ;)
I used the wrong sort of fabric for my hammock (gaberdeen)
risk/flyfisher suggests ripstop nylon that wieghs 6 grams per metre... so that's 6 metres for the hammock (4 top and 2 pocket) so thats 36 grams plus fly and webbing and netting.
I have not purchased ripstop as yet, but plan to.
titanium_hiker
MedicineMan
02-05-2005, 05:46
even if you only go to 30F pads are a nuisance.
i've concluded that either a supershelter or the jacks-r-better equivalent is a must (and at the price differential you'd be crazy not to seriously consider the jacks-r-better model).
With the supershelter of the jacks version you can use ANY insulation under you and that would include your crumpled rain jacket,socks, backpack, garbage bags, etc. OR a very lightweight quilt.
MY 0.2 worth
SGT Rock
02-05-2005, 09:12
Amen to the JacksRBetter stuff. I'm heading out this weekend to play with the weathershield.
Love my Hennessy but if it going to drop below 40F I usually just hump a tent. Would like to use my hammock in colder temps but it seems with all the addons suggested here my combined weight will be way more than my tent. Was just surfing and came across the Big Agnes Air Core Insulated Mummy Pad. It has insulation on the interior top and inflates to 2 1/2 ". Weight was not much more than my Thermarest 3/4 Ultralite pad and was only 50$. Looks like it might buy me an extra 10 or 15 degrees. Has anybody tried this pad in a hammock yet or just used one in general?
titanium_hiker
02-05-2005, 21:08
I have tried both a pad and a sleepingbag over the hammock insulation systems. the pad works great. (it's a thermarest type 3/4 length, but it fits me fine)
it is not wide, though, so anything colder than below about 5*C might cause cold arms. I was toasty enough in the sleeping bag swallowed hammock, (nothing colder than 14*C ) but it just wasn't comfortable. I couldn't spread out to sleep in a diagonal, and there was an airleak by my head, which in colder temps could be a pain (cold) in the neck. It was nice to not have to worry about where the bag was though.
I found that I was fine with me inside the bag with a pad underneath, but recently I have been experimenting with me under the open bag (inside though) and this is really comfortable. I hate having to find the pad in the middle of the night. Go with a pocket.
phew.. long post :)
titanium_hiker
flyfisher
02-05-2005, 21:59
Too much. ;)
I used the wrong sort of fabric for my hammock (gaberdeen)
risk/flyfisher suggests ripstop nylon that wieghs 6 grams per metre... so that's 6 metres for the hammock (4 top and 2 pocket) so thats 36 grams plus fly and webbing and netting.
I have not purchased ripstop as yet, but plan to.
titanium_hiker
Naw, If I said 6 grams a meter I was wrong.
for a double bottom hammock, I would use 1.1 oz ripstop which weighs about 40 grams a sq meter. For a single layer, I use 1.9 oz ripstop, which weighs about 65 g per sq meter.
titanium_hiker
02-05-2005, 22:19
oh... man, I thought I was onto something here. Oh well. (side thought, what sort of size does it compress/stuff/roll down into? Don't worry about exact measurements, just tell me if it's "bigger than me" "fills my entire pack" "loaf of sliced bread" um... "pocket size" ... you get the idea. :)
titanium_hiker
The Hammocker
02-10-2005, 20:02
I can't get my pad to stay strait! When I lay in it it bunches up. I cut it smaller but this didn't help. Any suggestions are apriciated.
Yeah, I got two of those Gossamer Gear Thinlight pads. They are very light but don't provide much cushioning, only insulation. I originally got them to use in my HH Backpacker A-sym, but ended up getting a SuperShelter before I had a chance to test them out. I will probably bring along one of them to supplement the SuperShelter pad as that too isn't entirely effective.
spry
GAME '05
The Will
02-10-2005, 21:42
I haven't made the time to play with the Thinlight pad yet, but do have a few thoughts. It is standard width for a sleeping pad (20 inches), which makes it a touch narrow for hammock use...(the folding of the hammock increasing body surface contact to the hammock fabric and cooler outside air.) This is only a problem in the shoulder area and could probably be remedied with some well placed items of clothing. I bought an emergency space blanket and intend to laminate a fitted portion of this to what will be the underside of the pad. Hopefully this will kick up the insulating value a bit.
Has anyone used a 1 to 2 inch open cell foam pad between a HH hammock and HH supershelter undercover to augment the HH supershelter pad? If so, what were the results?
titanium_hiker
02-11-2005, 15:42
I have read of people doing this repettit ... look around and you will see some people on the forum.
titanium_hiker
The Hammocker
02-11-2005, 21:14
nobody answered my question of how to keep the pad from bunching up.
SGT Rock
02-11-2005, 21:19
Lay on top of it :D
What sort of pad are you using? Some pads are just trouble in a hammock.
I have been using the JRB Weathershield. My last trip it was 25F and just the shield with a No-Sniveler Quilt was plenty fine. To add to that the hammock is more comfortable it you can sleep without a pad - just hammock nylon to support you like a hammock should. I'm thinking that maybe there is a way to get my pad to center up properly under me between the WeatherShield and the hammock bottom - sort of like the HH bottom cover does with the HH open cell foam pad.
The Hammocker
02-11-2005, 21:22
I mean when you lay on it. whenever I lay on my pad it just bunches at the ends.
SGT Rock
02-11-2005, 21:25
See previous post, I added to it.
The Hammocker
02-11-2005, 21:35
I'm just using a chopped up blue pad. I'm thinking of rounding the edges to see if that helps. Ideas needed.
SGT Rock
02-11-2005, 21:40
Those blue pads can slide. Get some rubber shelf matting and use some contact cement to glue some strips to the bottom to add some grip to it. If you can find some Evazote to make a pad from, the stuff doesn't slipmuch at all.
Fiddleback
02-11-2005, 23:37
Oware, @ owareusa.com, has plastizote cross-linked foam pads which don't slip. They are 40X60X1/4 and weigh 7oz. $23 w/free shipping.
I use this pad, sometimes covered with a thin fleece throw, sometimes not (still experimenting). Once I take care to make sure the pad is flat, I lay down carefully and the pad remains smooth. The extra width serves to cup the sleeper which provides extra insulation and wind break.
This is a thin pad...for me I think the temp limit is mid- to low-20s. After three hours at 22F I felt some coolness coming through...
FB
The Hammocker
02-13-2005, 19:20
I'm gonna try the idea on the front page pix. (zipping the bag around the hammock)
peter_pan
02-14-2005, 08:37
Rock,
If you want the pad to stay in place between the Weather Shield and your Hammock, center a 2 foot piece of elastic or shock cord on the head and foot ends of the pad. put a loop in each end and clip it to the mini beener of the JRB Suspension System that corresponds to the the off set side for your head and feet...it should stay in place......Note, this works but is sill not as comfortable as your under quilt... it does make a nice add, if you head for single digit weather...
SGT Rock
02-14-2005, 22:10
Yes! that is so simple it just might work. I was thinking of a cord on each corner that would be at the correct length for that spot to hold it in place, sorta like the HH system.
I won't mention any names, but someone IMed me about his HH Supershelter and all the condensation he was experiencing. Kudos to the breathable material!
wentworth
02-15-2005, 02:55
Peterpan:
Before I bought my underquilt, I tried threading shock cord through holes in the head and foot of my foam pad, then clipping it to the hammock in the way described. I found that the cord ripped through the foam pad when I tried to get into the hammock.
Is this the method you described- threading the cord through holes made in the pad? Maybe I misread or should have reinforced the holes in the pad with tape or something?
Not that this is even an issue now that I have my nest!
peter_pan
02-15-2005, 08:32
Wentworth,
Hello down under.
Found my way to bushcraftUK...neat site...read your posts there...thanks for spreading the word on under quilts.
As to the elastic cord trick....a lot depends on the pad material, a good closed cell pad should not need rinforcement....if it does, use duct tape....here is the point most miss.....like the Nest.... it should be as lightly hung as possible ...thus there will be no stress....where the problem starts is when it is hung hightly, and one counts on the elastic to give....too tight.
Keep passing the word.....HYOH.... really means "Hang Your Own Hammock"
Maybe we should start "HYOH hyoh" to cover both bases.
Sgt. Rock
Where is the condensation occurring in the supershelter? The undercover or overcover. The reason I ask is that I am thinking of returning mine because I have a lot of problems effectively adding additional insulation. I was thinking of using a 2" open cell foam pad rigged up like the hennessy pad, but if the condensation is occurring in the undercover, I want to spare myself the frustration.
WhiteMtns
02-15-2005, 09:32
Just curious about 2" open cell for insul. Does that soak it up like a sponge? can it soak heavy moisture just from the air? Does it have to be in a WTB sleeve...or is 1.1 with DWR sufficient?
I think that it would need to be waterproofed somehow. I am just going to test it for warmth for now. But if condensation puddles it the undercover of the supershelter, nix the undercover from the start. The 2" thick pad would be bulky, but very inexpensive, $15 twin sized bedding foam from Wal-Mart, I plan to cut it down so it wraps my shoulder area and gives me a little more legroom when I lay on my side in the hammock . Would like to waterproof it inexpensively also. Any inexpensive ideas there?
WhiteMtns
02-15-2005, 10:10
For inexpensive WTB...or at lease heavilly water resistant and breathable...you might check out the sale items at Seattle http://www.seattlefabrics.com/sale.html
I think I saw older Ultrex on sale elsewhere as well.
Please post how your experiments come out. You say that Wally World Bedding Foam might work? That's funny, I was just wracking my brain and searching the internet for open cell foam suppliers.
I'm planning on making a simple hammock out of 1.9oz and adding a 2" deep bathtub false bottom (probably 30 by 72 inches.) This will be sewn on three sides, and velcroed on the third allowing me to experiment with many different insulators in this under-sleeve. I have ideas for Primaloft...closed cell...and open cell. As well as a combination of insuls with self inflating ribs in a place or two as trusses if the bathtub still compresses the insul and doesn't allow it to loft up...
The foam is the flat type, it isn't convoluted on one side, you can find it in the bedding area.
SGT Rock
02-15-2005, 20:59
Sgt. Rock
Where is the condensation occurring in the supershelter? The undercover or overcover. The reason I ask is that I am thinking of returning mine because I have a lot of problems effectively adding additional insulation. I was thinking of using a 2" open cell foam pad rigged up like the hennessy pad, but if the condensation is occurring in the undercover, I want to spare myself the frustration.
I think he is having issues on both sides based on his description to me. I promised not to name names.
Were both sides being used togethar? Or did the undercover generate condensation alone?
SGT Rock
02-15-2005, 21:41
both together.
Just curious about 2" open cell for insul. Does that soak it up like a sponge? can it soak heavy moisture just from the air? Does it have to be in a WTB sleeve...or is 1.1 with DWR sufficient?I just spent last night out in the Birkhead Wilderness Area with the supershelter undercover and a 1-1/4 inch open cell foam pad as additional insulation to the HH underpad, no tarp. The low temp hit about 38-39 F with a very slight breeze. I experienced no condensation in the hammock, undercover or open cell foam. I don't know what the relative humidity was last night, though a front moved in overnight and brought rain to the area today. I wore a fleece jacket, pants, watch cap, and a bandana over my face. 20 degree down bag. I was very warm all night. It just took a little while for my body heat to warm up the insulation. This combo should at least take me to freezing, then put a 3/4 length of closed cell foam inside the hammock for my back and butt if it gets colder than that. Looks like Tom H. wont get is supershelter back afterall.
The Hammocker
02-27-2005, 15:31
I think that it would need to be waterproofed somehow. I am just going to test it for warmth for now. But if condensation puddles it the undercover of the supershelter, nix the undercover from the start. The 2" thick pad would be bulky, but very inexpensive, $15 twin sized bedding foam from Wal-Mart, I plan to cut it down so it wraps my shoulder area and gives me a little more legroom when I lay on my side in the hammock . Would like to waterproof it inexpensively also. Any inexpensive ideas there?As long as it's inexpensive I'm all for it (me have no $$ unless it be a holiday or something)
titanium_hiker
03-01-2005, 16:24
I tried the bag around the hammock... warmth wise it worked well, but my spread out sleeping style didn't like it, and ther could have been a cold neck/shoulders in colder weather due to the open bag at the bottom.
titanium_geek
The Hammocker
03-01-2005, 18:59
I have a mummy bag so I was thinking just tighten the drawstring and wear a hat.
titanium_hiker
03-01-2005, 22:03
yeah but comfort is an issue too. I have a mummy bag, I really hated how it restricted my sleeping diagonally. I now sleep with a fleece poncho in the pocket of my hammock. toasty!
titanium_hiker
As long as it's inexpensive I'm all for it (me have no $$ unless it be a holiday or something)
I just tested the system this past weekend, no Hennessy underpad, just the Wal-Mart open cell foam, cut to the same width dimensions of the HH underpad, just 1.25" thick. Good results for maintaining warmth. Did not experience any condensation issues in the HH undercover, or bugnet, or foam pad. HH undercover $100, Wal-Mart pad $15, total $115. If I need to make a waterproof sleeve for the pad, add $20. If you can sew your own undercover out of sylnylon, you could probably reduce the cost by $50 or so. Drawback, foam pad is bulkier and heavier than a down underquilt and weathersheild, but that set-up costs $264 before shipping and taxes.
The Hammocker
03-23-2005, 20:26
ouch, thats alot of $$
titanium_hiker
03-28-2005, 15:09
.... if you are unemployed like most students. That's in reality only a weekly grocery bill for a family of four....
titanium_hiker
The Hammocker
03-28-2005, 19:31
ya, but I'm in 7th grade, can't get a "legal" job. I can't afford that mutch, ya know.
Just Jeff
03-29-2005, 08:43
ouch, thats alot of $$
Yeah, but if you can find a way it's SOOOO worth it.
You can make a synthetic one for ~$50, though. Super simple...I'll help you if you have access to a sewing machine.
You too, TH.
This last weekend I slept in my HH with a thermarest Prolite 4 and a 20 degree down sleeping bag. The termperatures got down to the mid-20's and I wasn't the least bit cold. I also found the setup comfortable and I didn't roll off my pad. However, it was difficult to get into the sleeping bad and onto the pad.
Dances with Mice
04-05-2005, 12:46
This last weekend I slept in my HH with a thermarest Prolite 4 and a 20 degree down sleeping bag. The termperatures got down to the mid-20's and I wasn't the least bit cold. I also found the setup comfortable and I didn't roll off my pad. However, it was difficult to get into the sleeping bad and onto the pad.Ditto, except with a closed cell foam pad, about the same temperature range, same rated bag, same problem with arranging the bag and pad. And witnesses! http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=91679
I'm thinking of bringing a scrap of blue pad to use as a "door mat" below the entrance to the hammock. It would also be used as a sitting pad.
SGT Rock
04-05-2005, 12:49
Great minds think alike. I've been thinking the same thing. I have a very light piece of old evazote sitting in my basement.
Dances with Mice
04-05-2005, 13:18
Great minds think alike. I've been thinking the same thing. I have a very light piece of old evazote sitting in my basement.With a small loop of string to stake or snag it to the ground, maybe even hang it from the backpack.
I just tested the system this past weekend, no Hennessy underpad, just the Wal-Mart open cell foam, cut to the same width dimensions of the HH underpad, just 1.25" thick. Good results for maintaining warmth. Did not experience any condensation issues in the HH undercover, or bugnet, or foam pad. HH undercover $100, Wal-Mart pad $15, total $115. If I need to make a waterproof sleeve for the pad, add $20. If you can sew your own undercover out of sylnylon, you could probably reduce the cost by $50 or so. Drawback, foam pad is bulkier and heavier than a down underquilt and weathersheild, but that set-up costs $264 before shipping and taxes.
If you've gotten a larger tarp to replace the stock HH one, try adapting your old one as a Garlington Insulator...
Hammock "Underfly" Insulator Shell
http://www.paysheet.com/underfly/underfly.htm
Doug Frost