Recommendations on bag/pad/quilt for Hennessy

[sheldon]

I have taken the plunge and ordered a Hennessy Backpacker Ultralite A-sym. I now need a recommendation on what sleeping bag to use and also what pad. I also car camp so I am hoping to find one bag that will work for both. I live in New England, hike or car camp July/Aug/Sept, will encounter nighttime temps down to around 35 degrees. I have a fat heavy thermarest for car camping, so the pad I would get would only be for the hammock. I don't think I want to invest in an underquilt right now until I'm sure I like hammocking, a pad is cheap if it doesn't work out. As for the sleeping bag, do I need a mummy, semi-rectangular, 1/2 zip, full zip, I know I need a left zip, or is it nuts to try a sleeping bag at all in a hammock and only a quilt makes sense. Any input would be appreciated...thanks

[Just Jeff]

You can use JRB quilts on the ground with your TR, too. Still lighter than a bag for ground camping, and it'll make a big difference in how comfy your hammock is, IMO.

Still don't want one? You can just throw a sleeping bag over you like a quilt inside the hammock. It's easier to stay on your pad that way, too.

You can crawl inside a sleeping bag in a hammock...it just takes some fidgeting until you figure out the tricks. Mummy or semi- will work; mummy's probably lighter. Full zip would be a little easier to get into and much easier to vent, but half would work ok. I haven't had a problem with left or right zip bags...most people I've heard talking about that had BA bags.

For the pad, just make sure it's 24" or more wide and you'll be ok. Better yet, check out Risk's overlap pad, Rock's wing pad or Ed Speer's SPE.

Whatever works!

[Fiddleback]

Oware (owareusa.com) offers a 1/4" closed cell pad that should be great for your season and temp range. I've used it down to the mid-20s before I felt cold coming through it (while wearing insulated clothing). It's 40X60" so it nicely cups around you in the Hennessy providing extra insulation and wind block. The pad is 'sticky' and with its size does not slip around very much in the hammock. The good thing is it weighs only 7oz, the bad thing is it's a bit bulky to pack up.

I've only used a sleeping bag once in the HH and then as a quilt. In high-20's and wind I was really toasty. I bought a quilt for this season but have yet to use it in the HH. I did use the quilt on my first trip this year when I went to ground in a tent. After a year of wonderful nights in the HH I was kind of dreading it. But I took an 20-year old Thermarest and folded the Oware pad over it like a taco shell. It turned out to be the most comfortable on-ground combination I can remember (high 40's, damp, rock ledge under the tent floor). And no slipping off the Thermarest!

FB

[sheldon]

If I were to go with the JRB no sniveller univeral quilt and the oware pad, what temps do you think I can get down to comfortably? I know, I know, it depends on what I'm wearing, what I ate, cold sleeper/warm sleeper etc. I'm just looking for an educated guess given that I hike in New Hampshire where temps can get close to freezing at night in Sept. in the higher elevations. I guess my real question is, what temp would you rate the no sniveller quilt as using conventional sleeping bag temp ratings? Thanks...

[Just Jeff]

I haven't done cold testing with pads...I think a 1/4" pad will be good to around freezing if you're not a cold sleeper. You'll likely get cold from underneath before you get cold from the top quilt. I think Sgt Rock uses an oware pad with a No Sniveler (the NS was named for him, after all). You might ask him what he's had it to.

The strength of the JRB is using it as an underquilt, though. (You can use either NS or Nest or both together as underquilts.) I think JRB rates it to 30F, but I'm a cold sleeper and can take it to about 40F. Not saying their rating is too optimistic...I'm a cold sleeper in other systems, too. I'm going for the 2 oz overstuff so I can get it lower.

[SGT Rock]

I've taken that combo down to about 45. I probably could go lower, that happens to be the lowest I've tried it at. I've taken a Hungry Howie Quilt with a no-sniveler as an underquilt and a JRB weathershield down to 25F and I have used a Oware Pad, JRB Underquilt, and Hungry Howie quilt to somewhere well below freezing - I'm not sure exactly what the temp was - but it was BRUTAL!