Why do you need an under-quilt or pad?

[Nar Nar]

My friend recently purchased a Hennessy Hammock, and insists on not using an under-quilt or sleeping pad underneath him for insolation. I keep on telling him that he needs one but he won't listen, and will have to find out the hard way if I don't convince him soon. With that said, can anyone on here say anything that could convince him? Is it possible to sleep in a hammock without a quilt or pad with normal summer temperatures without being cold? Any information would be awesome, thanks.

[Sarcasm the elf]

If possible, try and convince him to setup the hammock in his backyard and sleep in it on a cold night. Some lessons have to be learned by experience and it's best if he has a warm house to retreat to when he learns this one. If it's a really cold night you might want to keep an eye on him just to be safe.

[Wise Old Owl]

Sleeping bags cant cut it when compressed against the skin. layering, fleese, thermals, all these things work by restricting air and holding it against the body - much like insulation in the attic you need insulation underneath with hammocks.

[Darwin13]

This can't be a serious question. Literally every single hammock website and thread or anecdote explains why one needs something underneath them in a hammock.

[topshelf]

i have a WBBB and during the summer i only carry a Mountain Hardwear Lamina 35 sleeping bag, i tuck it up under me in the hammock and im never cold, i start to get cold around 45-50 degrees with that bag.

[Starchild]

In a tenting situation (In have gotten air sick in hammocks), I learned the hard way, for some it may be the only way.

Peace

[Slo-go'en]

Watch out on a windy night - talk about freeze your butt off...

[l84toff]

Nothing convinces like a case of CBS (cold butt syndrome). If he insists, I'd let him. It's not a question of IF you get cold with no insulation under you, it's more of WHEN. Most need something below 70, seems like pretty warm until you feel a little breeze - you'll swear it's more like 45. I slept without an UQ in FL around the mid 60's and although I would do it again if I had to, next night I pulled out the UQ. Anything lower than that and no way I'd be able to hang comfortably.

Perhaps he loves being cold, I had a roommate once that slept with the windows open all winter long, just loved it cold. You could see your breath in his room. If this sounds like him, go for it. But I would still recommend he try it in the backyard or close to home in case it doesn't work out like he thinks. But hey HYOH!

[rocketsocks]

Tell him Bridges freeze before roadway.

[bear bag hanger]

Don't waste your breath trying to convince him. He'll have to learn it the hard way. Fortunately, as far as I know, not many people have died trying to sleep in a hammock without a pad or UQ.

[leaftye]

If possible, try and convince him to setup the hammock in his backyard and sleep in it on a cold night. Some lessons have to be learned by experience and it's best if he has a warm house to retreat to when he learns this one. If it's a really cold night you might want to keep an eye on him just to be safe.

^^ This.

Some people limit themselves by refusing to learn from the lessons of others.

[Son Driven]

If possible, try and convince him to setup the hammock in his backyard and sleep in it on a cold night. Some lessons have to be learned by experience and it's best if he has a warm house to retreat to when he learns this one. If it's a really cold night you might want to keep an eye on him just to be safe.

-11 degrees here in Minneapolis, I am waiting for it to warm up to try out my hammock set up.

[MDSection12]

Forget telling him to set it up in the backyard in the Winter; all he needs to do is set it up in his house and he'll learn. I keep my house at 68* and I can't lay in my hammock for more than fifteen minutes without feeling the lack of insulation below me. I use a CCF pad in the house just like on the trail.

[burrito]

it only takes 1 unseasonably cold night to freeze to death, i wouldnt want to wind up in camp cold and wet after a long days hike and find the temps in the fifties and no insulation
safety first

[Nar Nar]

Loving the replies guys, thanks. He's pretty stubborn so I'll probably just let him learn the hard way. And we won't be using it in any really cold weather so I'm sure he will be fine.

[kidchill]

Here's my story...I left in July for my SOBO thru with a 30deg WM sleeping bag and some 1/4" ultralight foam padding for underneath me. Even with summer temps in Maine I was cold pretty much every night in the 100 mile wilderness. There was one freak night where it got down to near freezing, and I literally slept from 11pm-2am...I was shivering so hard that I woke myself up and couldn't go back to sleep. Now, the bag I was using I slept in with no shirt on in 25degree weather while on a pad and in a tent...that is to say, the sleeping bag is rated adequately when used appropriately. After that I chucked the useless pad and ordered an UQ/TQ from hammock gear. The UQ/TQ were rated to 40deg (I also had the UQ overfilled), and I could sleep comfortably down to 30. I picked up a partial thermarest pad in a hiker box and used that for the rest of my thru in 10-15deg night weather...The moral of the story? Get the UQ and know you'll be warm enough! I would tell him to test the hammock in the backyard or basement and see what temps he can tolerate. I'm a warm sleeper and like it cold, but with the convective heat loss caused by the hammock, he WILL be cold.

[Theosus]

My first backpacking trip involved a group of noobs, me being one of them. It was supposed to get down to 50 degrees. I didn't have an UQ, and didn't have time to go buy one. I didn't see the need for a pad, since I was in the air. It got down to 40 that night. I woke up in the middle of the night freezing in the 20 degree bag. Shivering from my cold back. I found everything I could stuff between me and the hammock, jacket, rain pants, sitting pad... Then I laid on my side to minimize exposure. It was a rough few hours to dawn. I made an underquilt good to 40 degrees, which was pretty nice, but I just bought a zero degree (overstuffed) incubator from hammockgear. Used it on a 30 degree night. Woke up to ice on the plants and my rainfly, and I was hot in the hammock. Never zipped the bag all the way up... the damn thing is like an electric blanket.

[broken arrow]

pads work very well. a $6 walmart foam blu-pad is the best bet for pads, IMO.

[scope]

Lot of folks think a pad is for comfort, and it is on the ground. But a pad's main purpose is insulation and a hammock has none. Have him try sleeping on the ground without a pad some time... like sleeping on a water bed when the heater goes out... it sucks the heat from your body even though it doesn't feel that cold at first.

[Nar Nar]

I know this thread is old, but my friend finally went out and tested the hammock. We had temperatures in the mid 40s, and he chose not to use a pad. He has a down sleeping bag rated for 20F. He said he was fine all night and wasn't very cold when he woke up in the middle of the night. I'm confused.