Hammock Sleepers?

[eleaf]

Anyone else here run a hammock?

Since the very first time I used a hammock in the backcountry I decided that I'd never use a tent again if I had the choice. Sleeping on the ground is for dogs . If there are trees, I'm using a hammock. You can get tents that are lighter (or just go the tarp/bivy route for real weight savings), but I've decided that the extra pound is worth it.

I run a Jacks r Better Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock, a suspension design with a flat lay. I've never used it below 40, but I would if I got an appropriate bottom quilt (I have a quilt, just not fit for below freezing or so).

 

[Renoit24]

I have a Hennessey Expedition Asym hammock with the rain Hexfly. Most of my backcountry hunting buddies run hammocks as well and I don't think we will go back to tents anytime soon either. I use a 30 deg synthetic bag and have slept down to about 31 degrees. I was able to sleep but the cold was felt on my back even with a Hennessey underpad. I am looking to upgrade to a zpack 10 deg water resistant treated down quilt. I'm hoping this will allow me to tolerate lower and wetter conditions. Total weight for the current sleep system is running right under 6 lbs.

 

[eleaf]

I have a Hennessey Expedition Asym hammock with the rain Hexfly. Most of my backcountry hunting buddies run hammocks as well and I don't think we will go back to tents anytime soon either. I use a 30 deg synthetic bag and have slept down to about 31 degrees. I was able to sleep but the cold was felt on my back even with a Hennessey underpad. I am looking to upgrade to a zpack 10 deg water resistant treated down quilt. I'm hoping this will allow me to tolerate lower and wetter conditions. Total weight for the current sleep system is running right under 6 lbs.

You should check out Jacks r Better quilts. They are top notch gear, and light.

 

[unm1136]

I have run a hammock for the last 3 hunting seasons, several fishing trips, scouting trips, and even strung one in the basement at work one day when I had like a four hour turn around between shifts...While reasonably light, hammocks are not uber light weight, nor inexpensive. There are some ultralight hammocks, coming in under a pound or so, but you pay for it. My current hammock is 2 pounds. Add underquilt, tarp, and sleeping bag/overquilt, and I am at 8 pounds, capable with good clothing down to about 17 degrees, but the quality of sleep is worth it. To be fair, most of my hunting trips so far I have not bothered with a tarp. My sleeping bag has an overcover, and even in light rain/sleet/snow I have been warm and snug.

I have a Kifaru Megatarp, that I shared with my 13 year old daughter this weekend, and my worst night in hammock has been better than my best (admittedly only) night in a megatarp. Same sleeping bag, double sleeping pads, same layered clothes and I froze. Daughter was OK in a zero degree bag, which was my biggest concern. We were in a canyon, with a low 20 degree night, with winds measured in the nearest town at 22 sustained, gusts to over 30 all night long. The steady wind and big gusts loosened the tarp to the point that there were small gaps under the tarp and the annex was pitifully set up. To be fair, there quite a bit of operator error in the Megatarp setup, so my freezing was largely my fault. I have played around with using the megatarp as a hammock tarp, and while not ideal, it has potential.

I have learned a few thing about pitching my Megatarp, but if I am on my own, like on scouting trips, turkey hunting or deer hunting with friends, I am using my hammock. With the kids, we gotta be on the ground, because I ain't buying multiple hammock setups outside of me and the wife. I don't love my kids enough to drop the coin on a complete hammock suite for each of the kids. For then next two-3 years (if I arbitrarily set hunting age a 13 then I have 3 seasons to get this done) My hunts I will be in a hammock, Brat the First and I will use a megatarp, and when Brat the Second starts hunting I will move up to an 8 man tipi.

But I love my Hammock. Dangerbird, HG underquilt, Slumberjack sleeping bag, and megatarp, for the nights I decide I need a tarp.

pat

 

[unm1136]

You should check out Jacks r Better quilts. They are top notch gear, and light.

The JRB High Sierra Sniveler is first on my list for a down product. Sleeves and the hood will complete the ensemble.

pat

 

[Renoit24]

The JRB High Sierra Sniveler is first on my list for a down product. Sleeves and the hood will complete the ensemble.

pat

Thanks guys I will look into these before making my decision on an underquilt.

 

[8Crow]

After experimenting with Hennessy and homemade hammocks, and Jacks R Better quilts, I would also offer up the following: The Exped Ergo Combi. I don't think I'll be dropping that kind of cash anytime soon, but it has a few big draws in my mind.

1) No underquilts. They're a finicky pain in the rear, IMO--to get them adusted just right so you have a tight weld to the hammock to block out drafts, but not so tight you're compressing the insulation. The Exped uses your Downmat 9LW in a special sleeve for bottom insulation and since it's an air mattress, it's a lot harder to compress than a down quilt (I ought to get a check from these guys as much as I stump for the downmat). I'm a firm believer in the downmat, have to believe it would work well in this application as well.
2) The hammock is built on the diagonal. A lot of hammocks, like the Hennessy & Warbonnet are built to allow you to lay on the diagonal and relatively flat. The Exped is built on the diagonal and uses your pad to stretch it out--you can only lay on it diagonally.
3) Comes with a massive tarp that can be pitched like a Warbonnet SuperFly to block blowing rain/snow etc
4) Removable bug net. Nice to have when there are bugs, nice to leave the weight at home in the winter.
5) The attachment system seems to incorporate a lot of innovations in the hammock "industry". The hammock goes up easy and a drip guard is incorporated. A little sleeve over all the suspension cords keeps them from getting all tangled up, and the tarp clips into the hammock suspension, seems to be pretty easy to center over the hammock and get tight.

When I watched the videos on their site I just kept seeing one little feature after another that looked refined--like they would eliminate or reduce all the little aggravations that come with a hammock in cold/nasty weather. When the low temps are in the 70's and the skies are clear, a little sliver of closed cell foam and a bug net are about all you need to be comfortable. When the temps drop and the weather gets nasty, all the little details become a lot more important.

In the reviews on REI, though, I saw at least one or two folks complaining that you had to be average height at most to use it. That doesn't make a ton of sense to me since it uses the 9 LW pad, which I fit on just fine at 6' 5", but I did read that FWIW.

 

[Techbrute]

I don't know any better, so I use a Clark North American. Serious hammockers will probably look down on my setup, but I use a Kifaru Doobie as an under quilt, and a Woobie as a quilt. I'm sure there are better ways, but I took it down to 10* using a 40* slick bag and my cold weather gear stuffed in the pockets underneath, in addition to the Woobie and Doobie. It comes in around 7lbs, not counting clothing, for all that, but I was crazy comfortable. I probably could have dropped the slick bag to save a couple pounds, as I was really, really warm.

 

[beachbunny]

I got a couple of brats that I love dearly, they love the hammocks, call em bear burritos!
warbonnet bridge hammock, spindrift,hammock gear quilt

 

[eleaf]

After experimenting with Hennessy and homemade hammocks, and Jacks R Better quilts, I would also offer up the following: The Exped Ergo Combi. I don't think I'll be dropping that kind of cash anytime soon, but it has a few big draws in my mind.

1) No underquilts. They're a finicky pain in the rear, IMO--to get them adusted just right so you have a tight weld to the hammock to block out drafts, but not so tight you're compressing the insulation. The Exped uses your Downmat 9LW in a special sleeve for bottom insulation and since it's an air mattress, it's a lot harder to compress than a down quilt (I ought to get a check from these guys as much as I stump for the downmat). I'm a firm believer in the downmat, have to believe it would work well in this application as well.
2) The hammock is built on the diagonal. A lot of hammocks, like the Hennessy & Warbonnet are built to allow you to lay on the diagonal and relatively flat. The Exped is built on the diagonal and uses your pad to stretch it out--you can only lay on it diagonally.
3) Comes with a massive tarp that can be pitched like a Warbonnet SuperFly to block blowing rain/snow etc
4) Removable bug net. Nice to have when there are bugs, nice to leave the weight at home in the winter.
5) The attachment system seems to incorporate a lot of innovations in the hammock "industry". The hammock goes up easy and a drip guard is incorporated. A little sleeve over all the suspension cords keeps them from getting all tangled up, and the tarp clips into the hammock suspension, seems to be pretty easy to center over the hammock and get tight.

When I watched the videos on their site I just kept seeing one little feature after another that looked refined--like they would eliminate or reduce all the little aggravations that come with a hammock in cold/nasty weather. When the low temps are in the 70's and the skies are clear, a little sliver of closed cell foam and a bug net are about all you need to be comfortable. When the temps drop and the weather gets nasty, all the little details become a lot more important.

In the reviews on REI, though, I saw at least one or two folks complaining that you had to be average height at most to use it. That doesn't make a ton of sense to me since it uses the 9 LW pad, which I fit on just fine at 6' 5", but I did read that FWIW.

The Bear Mountain Bridge hammock also has a slot to slide in your pad if you don't want to use a quilt. It works, but a pad will only take you so far before you'll want a quilt.

 

[TheRambler]

I use a hammock year round. I've even taken my hammock setup down to -30F! and rode out many a storms in it. I absolutely love it and wont ever go back to the ground if i can help it. I run a WBBB 1.7 dbl hammock, warbonnet superfly tarp, and hammock gear quilts. I have a 20F 3/4 underquilt, a -10F full length underquilt, a -10F top quilt, and a 40F top quilt. I also use a hammock sock made out of m90. The sock is by far the best thing i ever got for my hammock and wish i would have gotten one a loooong time ago. Its i guess in essence a bivy for the hammock. Its pretty water resistant and highly breathable. It is perfect for blocking wind if need be and i always keep it on my hammock so i can just reach down and pull it over and cinch it down. Its perfect for blocking light rain/snow, mist, fog etc. I find it highly useful in the winter, it probablyadds a good 10-15F of warmth. I only rig my tarp if there is rain in the forecast or the sky looks like rain. So this thing is perfect because if it starts to rain i just sit up and grab it and pull it over the hammock. It can all be done from inside the hammock so no need to get out. It isn't completely waterproof so it wont withstand a heavy rain for very long, but a brief moderate rain or a continuous light rain it can handle fine. The m90 sock weighs 2.3oz, best 2.3oz i have ever carried!

I use my 20f 3/4 and 40f quilts down to about freezing, and anything below that i switch to my winter quilts.

 

[beachbunny]

who makes the hammock sock? I just got a spindrift for mine but have not gotten out.i imagine it is the same thing,keeps back the wind.

 

[TheRambler]

Mine was made by Papasmurf. Here is a link to the website http://www.dream-hammock.com/WinterSock.html . I see that he has changed the web site since I bought mine, as the page that i just linked to shows the correct picture but the details below it are for noseeum netting and not m90 so the weight etc is off a bit. The normal width he makes weighs 2.5oz, but i thought it had a little extra fabric than was needed so i sent it back and had him alter it and remove like 10in of the width so mine weighs 2.3.

If your handy with a sewing machine it seems really easy to make, i just dont have any sewing skills really so elected to buy it.

 

[TheRambler]

Just looked to see if I had any pictures of my sock in use, but I do not. I will be going out on a trip Jan 3-5 and will take some pics of my whole setup while i am out.

 

[Floorguy]

My wife got me a Skeeter Beater Pro for my birthday today complete with whoopie slings just got to get a tarp and then I will be set to try it out.

 

[Bughalli]

I've tried sleeping in them and don't get that good of a nights sleep. Just not comfortable for me. Feels great for the first hour or so and then you'll want to roll over. The hammock limits your body position. I slept on one for a week and by the third night I really wished I had a tent. My back and neck would be stiff in the morning.

They're generally heavier than a tent because the materials need to be so much more sturdy to support your weight vs a tent.

I never slept in really cold weather with mine but suspect they run colder due to lack of insulation below you. I say this because I was surprised how much colder it was sleeping on a cot in a tent compared to sleeping on the ground. Same tent, sleeping bag, ground pad and temps at night. The only difference was the cot. Noticeably colder from 4-6am. I had to double up the ground pad and then was fine.

 

[TheRambler]

Not all hammocks are created equal, you need a hammock with a true asym lay or bridge so that you can lay completely flat, side or stomach if you desire. I will admit it takes a little "training" to get used to sleeping in a hammock. The first couple of nights for me it was challenge to fall asleep, but after those first few nights my body "figured it out" and now i am one happy camper!.

Hammocks are definitely colder, not just in the winter, anytime of year. Definitely have to plan for that and have adequate insulation. I've been to -30f in my hammock so its definitely doable, just have to be prepared with the right gear.

 

[8Crow]

The Bear Mountain Bridge hammock also has a slot to slide in your pad if you don't want to use a quilt. It works, but a pad will only take you so far before you'll want a quilt.

Why do you say that?

 

[TheRambler]

Pads work just fine IMO, but a quilt is much more comfortable. I used pads starting out, though the coldest i have taken i pad was maybe 15 or 20F so cant speak for much below that, though i see no reason it wouldnt work.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I feel ya brother. I am currently working with a buddy on creation of a Super Doobie UQ that uses Climashield insulation. It will serve multi-duty as a hunting blind, blanket, UQ for NW backpack hunts. I will post images when it is done next month.