Trail Winder experiences

I have a 40° Warbonnet Wooki and 20° Diamondback that I use with my Blackbird. I sleep hot and have taken that setup down to 40° and been totally comfortable. I decided this fall I really wanted to do some cold weather hammocking and saw recommendations all over for the SLD Trail Winder. I really like how the Wooki is set up for the asymmetrical insulation and the Trail Winder offers a similar concept. The price and modular possibilities made it a no-brainer for me, plus Jared turned it around super fast.

I bought the 6.0 oz base and a 3.6 oz modular layer, which gets me a 20° rated base UQ that theoretically goes down to somewhere around 0° or slightly lower with the extra layer.

I used just the 20° base layer sleeping in the 40s a few times over the past few weeks to try it out, and honestly was colder than with my 40° Wooki. I've been fiddling with the UQ suspension to try to eliminate any gaps and think I have it pretty dialed in now. Last night I added on the modular layer, for a combined 9.6 oz insulation layer, and it got down to 32. I slept ok, but my back wasn't exactly warm, and with that combination of insulation, I'd expect to be able to get down to at least 10 degrees or so without issues, but I don't think it's going to be adequate to even hit 20°.

Does anyone with a Trail Winder get down to their expected temperature ratings? Am I expecting too much of the synthetic insulation? Any tips for a more effective setup?

I have my side shock cord set so it pretty much envelopes the hammock fabric and have tightened up the head and foot suspension shock cord a decent bit so that insulation is hugging my body when I'm in the hammock.

I had to fiddle with my TW a bit to get it dialed-in as well. Mine is the 40° version. I've only had it down to 45° and was still warm. But one thing to note about Apex vs. down is that you don't get that instant warmth like you do with down. It takes a bit longer for your body heat to radiate back. I'm not sure if I would stay as warm down to its temp rating like my Loco Libre quilts. Those things are beasts!

All in all, I do really like the TW and it fits the bill nicely for the weather in which I use it.

I have a Trail Winder in 3.6oz as a base, with the 3.6 modular. I've used mine down to the low 30's so far and been quite comfortable. I spent a fair amount of time getting it set up right for me, which included me laying in it and my wife adjusting the suspension to make sure it was right.
I'd agree with rweb82 - it takes a couple mins to warm up, and while I was quite comfortable but it did not feel like there was a heater under me like my down top quilt feels like.
I did also modify my slightly - I added a couple D-rings to my hammock (two near my head, two near my feet) and matching hooks on the underquilt to keep it from moving around on me. I had a night or two where it had moved around on me and gave me a could shoulder or feet.
According to the "chart" I should be able to push this to 10* I believe, but I honestly don't think that would be a comfort rating. I'd guess closer to 20 or 25 for comfort for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bernardino

I have a 40° Warbonnet Wooki and 20° Diamondback that I use with my Blackbird. I sleep hot and have taken that setup down to 40° and been totally comfortable. I decided this fall I really wanted to do some cold weather hammocking and saw recommendations all over for the SLD Trail Winder. I really like how the Wooki is set up for the asymmetrical insulation and the Trail Winder offers a similar concept. The price and modular possibilities made it a no-brainer for me, plus Jared turned it around super fast.

I bought the 6.0 oz base and a 3.6 oz modular layer, which gets me a 20° rated base UQ that theoretically goes down to somewhere around 0° or slightly lower with the extra layer.

I used just the 20° base layer sleeping in the 40s a few times over the past few weeks to try it out, and honestly was colder than with my 40° Wooki. I've been fiddling with the UQ suspension to try to eliminate any gaps and think I have it pretty dialed in now. Last night I added on the modular layer, for a combined 9.6 oz insulation layer, and it got down to 32. I slept ok, but my back wasn't exactly warm, and with that combination of insulation, I'd expect to be able to get down to at least 10 degrees or so without issues, but I don't think it's going to be adequate to even hit 20°.

Does anyone with a Trail Winder get down to their expected temperature ratings? Am I expecting too much of the synthetic insulation? Any tips for a more effective setup?

I have my side shock cord set so it pretty much envelopes the hammock fabric and have tightened up the head and foot suspension shock cord a decent bit so that insulation is hugging my body when I'm in the hammock.

---

Same issue with mine. Although I really really like it, I will probably have to order a heavier modular piece to get me down to the temps I want. The base and modular piece I have now should be good for 20 degrees, but I am pretty cool when in the mid to upper 30s.

I have 6.0 Apex TrailWinder (symmetrical). I sleep a little warm, and I’ve had this down to 25F comfortably. But early on I got cold at 35F. Here’s what I found with testing:

For initial adjustment, I need to tighten the ends first, then climb in and tighten the side only slightly.

If I have the shock cords on the end even a little loose and then tighten the sides a lot, it creates a gap under me.

Also, I have to make sure I have the correct (shiny) side up, then tighten the ends to lift the hammock just a bit. Sometimes, I don’t even adjust the sides and sleep comfy. I find the side adjustment is most helpful on windier nights.

Really good feedback. It sounds like I should be able to still tweak this a bit to get closer to the rating, which is encouraging. It'll be 25° tonight so we'll see!

And interesting comments about the slower heating vs the down instant heat. That's the one thing that struck me about down. I couldn't believe how quickly it warmed up when I first got my down UQ. That's not too important to me as long as I eventually get warm, but definite affects my perception of the synthetic.

Did you ever get your TW dialed in and comfortable?

My experience with a 20* TW vs a 20* HG Econ Incubator is that the HG is warmer. I've used both down to ~15-20 degrees on subsequent nights last February (paired with a 20* HG Econ Burrow) and was comfortable, but just a bit more comfortable with the Incubator. I attribute the difference to the baffling and the ability to more minutely adjust the suspension. With the TW, there were some cool spots (notably in the hind quarters), almost like the cold just seeped through the insulation.

With temps above freezing and minimal wind, I've not noticed much of a difference. These are my go-tos based on conditions:

> under 30* OR 30-50* and windy, HG Econ 20*
> 30-50* and calm or just slightly windy, TW 20*
> 50*+, TW 40*