Neat Sheet Temperature Threshold

Okay this is going to sound a bit kooky but I think it might have merit in some way. Last night I slept with just a neat sheet. Around 5 or so I got chilly and looked at my watch and it read 68 degrees. After awhile I got up and got more coverage. While going back to sleep it occurred to me that this might actually be useful information.
I consider myself a coldish sleeper. I wouldn't say really cold but not warm. I know I've slept comfortably with the neatsheet at 70 degrees. So it occurred to me that 68 is my threshold for using the sheet. Or more specifically the temperature at which I start to get chilly.
What's the big deal?
Well, we often talk about adequate insulation, keeping warm, etc. and some people will just add a footnote that they are a cold or warm sleeper. The same goes for how much loft do I need, etc. and so on. Of course everyone is different and there is just general guidelines on what kind of rating you can get for a quilt, sleeping bag, underquilt, etc.
So, perhaps :), this is a means of getting one more bit of information to go by. Neat sheets are readily available, reasonably cheap, useful, and for our purposes designed the same way. Because it's the same product, everyone can find their comfort level with the sheet. This is a good time of year to find where your threshold is because of dipping temps.
So if someone is describing a product or sleep condition they can tell us their threshold temp with the neat sheet. I'm kind of curious if it's all that different or if some people are comfortable down to 60 and others only to 75. Acronyms seem to be popular, so NSTT 68 would tell you the type of temperature sleeper I am.

Sounds good Scott, but IMO I think you need to factor in wind speed and use Wind Chill rather than temp alone. Of course that may be more difficult to do since I doubt anyone will take something to measure wind speed. Maybe we factor in the wind by saying X degrees with a very light, light,medium or high wind, etc.

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Originally Posted by stoikurt

Sounds good Scott, but IMO I think you need to factor in wind speed and use Wind Chill rather than temp alone. Of course that may be more difficult to do since I doubt anyone will take something to measure wind speed. Maybe we factor in the wind by saying X degrees with a very light, light,medium or high wind, etc.

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I knew someone was going to bring that up :rolleyes:
Well, the test can ONLY be done without wind LOL! :cool:
Or humidity, etc. and so on.
Anyway, definitely a good point. I didn't have any wind last night/this morning, the barometer read 1000mbar (on my watch) and I was probably just a few hundred feet above sea level.........
One thing people can do is just sleep with it in the house. My wife likes the house cold to sleep and so I tried it out to see if it would work.

there are a lot of other things that come into play... even for the same person... how much energy you have burned that day, when did you last eat & what kind of food, were your clothes still slightly damp from perspiration (or rain), were you warm when you went to bed, etc.
of course you already knew that & i still appreciate what you're talking about, trying to find a general comfort range. just thought i'd bring those things up also.
because of those things, i normally suggest aiming to be able to keep warm in cooler temps than expected. especially as we get into cooler weather.
but if a person is experienced & going for ultra light, then they will probably push the limits.
i just add a word of caution because i wouldn't someone to get into trouble or get a negative attitude toward camping because they laid there shivering all night:rolleyes:

Schrochem,

While there are variables to consider, this is a good idea, IMO.

I use the JRB Weathershield top often but haven't truly "tested" it. Will do as temps drop.

What were you wearing? Were you using the NS as a top quilt? What were you using for insulation for the bottom of the hammock?

I have gone down to about ~65* with my NS and I was comfortable, but I am a very warm sleeper. At the time I was using it in a tent with a fan blowing on me. All I had to do to regulate my temp was to cover my legs and feet to get warmer and uncover them to cool off. I don't think I would have been able to go much lower and still be comfortable, but if I did start getting cool I would have added a t-shirt or zipped the legs on my hiking pants.

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Originally Posted by headchange4u

What were you wearing? Were you using the NS as a top quilt? What were you using for insulation for the bottom of the hammock?

I have gone down to about ~65* with my NS and I was comfortable, but I am a very warm sleeper. At the time I was using it in a tent with a fan blowing on me. All I had to do to regulate my temp was to cover my legs and feet to get warmer and uncover them to cool off. I don't think I would have been able to go much lower and still be comfortable, but if I did start getting cool I would have added a t-shirt or zipped the legs on my hiking pants.

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yep I had a t-shirt on and was still comfortable up top. My exposed legs were what were getting cold. I can assume if I had the shirt off i would be chilly there as well. I was sleeping in my Bridge hammock with a Neatsheet underquilt.

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Originally Posted by schrochem

..... I was sleeping in my Bridge hammock with a Neatsheet underquilt.

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How did the NS work on the bottom for you? I posted the tutorial for making a NS under quilt, but I have yet to attach it to my hammock and try it out.:rolleyes: :p

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Originally Posted by headchange4u

How did the NS work on the bottom for you? I posted the tutorial for making a NS under quilt, but I have yet to attach it to my hammock and try it out.:rolleyes: :p

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It worked really well. I had it on the Bridge like this and left it down while I was just lounging around. I was getting a small breeze with it down and that was nice when the temps were in the high 70s. When I went to bed, I cinched it up close to the hammock and I was fine all night. I'll be keeping it on seeing how low I can go without adding more insulation. I was hoping to get down to 60 or so. However, around here it might take some time to get that 'cold' at night :)

Must be nice... last night it was 57 F at my house... :) tonight its supposed to be 59. Daytime temps are running 70-80 at the moment, which are exceptionally warm for this time of year.