Will a sleeping bag liner help me for the occasional 30 degree nights on a 40 degree setup?

Elionoxa, "...however apart or close the trees..." is the understanding error. It's really not about the distance of the trees as it is the angle of the suspension coming off those trees.

If the hammock has a built-in bug net, the manufacturer has set the ridgeline length and hammock sag. If you add a ridgeline yourself, you usually start with a hang angle of 30° and adjust to get a little more or less sag until you find what works best for you; then you make a ridgeline that keeps the hammock ends the desired distance apart.

So the key is keeping the hammock ends the same distance apart. As long as the distance between the trees is further apart than your desired hammock end distance, you can attach/suspend at whatever angle the setup requires. If it is shallower than 30°, much more force than your body weight can be applied to the suspension, but the ridgeline and your suspension hardware, not the hammock fabric, absorb that extra force.

I carry a poncho liner and put it over the top quilt. My top quilt has the tie out points for the sleeping pad which I then tie the poncho liner to those.
Poncho liners are not that heavy to keep in your pack even in summer incase of a chill.

It kept me warm with a 30 degree top quilt down into the teens which I was surprised about.

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Originally Posted by Elionoxa

Very cool answer thanks!!

i thought the ridgeline fixes the hammock hang, however apart or close the trees? What you said about hanging it closer now i have to ask because clearly there is something i dont know about

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Hello Elionoxa......hopefully this video may explain a bit more about ridge lines and such. Enjoy the hammock quest and be patient with it.
Shug

https://youtu.be/0wKEOK7G23o

I know this may sound like heresy, but I've actually had great luck by putting my TQ inside of my liner bag. :cool: I had first heard of that technique from Need2Know and thought Callahan was pulling my chain but by golly, it actually works! Any time I had tried to get into the liner then get into the TQ, I got frustrated with how much yoga I had to do, but with this solution, it's actually easier.

From my limited experience with overnight cold weather hammocking, I have found that wind really seems to be the culprit for temp loss over time, both over as well as underneath the hammock itself. For me, a hammock sock such as the one here by OneWind is a game changer, at a very low price. It's light and packs small. Paired with an underquilt it's a great system for regulating and stabilizing temperature in your sleep system. Well worth a try! I think that anything (bag liner, what have you) that blocks wind from hitting your top quilt directly should really help.

https://tinyurl.com/ycxntsva (Amazon link)

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Originally Posted by Elionoxa

Can you please explain what is “ill also level out my hammock”, what is leveling your hammock? Thanks

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I stated that because it's often recommended to have the foot end of your hammock a little higher than the head end to keep you from shifting down your hammock during the night. I will still have my foot end a little higher, but not as much as I do during the warmer weather.

Also since the sleeping bag liners I have do not open along the side, rather than trying to shimmy into them while in the hammock I will step into the liner before I get into the hammock and pull the liner up around my shoulders before getting into the hammock. I do the reverse if I need to get up and water a tree during the night. Stand up, let the liner drop to the ground and then step away. (Note: I put a ground cloth next to my hammock to stand on.)

- Clyde