Noob - First Post - Pad Help

[chall]

Hey All,

Just got a hammock for the first time (Grand Trunk Ultralight) to see what hammock camping is like. I plan on using it on an upcoming trip in Shenandoah. Because I'm trying hammocking for the first time, I'm using what I have. So for under insulation, I have a NeoAir XLite, as well as an old Ridgerest that I already cut in half to use as sit pads. I was thinking about using the XLite and then augmenting the Ridgerest to make sure I have proper shoulder coverage. I'm a backsleeper and don't thrash around in my sleep very much.

Any other tips that you might have? If all else fails, I can go to the ground under the tarp I'm bringing.

Thanks!

[gmcttr]

Try it out at home first so you don't have any surprises on the trip.

Using less air in the pad then you would normally use on the ground will help it conform to the curves in the hammock and help somewhat to keep it in place.

[JSH]

I believe gmcttr's advice about trying it out at home first is sound. I did and am glad I used that setting to test. The point about no surprises is a good one I think.

You might get some additional materials to augment your pads.

Reflectix might be something you could buy at a home improvement store and trying out different dimensions to help your shoulders. There are some good sources of CCA out there. 1/4" is relatively inexpensive. Easily tailored to what you need. You could try layers of this to try out bottom insulation needs.

To be honest, I've tried this approach out over the last couple months so that I can purchase equipment that matches my hanging needs better. I've gotten advice about under quilts fairly often in the forum and am at this point I understand the reasons for these suggestions. You may have similar discoveries as well.

[chall]

Cool, thanks for your guys' input. I definitely plan on testing the setup beforehand to see if it works or not.

Have you guys ever used spare clothes (or other pack items) around the shoulder areas that may not be covered as well by a narrower pad? The XLite is definitely narrow.

[gmcttr]

The problem will be keeping individual items in place.

[DanglingModifier]

Yes, spare clothes work as supplemental insulation, as long as you can keep them where they are supposed to be. You shouldn't be carrying lots of extra clothes you don't need though, purely as extra night-time non-worn insulation, when there are alternatives with a better warmth-to-weight/bulk ratio. Wearing clothes loses some of the potential layers you might get from folding things over or balling them up, but you don't need to worry about the garment moving around on you that way. I typically wear most of my clothes to sleep when it is cold out and I'm on a pad, and just stuff my jacket around my shoulders for extra warmth.

I'm convinced that back sleeping on a pad is easier (i.e. warmer, more comfortable) than side sleeping on a pad. Less hammock fabric touches your shoulders, and none touches your butt. If you don't move much and back sleep you're the ideal candidate for having luck with pads. Most of us don't have great luck with them. Wider is certainly better though, as you've already noted.

[CorrosiveCookie]

Walmart has industrial velcro. Apply the soft side to the under side of your bag and the ruff to one side of your pad. Another way If you have the time to wait for delivery get some shock cord and create wraps around your bag and pad to keep the together. I have been using a sun visor jumbo size without any form of attachments and a inflatable pad for my feet. It has worked out good, I picked it up on Amazon for 9 bucks. In the next month or two I will be purchasing my TQ and UQ from Hammock Gear.

[OregonBushcraft]

An underquilt protector is an inexpensive add-on that can add a few degrees of warmth. They're traditionally very light and pack very small.

[sidneyhornblower]

Given that you've got several disparate pieces that are going to move around when you lie down on them, I'd suggest some sort of system to keep it all together. I use a homemade SPE (segmented pad extender) with CCF pad cut in two and a piece of reflectix under the feet. I'll be experimenting tonite since it's supposed to drop below 40 here where I am in Georgia. Worse case, I can give up and go back in the house. I stuck it out last nite, but it only dropped to 46 so I was quite comfortable, even in the relatively skimpy clothing I wore and the very old sleeping bag I chose to use.

What you're proposing sounds workable to me, so long as you somehow gather it all together where it doesn't shift around and separate. I'm new at this too and depend on advice read here and elsewhere for ideas, but I ALWAYS test in the back yard before I go out in the woods. That's what's fun about this hammock stuff: research looks a lot like sleeping out in the back yard like a 13-year-old.

[hutzelbein]

If it was me, I would leave the NeoAir at home and rather get a cheap foam pad instead. I have used an air pad on the ground a couple of times, and I was cold even there. I think it works even worse in the hammock. As far as I know, air pads like the NeoAir have zero insulation built into them. Their means of insulation is preventing air movement inside the pad by having loads of little air chambers. This means, you will only get full insulation if the air pad is fully inflated. A fully inflated pad doesn't work very well in a gathered end hammock (in a bridge it's a different issue). You will likely have to let air out of your pad to be able to stay on it in your hammock. This means you'll lose insulation.

I have used self-inflating pads (like the Therm-a-Rest ProLite) in my hammock with fairly good success, but they have an open cell foam core which traps some warmth even if the mat isn't fully inflated.

If you want to go with your air pad, definitely test it at home and see if it is warm enough for you.