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  1. #11
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Jacksonville Fl
    Posts
    100
    Ok, I tried it for a couple of days. One day it rained and the temp only went down to just under 45. I wore some middle weight long underwear, had the back country bed. Used an air mattress that I had rigged some reflective insulation to. Staying dry was not an issue, I have the oversized fly so I stayed bone dry. I was warm throughout but it wasn't very cold. I was warm enough to have to throw back the attached quilt on occasion but I feel that I would have to wear more clothes if I got down to freezing and a little below. Big plus was the air mattress stayed in place, never slipped off once. Was able to sleep on my side very comfortably and the bag never got twisted. Getting in and out was not what I would call real easy but was much easier than getting situated in a traditional sleeping bag (for me). By sitting up and holding the mattress and sleeping bag I could slide out fairly easily without everything moving around and I only had to slide a foot or so to get out. I have a mattress with squared off corners an this kept me from getting a good angle across the hammock so I did not sleep as flat as usual. I think if I get a tapered one that would help. Bottom line is . . . the jury is still out. I think it is a winner for 45 and warmer weather but need to try it when it is colder. I won't be doing any deep winter camping but the AT in March can be pretty cold so that is what I am aiming at. I usually wake up at about 0600 when it is cool and I camp because of the sun coming up and I want to move around. I slept soundly until 0800 if that tells you anything. I really want to hammock the AT and not go to ground so I have to get this worked out. A hammock has a lot of advantages. I was camping with people in three tents and when we broke camp I was ready to go (I use snake skins) in probably 5 minutes including packing. None of them were even close. I like tent camping and am pretty quick at it but this was nice. Especially the day it rained. I will try again later this month and make a few changes. Will probably get one of those heat reflective air mattresses that have rounded corners and wear warmer bed clothes. Oh, I added a gear sling under the hammock. They are cheap and provide a good place to put stuff, especially when it is raining. I went with the 2 season backcountry bed, maybe I should have gone to the 3 season but we shall see. Hope this is helpful to someone.

  2. #12
    New Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    NJ
    Hammock
    Hennesey Jungle Safari
    Tarp
    Hennesey Hex
    Insulation
    Work in progress
    Suspension
    Python Straps
    Posts
    11
    Thanks, and keep us posted.

    I only tried my new hammock once for a couple of hours the other day, but to throw out a couple of other similar options:

    1) Similar to the BA bags, Nemo makes 2 a sleeved bags - the Mezzo Loft (30deg synth) and Strato Loft (25deg down). I have the Strato Loft and love it (though I haven't spent a night in the hammock with it...) The styles of both are the same, and each is wide, rectangular, and has double zippers on both sides, so you can leave the footbox open a bit if you want to vent it from the bottom and easily enter / exit from either side or roll back the top. Works just fine with a 2" thick 25" Thermarest self-inflating pad (I think it was EZBreezy that asked about this in another thread), even though it's meant to use Nemo's 4" thick Cosmo pads.

    2) For warmer weather, I'm going to try the Thermarest Universal Sleeve on my pad along with the Tech Blanket. The sleeve has loops for tabs on the blanket to attach to, so it won't slip off, and the blanket itself has a drawstring on the bottom to create a footbox. Thermarest also makes synthetic and down blankets that are rated down to 35deg that can also mate to a pad that has the sleeve on it.

    Seems like the quilt-style thing is getting to be a more popular, so I guess we'll be seeing more and more options!
    -Lee

  3. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Jacksonville Fl
    Posts
    100
    Here is an update. I had the chance last night to sleep out in 34 deg temps with a 10 to 15mph breeze. Bottom line is I was very comfortable and only woke up once when some lights hit me in the face during a 7 hour period. At 6am I got up for good, had to use the bathroom at that point anyway. If a leg or arm got off the mat I would get a cool spot there. Remember, this is an effort to not buy an UQ unless I have to. I want to conserve space and money if possible. My rig consisted of a HH Explorer, a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite, 2 season Back Country bed. No rainfly which may have protected me from the breeze a bit more. I wore a shirt and pants barrier layer against my skin, put smart wool long johns pants over the first layer, wore a small Marmot down filled jacket, smart wool socks, head covering and gloves. Still a bit of a wiggle to get into the bag/back country bed but not too hard and the pad in the sleeve on the back of the bag kept it in place again as it did the first time. Frankly, with the breeze I expected to wake up cold at about 2am but was surprisingly comfortable. Being from Florida I don’t like being cold when I sleep so for those of you who like to sleep cooler, what I used may be overkill for you but was good for me. Not sure how much difference it would have made to use the rainfly. It was cool, pretty clear and the sky was beautiful. For the AT in late Feb or early March I am thinking I may see some temps in the teens. I don’t think I would have been comfortable in the 20s but that is just a guess. I may yet end up with an UQ as I can see the advantages and I would guess it should give me another 15 degrees. In any case, I was pretty happy with the results last night and thought this info may be of use to someone.

  4. #14
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Jacksonville Fl
    Posts
    100
    Ok, final update as I have made my choice. I slept in the two season bed down to upper 20s and was able to stay comfortable with long underware and an emergency heat blanket that you can buy anywhere that I cut down and placed between the layers in my XLT. But I think I was at the limit, could not have gone another 10 degrees and that is what I expect early on, on the AT. REI being great swapped me out for their 3 season (paying the difference of course). There is a difference and now I'm pretty sure I can get into the teens, again with good long underware and maybe a down jacket. If I use a heated water bottle then really not to hard. There is a little wiggling to get into it, not nearly as hard as a mummy bag. Easy to regulate temp. I like it and it is what I will use for my AT thru hike plans Feb/Mar 2016. I can comfortably sleep on my back and side. With the integrated mattress, no issues with me flipping from side to side. This won't be everyone's cup of tea and a TQ/UQ for people hiking less distance may be better served that way. Though I in both beds I fit in the regular, I chose the long as I liked the slightly more room. All in all happy and the way I will go. Hope these notes were of benefit for anyone considering it.

  5. #15
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Tennessee
    Hammock
    Warbonnet Traveler
    Tarp
    Warbonnet Edge
    Insulation
    CCF Pad/ENO Blaze
    Posts
    165
    wow, an Xlite gave sufficient under-insulation in the 20s? I wouldn't have expected...

    I see your dilemma with the thru-hike... sometimes you're gonna have to go to the ground --the Smokies shelters for example-- so you'll have to bring some kind of pad either way. just for argument's sake--assuming you go with down-- I wouldn't think that a TQ plus UQ would take up all that much more room than a sleeping bag.

    good luck on your thru!

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