Winter Hanging on a budget

[MorningSkies]

I apologize if this is the incorrect sub forum for this post. I am new to this forum and I'm still figuring out where different topics belong.

I am a college student with a few years of backpacking experience including winter but I have never been hammock camping. I recently got a Grand Trunk single hammock and I would like to use it for winter backpacking (Finger lakes region of NY to give you an Idea of climate). I am not sure where to start for a winter setup and I'm hoping for some advice/thoughts of what I should consider before heading out in the woods. Being a College student on a limited budget I would like to use what I already have as much as possible.

My current setup is as follows but I'm not sure how the pieces should be used for hammock camping and of anything essential is missing.

Hammock: Grand trunk single parachute nylon hammock
Suspension: grand trunk tree straps
Sleeping Bag: Big Agnes encampment (synthetic) 15* The bag has a built in pad sleeve
Tarp Kelty Noah 12 I've use tarps for ground camping but I'm unsure how a pitch would differ for a hammock set up
Pad thermarrest z-lite sol R value 2.6 Big Agnes air core R value 1.0

Do I just throw the pad(s) in my bag and climb in the hammock or are there other steps needed to keep warm? I understand that most use underquilts but I don't currently have one and would prefer to start hammock camping before I've saved enough to get one.

How about the tarp? I've usually used a lean to or modified lean to pitch on the ground what is best for hammock camping particularly in cold weather?

Anything else I should know?

Thanks a bunch.

[Kaycee]

Shug has a full series of video's that will cover all of your questions.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...752777861C2AA8

[TonyYarusso]

You'll want something under the sides of your shoulders at least. Some people use "pad extenders" - basically little wings attached to their pad. Since you have the BA bag with a sleeve though, and a pad that I'm skeptical about the R value for anyway, I'd say just add a wide, thin closed-cell foam pad (can be had for cheap) under you, in addition to the Therm-a-rest in the sleeve. The air core pad won't do you much good for winter. A good tip I picked up here is zipping your jacket around the footbox of the hammock at night to supplement your pad and bag around your feet with gear you're already carrying. Judging from Wikipedia's description of your climate, a 15 degree bag won't cover your extremes, but most of the time should be at least close. It's true on the ground too, but a hat you can sleep in is extra handy in a hammock where you might have wind on your head all night sucking heat away.

For the tarp, most of the time I just do a basic A-frame over a ridgeline, but a lean-to could make sense if you have a predictable wind direction. With a 10'6" hammock and a 12' tarp you don't get much overlap, so you'll want to hang the tarp closer to the hammock than you might initially think. I'd also bring a couple more guylines and stakes than you normally do, since sometimes to get the tree spacing you want you end up doing weird stuff with your tarp. The best thing for cold weather is a larger, fancier tarp with "doors" on the ends to block the wind, but I've slept down to -25F without one, so don't worry too much about that yet.

Additionally, a small convenience I find useful for hammock camping is to have some sort of bag or pocket that you can hang either from the ridgeline or head end of the suspension so you have a place to keep your flashlight, hat, water bottle, etc. in a place more handy than your pack.

And as always, it's a good idea to try your setup close to home before heading out too far.

[Xtrm tj]

Shug has a full series of video's that will cover all of your questions.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...752777861C2AA8

I agreed Shug is a great resource starting out. A tremendous amount of questions can be answered by watching them.

Good luck! And welcome to HF.

[SilvrSurfr]

I used a 5/8" cheap, blue ccf pad with a 0* synthetic bag for a couple of years. What was I thinking?

I took that system down to 22 degrees - the last night I used pads. There are folks who love pads for winter camping and make it work. I just couldn't deal with the condensation due to the convection of cold air under the hammock (and pad), with my warm self on top of the pad. My 3.5 lb. synthetic sleeping bag weighed more like 5 lbs. with all the condensation in it in the morning. I decided that pads, for me, weren't viable below 22* F in a hammock.

The Air Core probably isn't going to be that comfy or add much R-value; to sleep comfortably you'll have to deflate it. You might be better off with just one pad - less complicated. The best system I found, near the end of my pad days, was taping a space blanket on the outside of the pad, and a fleece or wool blanket on the inside - it only takes a minute or two with duct tape to set up in the field. Then I'd stuff the pad and insulation into the pocket of a double layer hammock. The blanket soaked up some of the condensation and made it a bit more bearable, rather than wallowing in pools of condensation, while the double layer hammock made it immensely easier to keep the pad (and insulation) in place.

A segmented pad extender (SPE) also helps, since ground-dwelling pads are often too narrow for hammocks. I made one with tyvek tape and it helped immensely. You can also stick reflectix, or a ccf footpad (I use my sitpad) in your sleeping bag/TQ footbox and that can also help. And handwarmers and hot water bottles are a godsend for the under-insulated! You can also supplement your insulation with clothing, but I don't know if you could expect to gain more than 10 degrees of warmth that way.

The Kelty Noah is a good beginner tarp for winter camping, though it doesn't seem to pitch particularly taut (it's just not designed for hammocks). However, you can set it up with doors and keep the wind off you, which is huge. An A-Frame pitch is best for winter camping - the diamond configuration lets in too much wind.

No reason you can't get out there in winter, but it's cold where you live. Practice in the back yard or somewhere nearby with a bailout option.

[ktitan]

I used a similar setup starting out, and spent a lot of time around lake cayuga. Tonyyarusso's pad across the shoulder probably would help keep you a bit warmer but I found that a cheep foam pad inside the bag worked fine for me. Sometimes I would use 2 pads out of the bag to provide a wider base. Also I would use a grabber space blanket under and around the hammock and rarely had condensation issues on the pads. Also I would bring a fleece blanket in cold weather and use it between me and the pad If I had the pads outside the bags. The lowest I got temperature wise this way was 3 degrees f.

[ps22285]

Pads work fine! Zipping a jacket around the feet is another good tip. If you can double up on the sleeping bag even better. Pitch the tarp low to block the wind and snuggle in. Bring some cheap Wally World tarp and rig up some doors if you need to. Have fun.

[DanglingModifier]

I second TonyYarusso's comments re: pad width. You'll want something wider for the shoulders and hips/butt. The BA pad sounds like it won't be very helpful in winter. With just those pads stacked and nothing on your shoulders I'd warrant you'd be pretty cold at 40 degrees and miserable in the 30s. That was my experience with similar R-values and insufficient shoulder coverage.

Others have said this, but if it hasn't sunk in yet for sure test in the backyard before going out in the woods. Keeping warm in a hammock presents challenges you haven't run into in a tent.

[njsurfer]

Ive used a blue CCF pad and an Insulated BA Aircore pad down to 22 degrees with Kelty 0 Degree down bag and was comfortable sleeping in a long base layer pants, and base layer shirt with lightweight long sleeve wool shirt over it. Im a warm sleeper and not very wide either so shoulders felt fine without pad extenders. Your mileage may vary. Cant recommend enough trying your setup car camping or in your backyard prior to trying it in the middle of the woods. Nothing worse than starting your hike at 2am because youre too cold to sleep anymore or worse...

[JoshD]

i started out with those basic items , a good bag and pad is good for basic snow camping , well aussie snow conditions anyway thats about 32f for you guys ,or maybe 25f at most .. i did first use a jungle hammock that was fully enclosed not just a mozzie screen but cloth outer that really keeps inside 20c warmer when zipped up , a decent pad and sometimes a fleece blanket aswell i never had problems , now a days i am trying to minimise my kit so i end up cold because i dont want to lug stuff up the mountains
and like he said "Practice in the back yard or somewhere nearby with a bailout option."

and my favourite winter hammock'n videos are from syntax77 i think this one is in your area (me being australian )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch_XVT-Ehbo

He goes winter camping with pads in that vid