Hi everyone,
I’m new here (first post!) and looking to get off the ground. I have a plan but wanted to run this by those of you who are much more knowledgeable on the subject of hammock camping.
TL;DR version:
Me
• 6’0”
• 210 lbs
Types of Camping
• Boundary Waters trips
• Hiking trips
• Overnight winter camps
• Maybe a car camp here or there
Boundary Waters & Hiking trip set-up plan
• Hammock: Warbonnet Blackbird XLC 1.1 Double Layer with Whoopie Slings
• Tarp: Warbonnet Superfly which I want to pole mod like I’ve seen here (poles would stay home for hiking trips)
• Bottom Insulation: Thermarest Prolite 4 (eventually I’d get Hammock Gear Incubator 20)
• Top Insulation: Marmot Helium 15 (long) used as a quilt
Winter set-up plan
• Hammock: Same as above
• Tarp: Same as above
• Bottom Insulation: HG Incubator 20 with Thermarest Prolite 4 between the BB layers
• Top Insulation: Bag from above zipped up and coupled with Sea-to-Summit Reactor liner (the one with the orange sack)
Long version:
I’ll mainly be using this set-up for weeklong trips to the Boundary Waters and weeklong hiking trips. I’m turning 40 this year so I want more comfort and less weight than my current tent set-up which is a North Face Tadpole that comes in north of six pounds. For ground support, I use an an Exped Downmat 7 DLX in BWCA and a Thermarest Prolite 4 for hiking. This year, we’re returning to the Boundary Waters in mid-August. The Prolite 4 in my plan above is merely a stop gap until I can spring for a HG Incubator 20. When I told my wife I was thinking of buying a hammock and tarp it was met with, “Really? More camping stuff?” comments so I’m playing the long game here and an underquilt will not be realized until 2016.
I also do one overnight winter camp a year in January in northern Illinois. In the past, I’ve used my Exped mat with my Marmot bag and if it’s going to get below 15, I add a Sea-to-Summit Reactor liner (the one with the yellow sack). On one of the trips, it got down to 8 degrees overnight but I never felt a hint of cold. The underquilt I have in my sights is the Hammock Gear Incubator 20. I’m hoping if I get the Incubator 20 and couple that with the Prolite 4 or Exped and the Helium with liner combo I’ll be OK for winter camping. It seems like that should work but if I’m just looking for trouble, I can always stay to the ground. I’m not sure if the Exped would fit between the layers of the Blackbird but if it does, that should provide even more warmth.
Sorry for the long post and if you’ve read this far, thanks for taking the time. If you guys could give me your thoughts on my plan, I would really appreciate it. I’ve been reading here for a while and just signed up the other day. The wealth of information on this site is amazing so thanks to you all!
Bookmarks