pea pod?

[bkrgi]

Too me a pair of 40* quilts, a simple hammock of choice and a separate fully enclosed bug net and be done... the bug net holds everything in place as a stuff bag so to speak ...unhook from the trees and stuff it all into your pack. To set up just pull out from your pack and clip to the trees and your as much as good to go.
Sometimes chasing cheap costs more in $$$ plus headaches. The pod system just seems more suited to the really extreme cold...not 50* plus stuff

Bottom line do what works for you whatever route you go....never a right or wrong way.

[krshome]

I dropped some cash last winer for a 6z overstuff polar pod from TTTG and it is amazing. I got it down to -15 and used it as high as in the low 40's. The inside felt the same at both temps, just cozy and warm. At -15 I used my 30 deg TQ but more just to have the blanket feel than needed warmth. Pods rule they are pricey but if you look they come up for sale every once and a while. As for the weight a few oz more but it makes it up it in complete warmth (no cold spots). I did redesign the suspension a bit to make it hang better. Stairguy did a 22 oz overstuff and suspension to a polar pod that could keep you warm in a ice age. My advice is save your time and money and buy one, once you try it you will be sold. In the spring - fall I still use a TQ and UQ

[arolfsen]

i'm not planning on using it in subzero temps. i don't even hunt once it starts hitting the teens. the >coldest< i would use it in is probably 40 degree weather. Does anyone live in KC? how cold does it get there in september?

[BillyBob58]

i'm not planning on using it in subzero temps. i don't even hunt once it starts hitting the teens. the >coldest< i would use it in is probably 40 degree weather. Does anyone live in KC? how cold does it get there in september?

To get back to your OP, the answer is: Yes, it can work incredibly well. But you may have to fool with this and that to get it optimized. I doubt it gets very cold often in KS in Sept, but I don't know. I think lots of 50s, lows of 40 on occasion, maybe a rare freeze down to high 20s or low 30s.

I don't know if you are concerned about weight or bulk, are you going to be car camping? But fore lows well above 30F. you won't need a very heavy bag. And the weight/bulk of the one bag will be compared to a separate full length TQ+UQ. I suggest you get the longest and widest bag you can find. EDIT: remember, a pod does not only need to be long enough for your body, but th longer it is the less it will interfere with the ends of the hammock, and the wider in the hips/shoulders the more you can get diagonal. preferably without a hood, just rig up a separate hood. This will give you more options for moving around in the pod. And if it is a semi-rectangular bag, then you can cinch the neck area snug around your neck. And if it has a 2 way full length zipper, you might not even have to cut holes in it. Be prepared to add some nylon cord or shock cord suspension so that you can adjust it so that it is pulled up to touch your back. Or add winter Parkas etc to fill any gaps.

If you get t all adjusted correctly, with gaps filled or suspensions pulled snug and drafts sealed off, you should be at least as warm as you would be with that same bag on the ground. Whatever loft exists on the bags back side, which is normally flattened by your weight on the ground, will now be able to loft fully underneath you, and with it zipped up and the neck cinched down, there should be no drafts when you move around. Get an idea by looking at these pics of the commercial models:
http://www.tttrailgear.com/speer-peapod/
http://www.tttrailgear.com/speer-pol...ceted_search=0

Good luck!

[arolfsen]

I am definately finding myself becoming more and more of a weight weiny. And their ain't no way I'm spending $400 on an under quilt that might be used a handful of times

[BillyBob58]

I am definately finding myself becoming more and more of a weight weiny. And their ain't no way I'm spending $400 on an under quilt that might be used a handful of times

LOL, weight weeny and "aint no way I'm spending" are often mutually exclusive! Also, get an idea of what to try to rig up DIY from these pics, this is what you are trying to copy with a DIY bag/pod conversion as much as possible:

(no, I was not decapitated)

[Zilla]

The pods are very versatile and worth every penny.
I recently grabbed up 2 used pods and dont think i will ever sell them, they are great.

[Sunny Bear]

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[Dux]

I live in Alabama. I do not camp when it gets below 50 degrees. period. end of discussion. I DO NOT like the cold. I don't like walking around in it, and i sure as poop don't like sleeping in it. I'll hunt in it, but that's out of necessity...

I think y'all forgot to put the "-" in front of the "50". Shucks, +50F is shorts and t-shirt going to the beach weather up here. Totally understand about hunting!!

From what I've heard, DIY pods are more hassle than they're worth thus I've never tried 'em. If you are dead set on not getting a Jarbridge or other UQ, stuffing one lightweight sleeping bag (IIRC they were cheap synthetic 40F bags. Really only good to 50F separately) inside another and having a CCF pad under has kept me toasty with frost on the ground. Wear loose wool socks and a fleece beanie.

For me it has been easy to stay warm when car camping. Always have a few extras in the truck and so easy to walk over and grab another layer. Through hiking, well now, that is another story altogether. I do a lot of testing in my yard before committing to what little my back can carry while deep in the woods.

Last week I spent four nights in the northwoods with temps from just above freezing to the upper 40s. I had a Space Blanket (the heavy duty one from Ben's Backwoods), though that was more to protect the hammock from my 60lb Draht's claws as I figure at most it gives maybe 5F worth of perceived warmth. Then a Therm-a-Rest CCF pad. Each night I wore one to three flannel shirts (have 'em along anyhow). Used a Kelty Cosmic Down 0F sleeping bag as a TQ. Doesn't pack all that small but it sure is warm and just wide enough to cover both of us. (Yeah, might be much better off using the Cosmic as an UQ but that was what I had to work with for that trip.) Used two double layers of Reflectix cozied 1qt Nalgenes filled with nearly boiling water on the two coldest nights but didn't need 'em on the other two nights. Was woken up twice in those four nights by a cold shouder because I turned over (I'm a restless sleeper) and off of the pad. Adjusted and right back to sleep. Worked pretty well. Looking forward to being surrounded by downy goodness at some point in my future!!

Woken more times than I care to count by my dog launching after critters!! She just turned two and we're working on that.

[HardBall]

Kansas City can be down right hot in mid-September...average low around 60. I wouldn't "sweat" it too much.