Ever since trying out a hammock for bikepacking last year -- with help from this forum -- I've been tinkering with my setup. Tinkering + hammocks = lotsa fun! So I figured some of you might be interested in the process and results.
So last year I was set to go on a bikepacking trip and wanted to travel light, but not spend much money. (Technically impossible, I know, but I still wanted to try.) I had a hammock sitting in a drawer and figured that would make a better sleeping place than a bivy, a.k.a. a human-sized Ziploc bag.
Thanks to this forum, I realized that 1.) I'd need a bugnet, and 2.) I could make one. I happened to recall I had some old sheer curtains in the back of the linen closet. Also had a sewing machine... er, thread injector... given to me by a friend years ago that was in need of a project. So I sewed the curtains together and made a very simple bugnet. It's basically just a big sheet of sheer polyester hung over a ridgeline.
Here it is on a test run in the local woods...
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I did not get into under/top quilts, but counted on just using my good ol' REI 25º down bag. The only sleeping pad I had was a huge Thermarest for car camping...not gonna work. I happened to see an intriguing review in Adventure Cyclist magazine for the Klymit Inertia X Frame pad. Bought it and it works well. The holes do seem to keep the down from squishing. Sometimes I put it inside the sleeping bag (when it's colder and I'm wearing layers) and that keeps it from migrating around. I've slept in this combo down to the low 40's and have been comfortable -- same range as I get with this sleeping bag in a tent. (I'm a cold sleeper!)
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I did spend a bit of dough on an ENO tarp to cover it all. Here's the result:
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Obviously had not perfected the tarp hang at this point... especially this instance, as we had arrived at the campsite well after dark and after a lot of tough miles on the bike. Not pictured -- the big rock hidden in the ferns that poked me in the butt while hanging.
Here's a photo of my complete bike setup on that trip. The hammock, tarp, bugnet, and pad are all in the seatbag. Obviously some bulk could be trimmed there.
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And on that note, next up, a new tarp and Dutch bling added to the mix...
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