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  1. #1
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    Aug 2015
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    California
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    Staying warm in a Mayan

    Hello!

    I have moved to using a hammock instead of a bed for my general sleeping arrangement. I started with a Brazilian hammock, and found out that I needed an under quilt with that to stay comfortable. I decided to move up to a Mayan for the summer, and am finding it much more comfortable than the Brazilian. But, it's also much less warm. Now that winter is approaching, I am trying to figure out how to rig up some sort of under quilt to use with the Mayan. I have been making do on cold nights up to now by lining it with a fleece blanket, but then you have to deal with that bunching up and what-not, and it negates some of the comfort of the hammock. I have tried using the under quilt I have, but this hammock is bigger than the Brazilian, and I used bungee cords to rig up a connection with the hammock stand for it, and I am hesitant to do that with the more delicate Mayan weave.

    So, I am sure I am not the first person to be in this situation, and would love to hear how other people have handled it. If it helps, the hammock bed dimensions are 7 ft 4in by 7 ft, the stand is a Vario adjustable hammock stand, and the under quilt is a Jarbridge River 3/4 length. I set the temp at 78 in the summer (I live by the desert, so it is often colder than that at night... low 60s to high 50s are not unheard of, and I leave the window open), 68 in the winter. So it doesn't have to be insanely warm, just enough to stop cold-butt syndrome.

    And finally, would I have the same problem if I moved to a Nicaraguan? I've heard that they are warmer, but I don't know if that is the same as "warm enough".

    I appreciate any help you can give with this!

  2. #2
    New Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by philospher77 View Post
    Hello!

    I have moved to using a hammock instead of a bed for my general sleeping arrangement. I started with a Brazilian hammock, and found out that I needed an under quilt with that to stay comfortable. I decided to move up to a Mayan for the summer, and am finding it much more comfortable than the Brazilian. But, it's also much less warm. Now that winter is approaching, I am trying to figure out how to rig up some sort of under quilt to use with the Mayan. I have been making do on cold nights up to now by lining it with a fleece blanket, but then you have to deal with that bunching up and what-not, and it negates some of the comfort of the hammock. I have tried using the under quilt I have, but this hammock is bigger than the Brazilian, and I used bungee cords to rig up a connection with the hammock stand for it, and I am hesitant to do that with the more delicate Mayan weave.

    So, I am sure I am not the first person to be in this situation, and would love to hear how other people have handled it. If it helps, the hammock bed dimensions are 7 ft 4in by 7 ft, the stand is a Vario adjustable hammock stand, and the under quilt is a Jarbridge River 3/4 length. I set the temp at 78 in the summer (I live by the desert, so it is often colder than that at night... low 60s to high 50s are not unheard of, and I leave the window open), 68 in the winter. So it doesn't have to be insanely warm, just enough to stop cold-butt syndrome.

    And finally, would I have the same problem if I moved to a Nicaraguan? I've heard that they are warmer, but I don't know if that is the same as "warm enough".

    I appreciate any help you can give with this!
    Hi Philospher77! I just joined today to share with the forum what I came up with... which happens to be a solution to your problem.

    Before I go on I wish to say "Hello World", as this is my first post to the forum. In short I discovered hammocks this summer and fell in love. A few weeks ago I set it up in my basement and it has become the mistress to my marital bed. My wife sort of tolerates that I now sleep alternating nights on the hammock as for the past couple years I've been exploring alternative sleeping arrangements for physical reasons (though I have a quality bed I find that I don't sleep well on beds in general, and have been trying several different things including even sleeping on the floor!). Long story short, I now have found my perfect sleep arrangement, on the hammock in the basement (unfortunately my wife won't let me screw eye bolts to the wall in the bedroom), and I've been experimenting a lot with it to find the optimal way to sleep in it. End of my nutshell story.

    Back to you philospher, I have a similar hammock, a double parachute nylon ultralight. Wow is it ever comfy. Wow does the backside ever get chilly though at night. I've tried many different solutions, one with disastrous results, including sleeping on blankets, wrapped in blankets, sleeping bag (sucked as slipped on nylon), my wife even bought me sheepskin rug (LOVE IT!!!), and other things. I concluded that anything in the hammock as an underlay illiminates the simplistic pleasure of floating in the hammock unencumbered by any such things that cause varying degrees of discomfort. I've concluded that an underquilt of some sort is the obvious solution, however most webpages I've visited seem to focus upon the camping experience instead of the at home setup.

    Well I came up with a very simple cheap and easy solution for an underblanket set up for an at home situation.

    Again, I plan to compose an elaborate explanation in an upcoming thread, but here it is in a very basic nutshell for you to start using philospher77.

    Take a nice thick fluffy blanky, the kind you'd wrap yourself in while sitting on the sofa watching a late night movie. I'm 6'4" tall, so I prefer a bit of a large blankie, but average sized people would easily be able to use average blankie sizes. You take some cord (doesn't have to be strong as it is not load bearing) and tie a length to the corners. Put the blankie under the hammock, then take the two corner strings and pull through the bunched eye end of one end of the hammock, and loosly tie it. Repeat with other two strings of blanket through the other eye. You want it to hang just barely below the hammock. Unless you have a blankie long enough to span most of the length of the slack hammoc, if the blankie is a bit short then you will want to hang it a little higher on the end where you usually put your head. Get in the hammock and see how it feels. You may need to reach over and pull up the blankie up the sides. You probably will find something too loose or too tight. Get out, adjust the strings, get back in, feel it, and continue adjusting until you feel things are about right. Next you wrap a glass marble (or similar sized object) with string in the side of the blankie and tie the blankie around the marble, then tye the string to the mid-side loops of the hammock. Then you take another string and go to each end of the hammock, tie another marble to the middle of the sagging blankie, and tie the string to the hammock eye so that it hangs as high as the other two. Repeat on other side of hammock. If you feel like taking the time you could to the same to the remaining 4 smaller end sags.

    All this takes me about 15 minutes to do from scratch using a thick fuzzy fleecy blankie lying around the house, some cord (not load bearing, simple string), and some marbles. When set up properly, easily, once you're in the hammock it's like the blankie hugs your bottom, and you immediately feel the soothing warmth of it.

    This is great for sleeping in the house. My hammock is in the air conditioned basement (chilly), where it also is freezing during winter. Another fleecy blankie on top to snuggle under and I'm in heaven. No pillow required, though I do like to bunch up a corner of the blankie under my kneck/head. One tip! Make sure that you don't have your blankie sagging to the ground while you're in it. The friction of the blankie kills the slight swinging motion. The first night I had that happen I didn't sleep the miraculously well I've been getting in the hammock. After a couple of days of less than ideal hammock sleep I realized it was because my attempt of an underquilt (experiment #5 I think) was dragging on the ground, and I missed the gentle swaying which is scientifically prooven to give you a better sleep.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Singingcrowsings's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Montreal, QC, Canada
    Hammock
    Mayan / Freebird
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    SLD Custom
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    UGQ 30*F / 0*F
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    Whoopie / fleaz
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    730
    Welcome to both of you!

    I have a Mayan and it really depends on how tired I am if I can handle anything underneath me in the hammock itself. If it's above 27˚C obviously I don't need an underquilt, but at 25˚C I start to need something, even if it's a compressed insulation in the hammock.

    However, then that gets cool by the time it gets down to 23˚C and then I put on my "underquilt".

    I always thought I'd rig something better up one day, but that day has not arrived, and it's been just about two years now that I've been sleeping in a Mayan exclusively, unless I'm camping, then its my Freebird. In saying that, I actually use my Freebird (whoopie slings looped over the hammock loops)with either a sleeping bag, which I can tie/hold in place on the Freebird using the loose, hanging ends of my whoopie slings, or a duvet, depending on my temperature needs. So essentially I create a "double hammock" and put some insulation in between. How tight I have it against me is determined by the temperature, but the ridgeline is quite slack compared to if I was hanging in the Freebird, and the ridgeline's existence has it's pluses and minuses. Just to give you an idea of how well this works, in the winter, I usually keep my place at 17˚C (62.5˚F) at night, and I don't wake up cold at all.

    Is it the perfect setup? No. But it gets the job done, enough that I don't feel like I'm in a hurry to find the ultimate solution. Not yet, anyway. When I do, I'll post it up here.

  4. #4
    Senior Member GadgetUK437's Avatar
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    I love my jumbo family cotton Mayan (a hoot with 5 adults+beer!), but personally I'd leave it as a hot weather option.
    For the cooler nights try a crinkle taffeta tablecloth DIY with a Velcro-on fleece underblanket (use stick on Velcro if you are sewing-averse).

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