Hammock Insulation and a Thermal Camera

[FatherGoat]

So it seems the pad did better than the UQs?

It's the inverse actually.

The temperature measurements on the outside of the hammock were higher when using a pad. This means that more heat was escaping the hammock and thus temps inside the hammock were cooler.

The underquilt pictures looking cooler is a positive thing - it means the UQ's were more effective in keeping heat in the hammock.

[Ted4bp]

Cool. I was going to do the same thing this weekend but there was too much snow.

[FatherGoat]

Cool. I was going to do the same thing this weekend but there was too much snow.

That's great - the more data the better! I'd love to see how the many cheeseburger insulation stacks up against the rest.

[coachhahn]

It's the inverse actually.

The temperature measurements on the outside of the hammock were higher when using a pad. This means that more heat was escaping the hammock and thus temps inside the hammock were cooler.

The underquilt pictures looking cooler is a positive thing - it means the UQ's were more effective in keeping heat in the hammock.

Thanks for the clarification.

[Alamosa]

Nice experiment and explanations. Thank you for taking the time to perform them and sharing it with us.

It looked like a lot of the loss from the pads was from the side, due to now narrow they are compared to a UQ. I wonder if you were to shoot the thermals from underneath if it would be easier to capture the affect of the pads.

[FatherGoat]

Nice experiment and explanations. Thank you for taking the time to perform them and sharing it with us.

It looked like a lot of the loss from the pads was from the side, due to now narrow they are compared to a UQ. I wonder if you were to shoot the thermals from underneath if it would be easier to capture the affect of the pads.

Many thanks, I appreciate the kind words.

Great points - all around.

Initially I tried to film from underneath the hammock but it was difficult to get a shot which I could reliably reproduce for each different insulation. We could have hung the hammock a bit higher but that introduces it's own set of challenges.

It would be nice to shoot indoors somewhere (barn, garage, etc) to minimize variables like wind and thermal reflections from the sun. It may be easier to rig something up to film from underneath if we were in a controlled location.

[jay.allen]

Thank you for taking the time to conduct this experiment and document your findings.

[Kaerous]

This is awesome! Being an engineer I always like to break things down scientifically - very cool experiment and results. I second the topquilt video - that would be pretty interesting as well.

[Magnum Power]

I think the way you conducted the test is what most people will experience in the back country. Very informative and may help people just getting into hammock Camping make decisions as to what type of insulation they can both afford and need for their area.

Thanks for sharing your results.

[sidneyhornblower]

Nice experiment and explanations. Thank you for taking the time to perform them and sharing it with us.

And a big +1 to that.