Too cold!

[<-Pointer]

Trying to figure out if this is typical or not and if anyone has any recommendations. I have a 40 degree Hammock Gear Top and Bottom down quilt set. (I live in Central Texas so below freezing nights are pretty unusual.) I was out a few weeks ago and the temperature got down to the mid-40s and I was freezing. Now, I just finished a 11 mile hike and was very tired and it was very windy but I was hypothermia cold, not just uncomfortable. It felt like I was wearing a cable knit sweater in a heavy wind - every time it gusted I could feel the breeze through the quilt. I ended up taking a piece of Tyvek ground sheet that I carry (about 6'x3') and sliding that underneath me and that (with the quilt underneath and thermal underwear and my sweater) kept me mostly warm enough but it was still an uncomfortable night. The quilt felt like it was tight up against the bottom of the hammock and I didn't feel any gaps at the end I could reach, but it's hard to be sure when you're actually in the hammock

My thoughts are:

- I'm probably a cold sleeper after a big (for me) hiking day - I just burned too many calories hiking and my body was having trouble heating itself. A quilt with a lower rating may be necessary.

- Maybe 15D nylon just isn't very good in windy conditions?

- Am I just delusional and the problem is operator error? If so, I'm not sure what to do to evaluate that.

- I used a Thermarest pad the last couple of trips and that seemed to work better for me but the conditions weren't identical.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[SilvrSurfr]

A 40* quilt in mid-40s temps might be pushing it. I follow the 10* buffer rule: I always carry quilts that are rated at least 10 degrees warmer than the expected overnight low temperature. A couple of months ago, I brought my 20* quilts and it got down to 24* F. I was cold! Hopefully, I won't make that mistake again.

[grubbster]

Not sure about your quilts but many 40* quilts are sewn through rather than baffled construction. That makes them more affected by wind. Using an underquilt protector when it is windy and close to the rating on your quilt will help keep the wind from robbing your heat.

[dakotaross]

Yeah, many of us have spent some cold nights at temps above where our quilts were rated. Wind is normally the culprit. Some of it is climbing into the quilts cold. Some of it is wearing clothing that inhibits the full trapment of heated air from your body. All of those things can make your UQ more or less efficient, but given that you're a newer user, there's probably some error in there as well. You just shouldn't be that cold in the 40s.

First, the UQ should lift up the hammock a bit when you're not in it in order to ensure that it fits close and there are no gaps. Even if you don't have a tarp with doors, you can utilize it in different ways, like pulling it down as close as you can on top, and having one wall go straight down as much as possible as a windblock (doesn't help so much in swirling wind). Try to get your body in a state where its generating some heat, whether it be jumping jacks or a meal, and take off your jacket/fleece/sweater, etc. inside the hammock which not only helps your body heat fill the quilts, but also the squirming builds up a little heat as well.

A piece of reflectix can be a great supplement and lighter than a traditional pad. Its mostly the air bubbles that insulate if you are laying on it, but the reflective layer will work around the edges of your body. Because it works, it can also create condensation, so beware of that in colder temps. And I recently tried some inside my UQP underneath my UQ and I thought it worked well. At the very least, it was additional windblock and the reflective layer - if positioned as close as possible without touching the UQ - should slow down heat transfer.

[sqidmark]

I find that if I don't eat well shortly before sleeping I can get noticeably cooler than if I eat much earlier, and I sleep hot. So in warm weather eat early, in cool weather eat late.

If possible have someone check for gaps at the quilt ends. In Oct my wife and I had this problem due to an oversight on my part. We hang nightly indoors in 11.5+ GE's. Our 20* UQ's were of course adjusted to perfection. Camping however, we use 11' hammocks. I pulled the quilts from the 11.5+ footers and hung on the 11 footers without checking for gaps. Temps dropped to 27* and you betcha we got quite chilled. For me it was noticeably from my knees down. A quick check in the morning revealed big enough gaps at the foot end to explain the heat loss. Lesson learned.

[goobie]

I would get some knowledgeable help adjusting your UQ. Never been cold above the rating of my HG quilts. Then again, I'm in the minority when it comes to the "buffer rule". You won't know if your UQ is adjusted correctly until you get at least close to it's rating, as you found out. Wind didn't help you any either. Learning different ways to pitch your tarp will help as well.

[Speedogomer]

If the wind is causing the cold, pitching your tarp much lower, using a hammock sock, or using an underquilt protector could fix the issue.

[<-Pointer]

Thanks everyone for the excellent input! I'll draft my son this weekend to try and take some pics so I can get a better look at the ends of the hammock while I'm in it. I did decide to buy a tarp with doors after being out in a rather nasty thunderstorm a couple of weeks ago so that in combination with a lower pitch should help with the wind. As for eating a bunch of calories before I go to bed that's unfortunately not an option for me due to medical issues: I have to pretty much snack throughout the day to get enough calories and sometimes I really don't feel like eating when I'm pushing myself hard. As I recall that day was particularly bad and I rolled into camp with half my snacks still in my pocket and I started shivering while making dinnerm (the thermometer was dropping fast too, it went from 75 to 50 in about 90 minutes that day.) The trail diet is something that I'm still working on. I have found that I have a much easier time with salty/savory foods - I mostly snacked on Ritz peanut butter and cheese cracker snack packs last weekend and that seemed to work better. This whole ultralight hiking multi-day hiking stuff is still pretty new and has something of a steep learning curve

[GadgetUK437]

Wind chill will get any lightweight quilt. When I first got my HG Phoenix 20F I deliberately set it up in a really windy spot, to test just that. It was prolly only 40F, but I certainly felt every gust chill me.
You have to remember quilts are only insulation, not weather protection, and wind is definitely "weather"!
To get your insulation system to work effectively, you need to protect it from the weather, that's where a tarp pitched to the ground, or a UQP come in.

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Gadget

[GadgetUK437]

Putting the right sort of calories in before bed will help. Simple carbs will burn up too quickly. High fat foods will burn slower... and complex carbs.


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Gadget