Ireland Climate

[Sullly]

Hello, my first post here. Is there any Irish hammocker members here? I'm in the process of trying to choose a Hammockgear.com UQuilt to suit the climate in Ireland. I'm not sure if I should go for a 40, for the week or few weeks of good weather Ireland gets in the summer or should I just go for a 20 as an all rounder for win/sum or would the 20 be an overkill for the few weeks it will be used for in the summer? I was thinking of a "Pheonix 40" for summer and a "Incubator 20" for winter but considering the price I was swaying towards the 20 Incubator.
Any help on this query would be much appreciated, thanks.

[SilvrSurfr]

My guess is that a Phoenix 20 would be fine - I've used mine from 70* F down to 20* F (though I usually only take it down to 30* F - anything lower and I use a 0* Incubator). If you're worried about being cold, get the Incubator.

[Sullly]

Thanks for the reply SilvrSurfr.

[tollermama]

+1 with the 20 degree. You can always vent it if it is too hot out. The most important thing you will want though is a good tarp that will protect you from all that rain, and rain, and rain...

I loved the west coast of Ireland when I was there a year ago in the fall. So beautiful. I would love to go back. The problem is finding enough trees to hang from. Good luck.

[Sullly]

Great minds think alike. Thanks for your input tollermama, also don't forget the Irish winds as well as the rain I actually had to get an MSR mesh house (weight) 400g, worth it, in case it's to windy to set hammock up under trees. I can use existing tarp and have the best of both worlds :/ The laws over here are crazy, your not legally allowed wild camp anywhere, well in all the nice areas on the east side anyway, so it's a tricky one. It must be a downer for tourists as the Irish do everything to get them here only to find out when they arrive that there's no actual fun allowed

[Cabbo]

It would just happen to be the chameleon was to be the perfect choice for your backyard.. if you know what I mean.. ��

[GadgetUK437]

I'd recommend the 20F quilts too. I'm from Devon, so our climates aren't so very different.
My Phoenix 20 went right thru this last mild winter, and I use it all summer too.
If you are not decided whether to go Phoenix or Incubator, go Incubator.... unless you have a chance to try a partial length quilt first, to know if it suits you.

[Sullly]

Excellent, thanks GadgetUK437 and Cabbo, this is all great advice. I think I'll settle on the 20 inc. I'm glad I signed up here. Thanks again.

[bamudd]

American here but have lived in Galway and done quite a bit of hiking and hillwalking especially in the west, so I'm familiar enough with the climate.

Using Galway's climate data for the sake of argument and using degrees Fahrenheit because that's how the quilts are rated:
3 months of the year with average low temps in the high 30s
5 months of the year with average low temps in the 40s
4 months of the year with average low temps in the 50s
Highest average monthly low temp 54.5 for July

It looks like you're in Dublin, climate there seems fairly similar on the charts. Depending on which weather station you use, either slightly warmer or slightly cooler.

Given that data, and keeping in mind I'm a fairly cold sleeper, I would personally choose the 20 degree Incubator if I could only have one. Very few nights in Ireland below freezing, at least in the west (I hear it's cold more often further north, dunno where you usually camp), and the 20 should keep even a cold sleeper like myself comfortably warm all night down to a little below freezing. For use in Kentucky three seasons I went with a 10 degree but it gets colder here than in Ireland. I would consider a 40 degree partial length quilt an extra luxury item that is unlikely to get nearly as much use.

Dunno if you have a good tarp yet, but if not, I'd think more about spending the second UQ money on a nice tarp with very good coverage rather than another quilt. In Ireland it's the rain not the cold that will get you, and rain is the enemy of all things down as I'm sure you know well.

Good luck and let us know how things go!

[GadgetUK437]

I'll second the tarp recommendation. In the west, the Atlantic weather is warm and windy, rain is as much horizontal as vertical.
A good winter tarp will be a boon in all but the summer months (err strike that.... days!!). If you can't stretch to fancy, the DD 4x4m is the bomb (but a bit heavy).