I am so behind on my testing. If only I could determine a one or two unequivocal champion hammocks and quilts so that I could sell everything else!
So anyway, a while back I got a used Hammocktent 90* (Gamma?). It seemed to have great potential for over all comfort, though really my bridge hammocks and a couple of gathered are already pretty darn comfy. I have one curse that can crop up for me with most all GE hammocks, some often, others only rarely: calf ridge. I figured this HT90 would have all the advantages of my bridges, but one thing was unique: pad use. In my experience, any bridge H. Is far superior for use with a pad than any GE. However, they are not perfect, were as the 90* hammocks are literally designed to use with a pad. Plus, no spreader bars. So had to check one out.
Why am I so concerned about pads? Honestly (don’t burn me at the stake for heresy) I would love to get rid of UQs for certain trips, if it could be done by maintaining all of a hammock’s comfort. The ability to go to ground if I want to camp above tree line(which I do sometimes), or if the weather is way colder than planned for, and no real concerns about wind or moisture on or in my UQ, and no concerns about fit problems, is really attractive. IF comfort can be maintained. This is pretty much possible with the HT90, and I’m pretty sure the Amok as well.(There are some minor things I do not like about this set up, but I am concentrating here on how well the NeoAir pad works, or not)
Pads work great in bridge hammocks as well, but it is a different concept. The space in most pad pockets(GE or Bridge) is usually pretty tight. Thus, a pad raises the center of gravity. A thick 2.5-3.5”pad really raises the center of gravity. Not so with the HT90.
The pad pocket on the HT90 is much deeper, designed for a 3” thick pad. I you plan a 1/2” thick WM blue pad in the pocket, it will help give some structure to the hammock. But, sitting in that 3” deep(apparently) pad/quilt pocket, my back is not making very good contact with the pad. Placing a 2” thick UQ in there should solve that problem.
But what happens with my 2.5” thick Neo Air All season? Am I going to be in good, solid contact with its surface? Or am I going to need some puffy insulation on top of it, inside the pad pocket? Experience will tell me. I have not been getting much opportunity to find out.
Yesterday, under the blood moon eclipse, I finally put some of this to the test. Napping though a 35*F afternoon, and later sleeping at 25F. I had no idea how it might work without some augmentation with puffy clothing to fill any gaps, but actually it worked pretty well. Also, I’m still wondering if I let some air out, so that the pad does not reach 2.5” thick, will it work better or worse? How solidly will I contact the pad?
Napping in the mid 30s, I was plenty warm, side or back. Later at 25F, using a JRB Sierra Sniveler(rated 20-25F) I was plenty warm top or back, but a bit warmer on top. Probably could have gone a bit lower before I actually got cold.
When I turned to my side(this hammock is superb for fetal position, possibly the very best I have tried), things got strange. While I found I found that while I was VERY warm indeed in the torso, even warmer than on my back, after a while I noticed a few cold spots on my legs. It was not enough to keep me from sleeping, but I did feel a few small cool spots along my legs. If I shifted the position of my legs, the cool spots would shift to another part of my legs. Not bad, but noticeable.
While it felt like I could have gone at least 5+ degrees colder on top, I am wondering if I could have gone any colder at all without those legs becoming a problem? Probably could not have gone much colder.
I had a down jacket stuffed into the pocket at the head, to counter any compression of my JRB down hood by the hammock’s end. The next morning when I was taking it down, I discovered that the jacket had slipped down some distance under my shoulders and maybe torso. Did this fill any gaps and between the baffles, accounting for how warm I was on my side, compared to being coolish on my legs? Or was it just that my heavier torso helped me to sink down more into the pad, while my lighter legs were not able to make such good contact? Or maybe a bit of both?
I had these options available to me:
1: Place a 1/2 inch WM blue pad- short or full length- under or on top of the pad. This would help the 2.5” TR Neo pad fill the pad pocket better, maybe allowing my body to be in tighter contact with it, and be thicker overall. And/or
2: place some insulated clothing, or a very light quilt(need no more than 1” loft), on top of the pad, to fill up any cold air highways between the pad baffles, and loft up to fill any slight gap between the pad and my body. Either under legs only or full length.
3: (an option not currently available to me) use a 3” thick pad, or a 3.5” thick pad not fully inflated. Not only would this pad probably be warmer, but it would rise high enough to assure no gaps.
But, bottom line: not too bad at all! Looks to me like at least 25F is definitely doable for me in this hammock with the wide Neo Air All Season, more with some clothing(or the lightest, thinnest quilt I can find) on top of the pad! Other possibilities: a thinner, say 1/2" CCF pad with a quilt on top of it, or just a quilt in the pad pocket(will not be compressed very much) Also, the hammock was extremely comfy back or side, probably the most comfy hammock I have tried in fetal position. Shoulders very comfy back or side. With the pad fully inflated, there was a hint of knee extension, but I just placed a small pillow under my knees, end of problem. ZERO calf pressure or shoulder squeeze. This hammock, with a pad or even without, has great potential, seems to me.
Any thought or ideas?
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