Blanket in a Hammock

[ThreeTracks]

OK, here comes my first newbie question.

Before I decided on a hammock I was going to get a tent. I don't like mummy shaped sleeping bags and started looking for quilts. But what I at last decided on isn't even a quilt. It's a blanket. An AsTucas Sestrals blanket.
https://www.astucas.com/en/products/sestrals-blanket/

I was planning on an Apex 200 medium wide. To begin with I'll do mainly summer camping. We can have tropical nights here (at least 20 °C), but the temperature can also drop to close to 0. If I like the blanket I though I can get a lighter one later and then I will also be able to combine them and get something really warm for early spring and late autumn. Seems Apex 200 gives me the widest temperature range. I get cold easily when I'm not moving, especially if there is a drought. Apex 200 has an estimated comfort temp of -5 °C, but I think that rather corresponds to 0 for me - tops.

I wanted the wide partly because I'm wide myself but also because that's recommended if you want to combine two blankets.

NOW I'm getting to the point. My hammock is waiting for me at the post office so I haven't tried it yet and I've just briefly tested another hammock, never slept in one. I probably won't be able to test in a while because of the weather. My hammock is a Hennessy Jungle Expedition Zip.

On the ground I can stick my legs out, fold the blanket away and so on and get cooler in several different ways. But what happens in a hammock? If I get the wide blanket, will the sides of the hammock force the blanket to fold over me so I get twice the coverage and get even hotter? I guess that if I fold the mosquito net aside I can let the blanket hang out over the sides of the hammock. But we do have a lot of mosquitoes in the summer, especially where I'm planning on going, so I'll probably want to use the net.

What do you say? Is a wide blanket a good or bad idea?

[SilvrSurfr]

In a hammock, if you're planning on laying on that blanket, the insulation will be compressed and relatively useless. That's why most people start with pads, before eventually moving to underquilts (since the insulation is underneath the hammock, it is not compressed). I don't think you will be able to sleep in 20* C with that blanket without getting cold - forget 0* or -5* C.

My first hammock was a Hennessy Expedition Asym Zip, and I used a ccf pad for two years. I had massive condensation because of the temperature differential between outside air temperature, and me on top of the pad. My last night with the pad, it got down to -5* C, and I was soaking wet in condensation. I got a down UQ from HammockGear soon after and haven't used a pad since!

[ThreeTracks]

No no! It's not for laying on. It's instead of a sleeping bag or quilt. My problem is I'm not sure if I'll be able to shove it away if I get too hot.

[sunsetkayaker]

If you have a ridgeline (Which you should if you have a bugnet) you can hang it over the ridgeline if you don’t want to use it.

[SilvrSurfr]

No no! It's not for laying on. It's instead of a sleeping bag or quilt. My problem is I'm not sure if I'll be able to shove it away if I get too hot.

If you're not going to lay on it, how are you going to stay warm underneath? I don't know, that blanket looks outrageously expensive, especially for synthetic - the website tells me it's $245. You could get a 20* HG Economy Burrow for $159.95.

[Phantom Grappler]

Gossamer Gear sells pads, mine was 40 inches wide by 70 inches long and 3/16 inches thick. I used it in a double layer hammock between the two layers. It was ok, and I used a sleeping bag or blankets for a top quilt.
As soon as I got enough money I got a 20* top and bottom quilt set stuffed with goose down—very comfortable thanks to our cottage vendors
Yes you can lay on a blanket, there is some insulation when laying on a blanket, but it is minimal because as SilvrSurfr said—it is compressed and loses insulation value
Good luck

[ThreeTracks]

If you're not going to lay on it, how are you going to stay warm underneath? I don't know, that blanket looks outrageously expensive, especially for synthetic - the website tells me it's $245. You could get a 20* HG Economy Burrow for $159.95.

No, afraid I couldn't. I'm not in the US. I'd have to pay 25% VAT, customs and a rather high fee the post office feels they are entitled to for collecting the aforementioned fees. Given HG's shipping time and overseas delivery it would also take me 2-3 months to get it.

Underneath I'll use a pad to begin with. Upgrade to under quilt when and if I feel the need.

I'm not doing winter camping. All my old sleeping bags are down. I feel down isn't optimal in wet or humid conditions - that's the way summers are here. Synthetic has come a long way. This blanket is really what I want. I just don't know how it will work in a hammock.

[ThreeTracks]

If you have a ridgeline (Which you should if you have a bugnet) you can hang it over the ridgeline if you don’t want to use it.

Thanks, that sounds like a good option. I'm thinking though that if I want to push it half away so to speak, so it only covers part of my body, will the side walls of the hammock make it tumble down on me again? I fear I will end up with two layers on top of me instead of one when I just wanted a half.

[22gdsmwheezy]

A hammock won't stop you flicking the blanket off you may have to relearn the art of doing it so it is effective
Before I went to a top quilt I tried a normal bed quilt and could easily uncover part of me for cooling down.
Have you looked at hammock specific top quilts like snugpak or DD or other makes its basically a blanket with a foot box which helps you to keep it where it needs to be.
I use a snugpak and find it very easy to adjust for different temps. For colder weather like Sweden I would probably need at least 2 top quilts

[sidneyhornblower]

An AsTucas Sestrals blanket.
https://www.astucas.com/en/products/sestrals-blanket/

On the ground I can stick my legs out, fold the blanket away and so on and get cooler in several different ways. But what happens in a hammock? If I get the wide blanket, will the sides of the hammock force the blanket to fold over me so I get twice the coverage and get even hotter? I guess that if I fold the mosquito net aside I can let the blanket hang out over the sides of the hammock. But we do have a lot of mosquitoes in the summer, especially where I'm planning on going, so I'll probably want to use the net.

What do you say? Is a wide blanket a good or bad idea?

The real answer is, it depends. It depends on the temperatures in which you'll be sleeping in the hammock. It also depends on clothing you're wearing and that sort of thing. It's highly dependent on your under insulation. You said in another post that you're going to use a pad under you, so I'll make that assumption in framing my answer.

Baseline assumptions: 1) you're using a pad under you, 2) the weather is within the rating of the blanket, 3) you're wearing at least a light layer of loose clothing in which to sleep

Given those assumptions, then the blanket should work. You sound a bit like my wife who absolutely cannot stand to be confined inside a sleeping bag. Her solution on the rare occasions that comes out with me, is to unzip her bag and use it as a blanket. She's in a Ridge Runner bridge hammock, which is flatter than a gathered end, but is somewhat analogous to your situation. She vents excess heat during the night by flipping the bag off her legs, or off her shoulders. She flips portions of it off and leaves her middle exposed.

You''re over thinking the lay of the blanket and worrying too much that the hammock sides will force it to double over you and smother you in heat. That's not going to happen. The blanket won't drape exactly like it would on a bed or the ground, but there are ample opportunities to vent a blanket while lying in a hammock.

In summer months, with high temperatures and high humidity, I've camped using fleece blankets or poncho liners instead of quilts or sleeping bags in a hammock. I find that I have trouble keeping the blanket completely covering me. I imagine your blanket will easily slip off whether you want it to or not, so venting should be no problem. When you do try it out, please post and let us know how it works out.