TQ can be fudged easily by wearing down parka and pants. I've used an optimistically rated 20°F top quilt down to -6°F this way.
UQ not so easy to push.
TQ can be fudged easily by wearing down parka and pants. I've used an optimistically rated 20°F top quilt down to -6°F this way.
UQ not so easy to push.
Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
“If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton
I only ever plan to take my quits to 10 degrees above their ratings for a comfort range. It really depends on how warm a sleeper you are and the wind. The wind can make the best quilt feel inadequate.
5 to 10 below what it's rated for, plus I use an underquilt protector to supplement. Wind will rob heat from an UQ, so it's cheap insurance to bring it along.
If I'm going out for multiple days and see that there could be lows in the 30's, I'll take the extra hit for a couple ounces and bring my 20 instead of the 40. Nights can be long and there's no reason to be cold and get a lousy sleep.
I was out a couple years ago with my 20° Incubator and a couple down throw blankets. The forecast indicated it wouldn’t get below 20, so I figured I was safe.
I was cold most of the night, and was concerned my toes might get frostbite. Checking my thermometer in the morning, I found out it got down to about 9°. I’ve often wondered how I would have fared if I had a proper top quilt.
While I survived and had quite a story to tell, I realized later that those temperatures are actually rather dangerous—especially considering I was alone. I’d probably try it again, but I’d bring my ultralight summer insulation to supplement the colder-weather gear.
These past two weeks, I have found my 0* + overstuff Hammock Gear UQ to be insufficient at 20*F. So it is all subjective.
There HAS to be something wrong with that quilt if it failed you at 20 degrees.Originally Posted by jeff-oh
If it's subjectivity, you would be the coldest sleeper ever.
"If we lose the forests, we lose our only instructors. People must see these forests and wilderness as the greatest educational system that we have on the planet. If we lose all the universities in the world, then we would lose nothing. But If we lose the forests, we lose everything." -- Bill Mollison
Yeah likely just something with the setup. I remember getting cold with my 0°+1 at 30° lows on the first trip. The primary suspension needed tightened and I had the ends cinched up too tight. Keeps me warm well below 0° now.
I concur with this. However, will say that I made it to 23 in my 30 degree rated Bonefire Whisper, and with ease for a typically cold sleeper. I'm now a big believer in how well the sewn-on insulation works vs std suspended UQs. Lot of that is Jeremy's under-rating / over-stuffing, I'm sure.
That includes a tarp with doors, UQP and 20 TQ, so not so far beyond what would the system could be rated as. Still, its nice to get that immediately dialed-in fit. I've done this hammock thing a while, but still seemed like I was always fiddling with the UQ, and therefore, didn't have as much confidence in how low I could go. I do think the 10 degree rule is a good one to follow, but its also nice to have the confidence that your gear can truly get you a bit lower than rated in a pinch. Keeps me from bringing too much stuff, LOL.
"I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
- Kate Chopin
I've taken my Whisper down to 22F. The lack of air gaping that can exist in traditional UQs helps with pushing the rating. I generally plan my trip with a 10F buffer knowing that weather can change quickly.
-Jeremy "Brother Bones"
16F with a standard 20F Incubator/Burrow. I was toasty. Not something would do routinely but Life Happens and I used what I had.
Yes, my pack weighs 70lbs, but it's all light weight gear....
Bob's brother-in-law
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