Amok Draumr XL in the Snow - Winter Testing ~14°

[Shug]

the advantage of the regular size draumr is that you can use any commercially available pad of the right dimensions. the draumr XL requires the Fjol XL, which is a fine pad, but you have more cold weather options in the regular size


and I suppose more hot weather, uninsulated options too (or lesser insulater maybe better term)


that being said, Sintax got his Fjol down to well below its rated temps, so that's always good

I put my Exped Downmat 9 XP in my Draunr XL and it worked just fine. Very little flop at each end and fine as I am 6 feet tall.
Shug

[USCAV]

I put my Exped Downmat 9 XP in my Draunr XL and it worked just fine. Very little flop at each end and fine as I am 6 feet tall.
Shug

Hi Shug -thanks for chiming in on this.

I had no idea there were inflatable sleeping pads filled with down, and it's impressive that not only is it rated to -36 F, but apparently has the rigidity to work in the Dramur XL. Do you find the down filling in the Exped Downmat 9XP easily recovers from being compressed, and if given a choice would you prefer that pad or an equavalent (full length) UQ if that were possible? Also, do you think the rigidity would hold up for a guy that's 6'2" 250lb?

*this is getting expensive lol...

[Shug]

Hi Shug -thanks for chiming in on this.

I had no idea there were inflatable sleeping pads filled with down, and it's impressive that not only is it rated to -36 F, but apparently has the rigidity to work in the Dramur XL. Do you find the down filling in the Exped Downmat 9XP easily recovers from being compressed, and if given a choice would you prefer that pad or an equavalent (full length) UQ if that were possible? Also, do you think the rigidity would hold up for a guy that's 6'2" 250lb?

*this is getting expensive lol...

The Exped works great in the Draumr as UQs don't really fit the Draumr.

[SuperBonBon]

I know the Amok is a bit of a love / hate situation with the hammock crowd, but whether you're truly curious, or just want to poke some fun at it - here's some testing I did with the Draumr XL, Amok Fjol sleeping pad, and Amok Borg tarp in the White Mountains. I had 3 days of decent snow with a low of 11° (14° while actually in the hammock) recorded on my thermometer. While this isn't crazy cold for New Hampshire, it is 6° beyond the Amok system's recommended minimum temp in it's standard config, so it made for a reasonable test scenario.


For those not interested in the full movie, the mornings are at minute marker 19:00 and 1:00:00. That's were the most hammock footage is.

The rig did quite well. Other than answering nature's call, I never stirred or woke up due to cold spots, comfort etc on either night. For top insulation I ran a Hammock Gear Burrow Zero top quilt with a light micro fleece hat. I typically find bottom insulation to be the weakest link for winter hammocking, so I was pleasantly surprised by the Amok pad's performance. It's probably the most solid sleep I've gotten on a snow camping trip.

The tarp had a bit of sag due to snow load by dinner time on the second day, but after a bit of re-tensioning it was good to go for the rest of the trip. It should be noted that I had all of my guy lines attached to small tress and tree limbs, so that most likely exaggerated the sag a bit. Despite the consistent snowfall, I had the tarp pitched fairly high to test the coverage and the hammock stayed snow-free. Granted, this was in only mild winds. In higher winds I'd pitch it down more to thwart sideways snow and more importantly, heat loss.

To compare warmth and condensation, I ran it without the bugnet on the first night and with it on the second night. Deploying the net on night two didn't create any frost or condensation issues. The only real difference was maybe a little extra warmth due to the net acting as a mild wind break.

Much like 3-season, if I'm on a trip with mild elevation gain and / or low mileage, I wouldn't hesitate to bring this rig again in the winter. For more intense trips where every ounce matters, I'll grab my trusty Dutchware Half-wit and call it a day.

Have you winter camped with a gathered end hammock? How did the Draumr compare for "overall warmth". I'm a cold sleeper and have had bad luck on pads in a tent, as I almost always get cold. I believe it is due to drafts from using a quilt, rather than the pad setup itself, as in a gathered end hammock I am warmer using the same top quilt.