Originally Posted by
OG Honey Badger
Great conversation guys. I like all the points you've brought up bill. Having all open considerations is good and not ruling out the possibility of going to the ground is helpful. To your point about what is important to myself....I have wrestles leg syndrome so i hate sleeping on a pad because I end up moving too much and never stay on the pad. I wake up way too often because of that. This would only be exacerbated in the winter. I also hate being confined in a mummy bag whether in the air or on the ground. This is largely why I found hammock camping inviting.
After trying hammocks I found them much better which made it possible for me to enjoy backpacking. This was not without a few draw backs that I still struggled with. One of which was the hyper extension i experience in all of the best hangs. The other draw backs are so minimal they are not worth me caring about, but the hyper extension is something that I just hate dealing with. Which brings me to finding out about bridge hammocks and deciding to try them out. I saw the banyan introduced and decided what the heck, ill give it a try. I spent all summer working in the ADK and instead of heading back to the hotel at the end of the work day, I'd pull up to the nearest camp site with some wood in the back of the truck and just hang. After about a collective 15 nights of use, I can confidently say, I'm a bridge guy. I can roll around and sleep anyway I want and be comfortable. No hyper extension, my feet can spread, and so on. After having experienced that, I just cant go back. I still have my GE hammocks that I will use when going with my wife since we double Dutch and my wife prefers the GE. I'd do anything to make her more comfortable. She doesn't come out much and I like her to enjoy herself. However, when I go with friends, that bridge hammock is the real deal for me. I want to figure out the best way to utilize the bridge hammock in deep winter so I can still enjoy it. The GE hammock was just so easy to be warm in. I've been in -10 and felt like I was in a heated house. I plan to use the bridge this winter.
What I've learned from these posts, is that I should consider bringing a pad to sleep on because they might be more efficient in the winter than a beefed up underquilt? I just bought a locolibre -20 to pair with my normal 0 degree 2 ounce overstuffed top quilt from hammock gear. Was that the wrong choice? Should I get a pad to go along with my bridge hammock? Are pads better in general for a bridge hammock in cold weather?
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