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  1. #1
    Senior Member Rhody Seth's Avatar
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    My First Cold Weather Sleeping Attempt

    I got my first under quilt a couple weeks ago. I'm planning on heading up to the Whites next week and I may do some hammock camping so I wanted to test it out. It got down to 12 degrees last Friday so I set up the hammock up on our hill in the afternoon and slept in it that night. I recognize that this is a fairly easy test since after I set it up I went back inside and feasted on Chinese food while warming myself by the fire before venturing out to sleep. Still I would hope that I would be fairly warm when I'm getting into the hammock in the woods so I think it was still a fairly good test.

    The 0° Incubator worked great and I was pleasantly surprised how warm I was with that and my 20° Kelty sleeping bag. I also had a liner which proved more trouble than useful. I also brought a hot water bottle out with me. The pants I wore were likely overkill as they are superwarm thermal pants and at first I was afraid I was too hot in there. I considered taking them off but I didn't have any other layer to replace and I was afraid I'd get cold later. In retrospect I guess I could have just put them back on in that case. The hood from my down jacket comes off so I used that with a beanie to keep my head warm. The rest of the jacket became a pillow of sorts - the one issue was that in the morning it was wet from my condensation as the sides of the hammock had encroached around my face. But otherwise I was very happy with how everything went and it gave me experience and confidence for future winter outings which was the main point.

    I posted a video - if anyone wants to watch it I would appreciate any feedback or tips you might have to improve my setup. I'm just figuring this out as I go. Thanks!


  2. #2
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    Rhody Seth - congratulation on your test. I was wondering about the wisdom of getting warm indoors first. I’ve found that when I’m outside and the temps move from warm to cold, my body slowing adjusts - sort of like closes up the pores or something. But once, I was with a group that was camping in a place that was so cold and dry, you couldn’t even bond the snow to make snowballs (or an igloo, or a wall for a wind break) There was a restaurant open (small resort), with a fireplace, and everyone hung out there before retiring. When we finally left and walked to our tent (my unenlightened days), I was FREEZING. I figured that in the warm environment, my body was “open” and once outside, the cold went right to the core.

    A similar thing happened when I used to do ice plunges on New Years. A nearby resort had a “cold pool” - with snow/ice in it - but next to it they had a smaller heated pool “for recovery”. In the past, my body would be getting use to the cold as I changed out of my clothes into a swim suit. I’d jump in the cold pool, get out and dry off with just a little shiver. But one time I thought I’d try the heated pool and entered that after to cold dip - so far so good. Then, for some stupid reason, I figured I could handle one more dip in the cold pool. Woooo. When I got out I was shaking; could hardly speak.The cold went right to my core.

    Also, sometime in the past, I read that alcohol is not a good idea when out in the cold - again, allowing the outside temperature in. It is better if you wait until you are back at the lodge, home, a place of warmth - then it lets the warm in.

    So I’m just suggesting that even if you have access to a warm shelter - like a hot tent - your body may adjust better if you stay in the natural environment and let your body get used to the cold - rather than jumping into a cold environment immediately from a hot one. Of course I could be all wet on that idea - and not just from condensation.
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 12-22-2020 at 18:54.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  3. #3
    Senior Member DocWatson's Avatar
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    I'll use the liner sometimes in the hammock. Best way to get in/out of them is to step into them before you get into the hammock, pull it up to around your neck and then get into the hammock. Same thing when getting up at night to water a tree. Swing your legs out, stand up and let the liner fall and then step out of the liner. If I don't want to deal with getting in/out of the liner I usually have one with me as they pack so small. I can open it while I'm in my hammock, grab the foot end with my toes and pull the liner down the length of me under my top quilt and I use it as a sheet for a little extra warmth. Or I'll tuck it around my legs or feet or over any other 'cold spot' I may have for a little extra insulation in that area.

    - Clyde

  4. #4
    New Member
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    Great video! I have also ordered my first UQ just a few weeks ago. Thanks for sharing!

  5. #5
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    Rhody nice video.

    Good looking country.

    Nice set up.

    Merry Christmas.

    Bob

  6. #6
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    Congrats man! That's quite the temperature for a first cold weather test. Great to hear about the Incubator working well. I can't wait for my 40* Incubator (Santa will bring it soon ) to be stacked with a 20* Trail Winder I already have but once I have it I will join you in some cold weather testing out in the yard (looking at your Location with about 700km of social distancing )

    Beautiful yard and house setup you have there as well!

  7. #7
    Senior Member Rhody Seth's Avatar
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    Thanks all!

    cougarmeat - it definitely felt like cheating to spend the early evening inside before retiring to the hammock. And I really should have committed to setting up my stove in the morning to heat up some warm drink. But I felt alright stacking the deck in my favor as it would have been disheartening to have had a miserable night. I was looking for a confidence booster.

    DocWatson - thanks for the liner advice. It reminds me that I need to work on a better system to keep track of all the crap I have tucked into my sleeping bag. Besides the liner which ends up wrapped around my ankles, I'm keeping track of extra clothes, my phone and GoPro. I should get better storage because they all end up floating around in there by the morning.

  8. #8
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    No problem in doing things one at a time, lets you concentrate on each part and get it nailed. Things like stoves you can just go for a walk and stop and set things up as and when and just practice, they tend to be a familiarity thing - the more times you do it the easier and more streamlined it becomes.
    Better weight than wisdom, a traveller cannot carry - Viking proverb

  9. #9
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    Yeah Rhody Seth - I should have focused more on your absolutely correct decision to do this “experiment” with appropriate “bail-out” options. My outdoor options are a deck in front of the house. I use a full sock to block the light from street lamps (and privacy from neighbor’s windows). The character building is not the sleeping outside initially, it's returning to the hammock after and early morning (or two) visit to the bathroom inside the WARM house.

    Last night I stayed out just before sunset to see if I could view that Jupiter/Saturn event. It was COLD, but not dark. So I imagined reaching an area to snow camp, setting things up, fixing some food - all before it actually got dark. Then - knowing I already had hours of sleep time ahead of me - what would I do to keep warm in that interval between the time camp setup is done but too early to go to bed.

    As Bob-W said, learning one step at a time - especially winter/cold environment - is the wise choice.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  10. #10
    Senior Member DocWatson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rhody Seth View Post
    DocWatson - thanks for the liner advice. It reminds me that I need to work on a better system to keep track of all the crap I have tucked into my sleeping bag. Besides the liner which ends up wrapped around my ankles, I'm keeping track of extra clothes, my phone and GoPro. I should get better storage because they all end up floating around in there by the morning.
    During warm weather the extra clothes that I have in the hammock for 'just in case' are above my head and slide up against my pillow so I don't feel them but they are in easy reach. During colder weather, I tuck it between the hammock and the underquilt. They won't be as warm as being in the hammock with me, but they are much warmer than being tucked above my head and they are within easy reach. However, keep what you put between the underquilt and the hammock to a minimum. It's not a gear hammock. Once I put too many clothes in the underquilt and I created a air gap. :-(

    If you want the clothes and other things in the hammock with you, put them in a stuff sack to keep them together. Tuck the electronics in the clothes and then use it as a knee pillow or extra insulation near your feet. Last time I was in the cold this fall, I had a flannel shirt and put the phone and battery charger in the shirt pockets. I've only done cold weather camping a couple of times and only 14*F was the coldest for me. So others should be able to give you better advice. (and this is my 2nd year of hammock camping)

    Please let us know how you make out in the whites. I love it there and thankful it's only about an hour away from me. (About two hours to the area that I spend most of my time in)

    - Clyde

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