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  1. #1

    How Am I Still Cold?!?

    I’ve been slowly building up my gear and knowledge over the past year, and just took a new setup into the field last weekend. According to my weather app, the low was in the 40s, but I still woke up chilled! I never felt warm enough for sweat to be an issue (surely I would have noticed the dampness as well). What am I doing wrong?

    Hammock: Ridgerunner single layer
    TQ: Hammock Gear 20 degree Burrow
    UQ: Arrowhead Equipment 15 degree Ridgecreek XL

    The quilts are always stored uncompressed, and the UQ doesn’t seem to be gaping anywhere. When I woke up, I didn’t notice any wind sneaking under the tarp. Other than layering on more clothes, I’m at a loss for what to do.

  2. #2
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    You might want to post pictures of how you were set up (including you in the hammock if possible). It might help us make suggestions.
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  3. #3
    Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures from this trip, but I’m going again next week and can add pictures if I’m still cold.

  4. #4
    PopcornFool's Avatar
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    Assuming that your UQ is hung properly without gaps, then there could still be other considerations.

    It may seem counterintuitive, but could you have on too many clothes? Your quilt insulation is deigned to trap and retain the heat your body creates. If your body heat is trapped inside too many clothing layers, there may not be enough to spread to your quilts and you are relying exclusively on your clothing to keep you warm.

    Atmospheric conditions play a role as well. Was it dry? Humid? I have found that what's happening in the air can significantly impact the temperatures I can take my gear down to. And if it's breezy, even if the tarp blocks a direct assault upon your hammock it can still cause air circulation under you that can rob heat. An UQ protector can help.

    Is it possible that you could have been camping in a particularly cold spot? Camping location makes a difference. There can be more than a 20* temperature difference between campsites only a few hundred yards apart. I tend to avoid setting camp at high peaks and deep depressions and particularly close to water for this reason. I also don't trust weather apps. If I want an accurate reading of actual temperature, I'll take a thermometer with me.

    It's also possible that you are simply a cold sleeper. The degree rating on quilts is not an absolute. As a warm sleeper, I might be able to take the exact same combo you describe down to 10* wearing little more than a base layer. Others could be shivering at 50*.
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  5. #5
    all secure in sector 7 Shug's Avatar
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    Make sure the UQ is actually making contact with your body under the hammock.
    A lot of newer folks tend to over-tighted the end cinches causing gaps.
    Good luck and stay at it.
    Shug
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  6. #6
    joe_guilbeau's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=Xenzua;2054046]What am I doing wrong?[QUOTE]

    Nothing, perhaps.

    The degree ratings are made-up, they are not designed to guarantee warmth, as they cannot create warmth. They only preserve (at differing rates of retention) the heat or cold that they envelope. Look up the ratings of down, and you will see that the low temp ratings of 20-deg and 15-degree do not guarantee that you will be warm, they guarantee that you will survive a 15-degree night...and they did their job.

    I have a down sleeping bag that weighs 80-ounces. 50 of those ounces is high quality down. Some times I sleep cold, and sometimes I sleep hot. The body needs fuel to generate heat, so have a good meal and drink something warm before turning in.

    Metabolism also plays a role, along with the dew point. 40-degrees F with a humidity level of 93% is much colder that 40-degrees F with a humidity level of 23%, as the air is drier.

    The other end of the spectrum (to allow for perspective) is that when I lived in Oracle, Az, the temps got up to 115 degree F with a relative humidity of 15%, and it was fine in the shade. Swamp coolers were on the roofs and at night air is driven through those coolers and warm blankets are needed, daytime temps were cooled by the swamp coolers as well, no HVAC required.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by PopcornFool View Post
    It may seem counterintuitive, but could you have on too many clothes? Your quilt insulation is deigned to trap and retain the heat your body creates. If your body heat is trapped inside too many clothing layers, there may not be enough to spread to your quilts and you are relying exclusively on your clothing to keep you warm.
    Very counterintuitive.

  8. #8
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    A key change that I made which seems obvious but wasn’t to me is to use the neck snap and have the top quilt cinched around your neck. Also, it should be lightly tucked in along your sides.

    Cinching the neck did it for me / snug as a bug after that.

  9. #9
    Senior Member goobie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xenzua View Post
    I’ve been slowly building up my gear and knowledge over the past year, and just took a new setup into the field last weekend. According to my weather app, the low was in the 40s, but I still woke up chilled! I never felt warm enough for sweat to be an issue (surely I would have noticed the dampness as well). What am I doing wrong?

    Hammock: Ridgerunner single layer
    TQ: Hammock Gear 20 degree Burrow
    UQ: Arrowhead Equipment 15 degree Ridgecreek XL

    The quilts are always stored uncompressed, and the UQ doesn’t seem to be gaping anywhere. When I woke up, I didn’t notice any wind sneaking under the tarp. Other than layering on more clothes, I’m at a loss for what to do.
    More clothes?!?! Of you want to be warm, LESS is more!

    Get help setting up your first UQ, doesn't need to be an experienced hanger. Your helper needs to check for gaps and cold spots, it's gonna be a hands on experience. If you can set it up at a temp near the rating wearing, at most, a light base layer.

    Pics might be helpful if you're way of on your adjustments, but we'll never get you set up correctly online. You'll know if you're helper is doing their job, no mistaking the warmth you'll feel with a properly adjusted UQ!

  10. #10
    New Member CLSR--000's Avatar
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    As a guideline from my experience a fast setting in cold tends to be a misadjusted quilt leading to cold air getting in while a slow setting in cool to chill tends to be an over compressed quilt.

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