Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 16
  1. #1
    New Member Ms Fancy Water's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2021
    Location
    Canada, Ontario
    Hammock
    Hennessy Expedition Zip
    Tarp
    included in ^
    Insulation
    HOGS Down UQ -10
    Suspension
    ropes and knots...
    Posts
    9

    Question Newbie side sleeper needs help

    Hello there,

    I've been on my fourth chilly night in a Hennessy Expedition Zip hammock and I strongly assume the problem literally lies in the hammock. I don't seem to get this underquilt thing right. I started out with a OneTigris -5C (23F) UQ which I sent back after 3 nights that I could only save by throwing an alu pad into the hammock. Following this forum's user recommendations, I then purchased a -10C (14F) down UQ from HOGS (Gerrit in Manitoba) which looks and feels awesome. I hung in my backyard last night with my 0C (32F) sleeping bag as TQ and according to the online record, the temperature never dropped below 10C (50F). And I was cold on the bottom?!?

    I watched what feels like a ton of UQ setup videos, I am aware I can modify the UQ on the shock cords and close the tunnels, which I did extensively during the night. I did the "hand test", which means I pressed my hand down at the lowest point in the hammock and made sure it just touched the UQ. The weirdest thing was that when I was lying in the hammock and moved my hand between hammock and UQ, I could actually feel that my body parts were warm and the space between hammock and UQ was warm.

    I also noticed that I only felt this chilly sensation when lying on my side. I am a notorious side sleeper, and the Hennessy Expedition makes for great side sleeping. I will automatically toss and turn until I come to lie on the side, and that was when I started to feel cold. Lying in the "traditional Hennessy pose" with one leg wrinkled away from the body, I was fine.

    I am attaching some pictures of my setup. I am hoping that someone notices something that I should modify to avoid cold air from lurking in. Or could anybody explain how I can feel warm when investigating the cold area with my hands but feeling cold in the very same area? I plan to go on a trip this coming Monday and I so much hope to sleep without my alu pad this time. Oh, and the UQ has a padded collar on one end. I first had my feet there, but later turned around feeling a little bit warmer this way. Is there a certain direction I should favour to have better insulation?

    Many thanks,
    Ms Fancy Water

    photo1633612515.jpeg photo1633612515(1).jpeg photo1633612515(2).jpeg

  2. #2
    all secure in sector 7 Shug's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Minnesota
    Hammock
    I have many so....
    Tarp
    Blackcrow DIY Tarp
    Insulation
    FrankenquiltUQ/Pod
    Suspension
    Whoopie Slings
    Posts
    23,394
    Images
    62
    Sure looks to be an adequate UQ. I'll say this....sometimes if we think we are going to be cold then we feel cold. Could be a mental thing. Think warm!
    Many side sleepers become back sleepers in hammocks. Hopefully some will chime in.
    I'm a back sleeper and feel the few occasions I may turn on my side that there is less of me in contact with the UQ.
    Stay at it and when you conquer it, it will be so worth it.
    Shug

    Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven

  3. #3
    FLTurtle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Orlando FL
    Hammock
    DW Chameleon, WB Eldorado
    Tarp
    Thunder/Superfly
    Insulation
    HG 20/40
    Suspension
    DW Beetle Buckles
    Posts
    1,110
    Can you get someone to help you out with some photos of the UQ while you're in the hammock on your side?

    Also, does the UQ lift up the hammock at all while empty? It looks like the UQ is hanging low. I know when you get in the hammock, it'll drop somewhat but maybe it's not making full contact with the UQ? You want it up against you snug, but not so snug it compresses the down. If there's any air gap, your body will heat the air and not the UQ.

    As far as the draft collar, I have them on both ends, but I also have an HG Incubator which has a certain design with defined head and foot ends. If you only have one draft collar, I would imagine you'd want it up by your shoulders rather than your feet. With a TQ, your back insulation is all UQ, so any cold air seeping in you will feel.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Cary, NC
    Hammock
    Yes
    Tarp
    Doors for sure
    Insulation
    Love some down
    Suspension
    Usualy helps
    Posts
    409
    I'm a side sleeper in a bed, but have learned to sleep in a half side / half back position in a gathered end quite comfortably. It could be that when you are on your side, you aren't spreading your weight out as equally as lying on your back creating a point that puts more pressure on your underquilt. Maybe a small piece of refectix under your hip would warm you up.

  5. #5
    cougarmeat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Bend, OR
    Hammock
    WBBB, WBRR, WL LiteOwl
    Tarp
    OES, WL BullFro
    Insulation
    HG UQ, TQ, WB UQ
    Suspension
    Python Straps
    Posts
    3,758
    In one of Shug's videos, he shows how the UQ will raise up the hammock when no one is in it. If yours does not, you may want to tighten its suspension a bit. But that setting also assumes your UQ has a differential cut - meaning the bottom of the UQ is cut fuller so when you snug it up against the hammock, its loft is not compressed.

    Also, depending on how diagonal your diagonal lie is, you may want to loosen those end gathers. If they are too tight, a leg pushing out can create a gap. If the ends are looser, they will more easily conform to the shape of the hammock. But everyone is different; no exact rules.

    My solution is just to use an underquilt protector (UQP). The deal is, I can't be outside my hammock to see/feel the fit and inside as body weight at the same time. If I only had one hammock matched to one UQ, I could find someone who would suffer lying in the hammock while I adjusted the UQ and then I'd be done. But I mix and match hammocks and UQ's all the time. Right now I'm testing the effectiveness of my 20° gear while the nighttime temps are in the low 30's (29° last night). The UQP allows me to be less precise in setting up the UQ - which I usually do alone.

    it takes a while for your body to relearn sleeping. I start out on my back, but by morning, I can easily fetal up on my side. I'm height challenged so a 3/4 length UQ does a good job. But last night, I decided a little length of ReflexIt at the foot end (just enough for knee-to-foot coverage) would be helpful.
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 10-08-2021 at 13:44.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  6. #6
    Phantom Grappler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Denton NC
    Hammock
    WildernessLogics 12x6
    Tarp
    HG cuben 13ridge12
    Insulation
    TopQuiltUnderQuilt
    Suspension
    S and D
    Posts
    4,925

    Newbie side sleeper needs help

    After setting underquilt, pull it to front side of hammock
    They are side by side and separate
    Your hammock should be 6 inches to a foot lower than underquilt the entire length of underquilt

    Then when you put underquilt back under hammock, it should lift your hammock up about 6 inches

    If still cold, make sure short end cords are not cinched too tight-into a horseshoe shape. That will make an air gap on ends of underquilt
    If it’s tight, loosen short end cords a bit on underquilt

    If still cold get a lower temperature rated underquilt
    And if still cold, stack two underquilts
    For example the 20* underquilt next to hammock
    And zero* underquilt on outside, furthest from hammock

    The best hammock campers achieve full loft with both underquilts
    But I smush the 20* underquilt and it loses some of its insulation, but not all of it.
    And anywhere there would have been an air gap in the zero* underquilt—the 20* underquilt EXPANDS in the exact right places to eliminate almost all air gaps

    You can also stack top quilts
    But beware of overheating and busting a sweat

    Also be very careful about wearing to much hot clothing. If you break a sweat during the night—
    You can get really cold in wet clothes

    Too warm a topquilt might even be pushed off even without causing you to wake up

    But extra layers of clothes are stuck on you, unless you wake up and remove some of the excess

    Good luck

  7. #7
    New Member Ms Fancy Water's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2021
    Location
    Canada, Ontario
    Hammock
    Hennessy Expedition Zip
    Tarp
    included in ^
    Insulation
    HOGS Down UQ -10
    Suspension
    ropes and knots...
    Posts
    9
    Thank you soooooo much for all your suggestions! Amazing feedback, thank you! I am almost certain the UQ wasn't snug enough and the tunnels too tight. I am so scared by the idea that the UQ sits too tight and it's losing its isolation properties and that air is coming in through the ends.

    I guess it's a little bit like sailing where we say nothing makes up for time on the water - I have to try a bit more to see what works. I'll see if my husband is available tonight to take pictures of me in my hammock. Interesting point about learning to sleep on the back - I guess my neck and shoulders would like that, too.

    I also saw that many Hennessy users tie the side strings to the ground. I've never done this so far but I could imagine that this helps with closing any gaps since the hammock flows over the UQ when set up this way. I'll give it another go tonight.

    Have a great day!

    Ms Fancy Water

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

  8. #8
    Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2021
    Location
    Huntsville, AL
    Hammock
    Dutchware Chameleon
    Tarp
    Hammock Gear Quest
    Insulation
    HG Incubator
    Suspension
    Beetle Buckles
    Posts
    57
    I'm another one that usually sleeps on my side or stomach at home. I end up staying pretty much on my back in the hammock, though my actual position is typically with my shoulders rotated about halfway between back and side sleeping and my head flopped to one side. That way, the UQ still wraps around my back nicely.

  9. #9
    cougarmeat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Bend, OR
    Hammock
    WBBB, WBRR, WL LiteOwl
    Tarp
    OES, WL BullFro
    Insulation
    HG UQ, TQ, WB UQ
    Suspension
    Python Straps
    Posts
    3,758
    Ms Fancy Waters, Because of the nature of a bed, pressure points can develop (usually hip and shoulders) as you sleep and you feel the need to move. In a hammock, especially if you use a UQ and not something firmer like a pad, the whole hammock supports you so you can melt into it. But it can take a while for the body to learn that. If I haven’t slept in a hammock for a while, it takes a day or two to relearn. If it’s possible to take short afternoon naps, that will help. Once all your joints/muscles learn they can just puddle down into a pool of bliss, you can take about any shape you want.

    If I use a pillow in a hammock, it is mostly to prop up a knee. If it’s at my head, it’s mostly to provide a little more bug net separation (pushes the side out). The hammock itself supports my neck. If I use a pillow under my head, it tilts it too much for me.

    For me, the side guyouts on the hammock are more to pull that bug net away from my face.

    So first - find out if your underquilt has top and bottom sides and/or head and foot ends. For example, Hammock Gear quilts have to top - that goes against the bottom of the hammock - and head end - where the material has more loft from shoulders to waist. If it has those characteristics, make sure they are oriented correctly.

    And how can I not bring up that sometimes your body gets cold as a way of telling you it’s time to get up and take care of something - at least mine works that way. There I am, all cocooned in, toasty warm, no drafts. and yet, and yet, my legs are starting to get cold. I’m not producing any heat. Oh yes - Time to go back into the house to use the bathroom (we have neighbors). And have the strength of character to go back outside at 29° instead of staying inside on the couch. But once I get back in the hammock, I start producing warmth again and the world is at peace.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  10. #10
    New Member Ms Fancy Water's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2021
    Location
    Canada, Ontario
    Hammock
    Hennessy Expedition Zip
    Tarp
    included in ^
    Insulation
    HOGS Down UQ -10
    Suspension
    ropes and knots...
    Posts
    9
    Thanks for the additional comments, cougarmeat.

    I installed the UQ again, closer to the hammock this time, and a friend shot some pictures. You can see that I tied the sidelines to the ground and I do think it helps to keep the UQ tightly wrapped around the hammock. Hubbie checked the stretch of the down under the hammock at the lowest point and said they have some puff to them but feel close to the body. Altogether, when lying in there at dusk, I felt extremely warm although temperatures were the same as during the last not-so-comfortable night. Now I'll see how I will fare this night (posting today in case someone spots something on the pictures that is off).

    Update: Thanks to all your comments, I had a much better night. I closed the draft on my head's end a bit more to block out some wind but otherwise kept the UQ as shown in the pictures. I forced my body to stay on the back and while it took me a while to fall asleep, I succeeded in not turning around. I was warm all night (60F) as long as I didn't turn on the side. I tried once and immediately had a cold leg. I also see the value of a small pillow to build some distance between the head and mosquito net after suffering a mosquito bite on the forehead. >.<

    Feels like I am on the right track. Thanks so much!

    Cheers,
    Ms Fancy Water



    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
    Last edited by Ms Fancy Water; 10-10-2021 at 06:07.

  • + New Posts
  • Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

    Similar Threads

    1. Side sleeper
      By Trueblue in forum Camping Hammocks
      Replies: 21
      Last Post: 04-07-2016, 18:05
    2. What Hammock for a side sleeper?
      By FireFlyburns in forum Camping Hammocks
      Replies: 33
      Last Post: 01-11-2015, 09:11
    3. side sleeper hammock
      By tritan in forum General Hammock Talk
      Replies: 42
      Last Post: 11-07-2014, 19:31
    4. Newbie side-sleeper UQ question
      By celsmore in forum Bottom Insulation
      Replies: 6
      Last Post: 08-20-2014, 21:38
    5. Doublenest for a side sleeper?
      By OrangePeel in forum General Hammock Talk
      Replies: 14
      Last Post: 11-11-2012, 00:30

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •