Pod remembrance

[tomsawyer222]

I have owned a peapod and found that it had a few things i did not like so i built a custom system from the ground up around the same concept. It is lighter for the warmth then a TQ UQ setup and much less picky.

[MacEntyre]

Remembrance?

It's available here and the price is lower than it was one year ago.

[BillyBob58]

i own a first gen peapod, at that time they were made synthetic. it has taking me down to -13 with windshield on springer mtn and 60+ miles winds...i am a warm sleeper! great piece of gear. never had the opportunity for the goose down version.

WOW! Minus 13? And 60 mph? With that 1st gen Pod? Peanuts, you must indeed be a warm sleeper, even with the windshield thingy! You may hold the record, I think those were only rated for 40 or 50*F. I have a friend that uses one of the 1st gen down models ( also about 50* rating) with a pad between the hammock and pod. He has been plenty warm in the 20s.

[BillyBob58]

Remembrance?

It's available here and the price is lower than it was one year ago.

Right, I mentioned ( I think I did anyway ) TTTG in my OP. But what I meant was: has any body been buying any in the last year or so. And the reason I wonder that is: you just don't see many posts with any one talking about their new PeaPod, or many questions about them. It must be 10 or 50 to one for all the other UQs. Heck, it must be 10 to 1 just for IX inquiries and reports!

EDIT: BTW, I think that ($369) is less than I payed for mine over 2 years ago.

I am looking forward to trying the IX/Pod combo on a really cold night. Maybe just 1 layer for 4 additional oz? Interesting potential. And speaking of pods and IX, there is that IX "pod" , I mean sock.

Oh, and another thing I meant by Remembrance was: ME remembering how much I liked the PeaPod once I started playing around with it again, especially with my Claytor. I have been using mostly the JRB MW4 with the BMBH. When I have used a gathered hammock, I have used my synthetic "Yeti" with one or two layers during the cool/moderate cold. So I have kind of forgot how EASY it is to supply top/bottom/head to toe warmth with just the one quilt.

TTT doesn't give any pod specs, but you can still get them over at the Speer site for now. If the specs remain the same.

[sbmcghee]

Speer is out of the hammock business, ....

I haven't been around much since this year has been more about hunting. Ed Speer is out of the hammock business? Granted his selection is smaller.

How and when did this go down?

Glad I got my Winter Tarp when I did.

[MedicineMan]

speaking of PeaPods, anybody have the PolarPod?????
the website has not details that I was looking for like WEIGHT.
Like Kangaru I've got a coveted sewn through model and depending
on the situation a pod (or 2) can be perfect.

[BillyBob58]

I was (and still am, to a degree) interested in checking one of these out. I love the idea of no gaps, no top quilt slipping off in the middle of the night, etc. I've looked at the specs on the TTT Gear site a bunch of times. The biggest thing that has held me back, more than the price or weight considerations, was Just Jeff's review where he basically says you'd need an additional TQ to stay warm in winter. To me that kind of defeats the purpose to some extent. It seems, overall, like an elegant design/solution to the issue of cold weather logistics. However, with that said, the price doesn't seem bad considering, as somebody mentioned earlier, it's basically a TQ/UQ combo. Any pair you buy elsewhere is going to cost you at least the same, it seems. Does anybody have one of these they're selling? (I haven't seen anything on the For Sale forum recently)

Flatland, it is true- kind of- that you will need a separate TQ to be warm in winter. But how much of a quilt you will need ( if any ) depends on which hammock you use and what you mean by "in winter". IOW, how cold?

Used with Ed Speer's hammock for which it was designed, which causes about the largest top side gap of any hammock, you will need something for sure when below 40-45. Ed, a very cold sleeper, rated it at 50*F as a TQ, 20 as UQ. But for me, even in that Speer Hammock, it is more like 40F with very minimal warm clothing, especially if it is closed up. YMMV!

For example, here is part of Wisenber's recent post over in my original review thread of the PeaPod from a couple of years ago:
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...?t=2661&page=3

After seeing new life to this thread, I just had to go out and try my peapod with no extra top insulation last night. I just wore my work pants, cotton socks, golf short and a NF Denali fleece with a watchcap. At 5 am it was about 38° F. Aside from my feet, I was not overly cold. I was not overly warm either mind you. My Speer peapod never stops impressing me.

So there you go, OK at 38*F with really nothing else but the pod. And I don't know what kind of hammock he was using, but it can make a dif for top warmth. Read post # 5 in my pod test thread from above. It details how, even using the Speer hammock and the large gap it caused, I was able to do 10*F with just my usual winter backpack clothing( a 14 oz PG hooded jacket and 8 oz PG pants) and a 24 year old summer Quallofil bag, rated probably at about 45-50F, plus a space blanket down in the bottom.

Now, if you use a more narrow hammock, like a Claytor No Net for ex, the situation is much improved. This hammock's sides/top edge are mostly close to level with my body, I am not way down in a "bathtub" like with the Speer. So, the pod is lifted only very little, and in many places it is laying down directly on my body, just like a sleeping bag or separate TQ. Now, this is very warm even without a TQ, though you do still lose a little top side potential. I have done 27*F with NO TQ, just using the same 14 oz jacket from above and a down vest, both of which I had for camp ware anyway. ( I have been able to just barely make it at 50F with just these clothes, no bag or TQ) I wore the pants and used the jacket or vest to make a nice neck seal, like a mummy bag neck collar. I was just OK at 27F, probably would have been a little cold at a few degrees colder. The rest of the week was low 30s and I had all the warmth I could use. But, one of those 45*F JRB 15 oz wearable Stealth TQs would have put me in the lap of luxury, I suspect well down into the mid teens.

So yes, you could probably use ( EDIT: NEED) a TQ. But even the lightest TQ makes it warmer than a 20*F quilt on top for me. And with a narrow hammock and some good light but slightly puffy clothing, I can easily do low 30s and even high 20s, NO QUILT. Or, at least I have in the past. Again, I'm always going to have that with me anyway, and usually sleep in it no matter what.

Man, I sound like a pod salesman! I'm not trying to talk any one into pods. After all, I have mostly been using JRB UQs with a BMBH for over a year. Still, especially with the narrower gathered end hammocks, I am reminded that these PeaPods are a system I really like.

[BillyBob58]

I haven't been around much since this year has been more about hunting. Ed Speer is out of the hammock business? Granted his selection is smaller.

How and when did this go down?

Glad I got my Winter Tarp when I did.

These folks are making Ed's stuff now, he is off on some sort of new adventure:
http://stores.tttrailgear.com/StoreFront.bok

[joggerjohn]

I want to know more about the PolarPod. It sounds like it would work with a Traveler Hammock.

[Hetairoi]

I got a PeaPod before Mt Rogers last year and have only used it twice, but I think it's without doubt the warmest system. I'm a very cold sleeper and nothing else comes close, not even the Snugfit. And it's very easy to add extra insulation inside it. The JRB sleeves work particularly well to seal the ends.

It IS heavy and bulky. But when it's BITING cold and windy it keeps you warm like nothing else.

YHMV