Foil Foam Foil 5mm insulation

[2Questions]

Anybody try this product as a hammock pad? Looks interesting with possibilities....http://www.barnworld.com/highr_FfmF.asp

[Coffee]

Looks interesting. Could work if you could get a small piece. I couldn't justiy it with the roll size and price on its own.

[Just Jeff]

R-value 14.5?! Holy crap. I wonder how it would stand up to the repeated flexing when used as a pad, though.

[peanuts]

it looks to me that is reflectix insulation, i purchased a roll at home depot last yr and made window coverings for my van windows, so when i sleep, i don't have any light filtering in.

[2Questions]

Looks like this stuff can come with fiberglass or bubble as its center. My guess is that the closed cell foam will hold up well. I carry a CC pad from Walmart covered with a Neatsheet (http://www.theneatsheet.com/) and believe this FoilFoamFoil would insert on top of the CC pad and provide a huge increase in comfort in below freezing weather. I've emailed some outfits asking for scraps...will see if I get any responses. Smallest amount advertised to buy is 4' x 25' for 72.95 from Barnworld.

[SGT Rock]

I'm just a little skeptical of things like this that offer reflective heat insulation when trying to find a good hammock insulation solution.

Did a little research on this stuff. Almost every link was from someone trying to sell it and a couple of them were eve obvious fake blogs to hook you into a link about product sales. But I did find a couple that were not from anyone that sell it - I wouldn't try it.

Here is a thread on it on a home improvement site: http://boards.hgtvpro.com/eve/forums...1/m/9971054462

Looks like it would only work if, like other radiant heat reflector stuff, you were in space. It doesn't seem to work against convective heat loss which is the main problem in a hammock - not radiant heat loss.

Here is another reference to the stuff from their own site:

Reflective insulation is the most effective when incorporated with at least a 3/4" airspace between the insulation and any adjacent material. The R value of the system will vary dependent on the airspace size and the direction of the heat flow, and the conductive and convective properties of surrounding materials.

and...

reflective insulation is used in an enclosed space like a wall and a ceiling

So to use this properly, looks like it has to be enclosed in something else. And I guess to do that right that needs to also include at least a 3/4" space of air between you and it for it to work.

I don't think this is going to make a great improvement over a closed cell foam pad.

[Craig reis]

hello that looks like what we use for winter camping it works great but if your feet go off the egde of it it is instant cold all of our scouts say it works great also i would not leave home with out it it is a great invesment i would in crouge you to buy a roll of it. i am trying something new with it cut it down to fit into your sleeping bag and then stich a pice of fleese on the shinny side

[amac]

Anybody try this product as a hammock pad? Looks interesting with possibilities....http://www.barnworld.com/highr_FfmF.asp

As others have already commented, that looks exactly like Reflectix. I love the stuff.

I have used Reflectix as my hammock pad several times. Yes, it is slippery, so it works best if the hammock has a sleeve. I have a Byer Moskito Hammock with bug net. When it's not buggy, I flip it over and use the bug net like a sleeve to hold my pad.

I just did a weekend with Boy Scouts. The forecast was for cold, so I decided to try hammocking. I also have a Big Agnes Air core, 20" wide rectangular. I first tried sleeping with the Big Agnes above the Reflectix. That didn't work too well. Around midnight, I had to swap them. That worked GREAT. It was still a little cool, but I slept fine and the temp got to 16 degrees. My gut feeling is that the Big Agnes did very little except to keep the Reflectix pressed closely to my body. I think the next time I hammock in the cold, I will use two layers of Reflectix.

NOTE: my son uses Reflectix as his sleeping pad for sleeping on all his Scouting outings (he still sleeps on the ground, in tents).

[BurningCedar]

It does look exactly like Reflectix. The concept is going to be very similar to using reflective windshield shades like many have tried. It might have slightly more insulation value than the shades because of the trapped air in the plastic bubble wrap that's used in the center.

I use Reflectix often for cooking cozies. Antigravity Gear also uses it for their cozies.

As Sgt Rock indicated, I doubt that it will work as well as a CCF pad for hammock insulation since it only really works to stop radiant heat loss; not convective.

You can buy smaller and less expensive rolls of Reflectix at most hardware stores in the HVAC section. For example, here's what Home Depot carries.

If you try it, please let us know how well it works.

[TiredFeet]

Looks like this stuff can come with fiberglass or bubble as its center. My guess is that the closed cell foam will hold up well. I carry a CC pad from Walmart covered with a Neatsheet (http://www.theneatsheet.com/) and believe this FoilFoamFoil would insert on top of the CC pad and provide a huge increase in comfort in below freezing weather. I've emailed some outfits asking for scraps...will see if I get any responses. Smallest amount advertised to buy is 4' x 25' for 72.95 from Barnworld.

Lowes and Home Depot sell Reflectix, 4'x25' roll for $49 and $42 respectively.

I have read reports on the forums of people using the reflectix and being happy with the results. No reason why it wouldn't work. Seems like the air bubbles might be more fragile than a closed cell foam pad like the Gossamer Gear pads, but people's experience seems to indicate that it isn't too fragile for use. I haven't read of anybody reporting on the weight, but it seems that it would probably be lighter than closed cell foam or maybe approximately the same weight. My physics expert assures me that even if surfaces are in contact, radiant energy loss can still occur, but it is true that convective loss is by far the greater method of loss. It would also seem that the reflectix would act like a vapor barrier with all that entails - so if you use a space blanket in a Hennessy SuperShelter, the reflectix should work even better in that application.