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  1. #1
    Senior Member ^shane^'s Avatar
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    Overnight Test - Cold in Gusts

    I was hoping that the weatherman was going to hit his 33% correct rate last night - thunderstorms, wind, and cold. Well, he got the wind and cold right. I wanted to test out my kit in a thunderstorm before going up to Arkansas to do the Eagle Rock Loop in a few weeks and this seemed like a perfect weather set-up.

    Set-up:
    TtTTG Light Hiker
    WB BMJ Spinn Tarp
    HG 3S Incubator
    GoLite 1+ season down quilt

    Again, I can't say enough about the Light Hiker. This was my first overnight in the hammock, and it was great. I slept most of the night (10pm to 4:30am) in the fetal position on my right side with no discomfort at all. It does like to be hung quite a bit tighter than my WBBB.

    I have a weird landscape in between the trees I can hang on in the back yard in that directly under the hammock the yard falls away steeply towards the house for about 3 feet. This makes it nearly impossible to get the tarp down close to the ground on that side of the hammock. (I think this is where my CBS issues came from - more later.) I spent some time getting the BMJ tarp set up exactly as I wanted. Full length ridge line under the tarp plus all corners and panel pulls placed guyed out exactly like I wanted. This set up, with the "shock absorber" guy lines made very little noise even in the big gusts. My tarp never woke me up, but my wind chimes did. I did not deploy the tarp doors because I wanted to check the tarp coverage in the rain without doors (didn't rain).

    I shortened up the suspension on the Incubator a bit and hung it using the S-biner clipped to the whoopie above each gathered end of the hammock. I also have a length of 3/32" shock cord attached to the middle loops along both sides of the incubator. This will pull the middle of the quilt up closer to the hammock. The underquilt performed perfectly until the wind started up. With every big gust, I could feel the heat being pushed away. This is the first very windy night I've spent with the Incubator, and am wondering what I need to change to resolve this issue? Maybe tarp closer to the ground? Use the doors? Get one of 2QZQ's underquilt protectors?

    The GoLite 1+ season down quilt was superb. When I finally got out of the hammock at 5:30am due to banging wind chimes and enough hot/cold/hot/cold on the backside, it was 44 degrees. I was wearing a thin UnderArmour heat gear t-shirt, a pair of boxers, and some short wool socks, and was perfectly warm on the top side. One night has sold me on the quilt.

    I set up in the dark last night, so I didn't take any pics. I'll get out and take some after we return from the gym. I have a date with a pregnant spin class instructor who is perpetually mad and takes it out on her classes - she is trying to kill me.

    Anyway, any advice on the wind/cold issue I saw with the Incubator would be GREATLY appreciated.
    "One of the best things you can do in this world is take a nap in the woods." ~ Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

    "While it may be a lot of work, the view is best from the summit." ~ an anonymous staff member of Philmont Scout Ranch

    Enjoy the day
    Shane

  2. #2
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ^shane^ View Post
    ..............................

    I shortened up the suspension on the Incubator a bit and hung it using the S-biner clipped to the whoopie above each gathered end of the hammock. I also have a length of 3/32" shock cord attached to the middle loops along both sides of the incubator. This will pull the middle of the quilt up closer to the hammock. The underquilt performed perfectly until the wind started up. With every big gust, I could feel the heat being pushed away. This is the first very windy night I've spent with the Incubator, and am wondering what I need to change to resolve this issue? Maybe tarp closer to the ground? Use the doors? Get one of 2QZQ's underquilt protectors?

    The GoLite 1+ season down quilt was superb. When I finally got out of the hammock at 5:30am due to banging wind chimes and enough hot/cold/hot/cold on the backside, it was 44 degrees. .......................
    Anyway, any advice on the wind/cold issue I saw with the Incubator would be GREATLY appreciated.
    Thanks for the great and informative post, Shane! Good old back yard testing before hitting the field! Safety 1st!

    On one of the recent HHSS threads, a new owner ( sorry, user name? have to look it up) was disappointed when he was way cold up in Vermont at minus 12F. In a set up rated for maybe 30F. (He expected to be cold, but was a lot colder than he expected to be) I don't know if that was ambient temp or wind chill, but 25 plus mph winds were involved with the tiny stock HH tarp, and the wind was really getting through to him and blowing his over cover around a lot. While trying to give him some tips, I pointed out how much benefit he had from the Sil-Nylon UC whether he realized it or not. I pointed out that if he had a full length down UQ of the same (as HHSS) weight, he might have been even colder. Because of the wind, and how it can (in my experience) suck all the warmth right out of even the warmest of the very breathable UQs. Not only that, but if the wind is directly hitting a fluffy 900 FP quilt, it can even compress the loft, as well as going right through the shell to your body.

    Thanks for making the point so well in your testing! If I am reading you right, you were, with a known to be excellent breathable down UQ rated very conservatively at 20F(?), intermittently cold even at only 44F? And that was without moisture even becoming part of the mix!

    So, clearly that wind(and wind blown moisture) has to be dealt with no matter which system you are using. It seems to me, your options will be greater in the field. Where you can:
    1: Find a sheltered spot. ( these options may be limited if you are with other folks who need a flat tent spot or if you are required to camp in certain designated sites, or even if trees are few and far between)

    2: Find a sheltered spot which also allows you to deploy the tarp for better coverage.

    3: Use a tarp (maybe the one you already have?) which allows you to deploy it in Baker Hut fashion, as with the JRB rectangular 10x11. Which will allow to the ground wind block on one side. Or that can be deployed as a nearly fully enclosed hammock hut.

    4: Use some sort of wind proof sock or weather shield or UQ protector. I personally have have experienced the dif that can make. One night when I should have froze due to the wind coming straight in the foot end of my HHSS diamond tarp. Turns out my tenting hike mates were having a laugh and making bets as to how badly and quickly I was going to freeze. But I had the last laugh, I was the only one comfy and warm that night. The HH UC saved me. I would have never known the wind was raging except for my noisy tarp. This option may cost you some additional weight, unless you are using your rain gear for this purpose.

    Keep up the testing and keep us posted on your results!
    Last edited by BillyBob58; 03-05-2011 at 09:34.

  3. #3
    Banned
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    i agree that wind block will have to be a priority for you shane. i think you explore 1 of 3 options, 1 at a time. no need to have all 3 unless you're going out in subzero temps...

    1. set up horizontally to the wind and have the windward side edge of the tarp staked down to the ground...

    2. set up however you want and get a grizz beak from 2qzq. this will block an extreme amount of wind. this is the option that i use.

    3. get the undercover from 2qzq. this would in effect serve the same purpose. i guess just a different way...


    those would be the paths i start exploring. like i said, one at a time.

  4. #4
    Senior Member ^shane^'s Avatar
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    Afternoon redo

    Thanks BillyBob and Wags. I read through the posts and changed the tarp stake points so that the tarp corners were as close to the ground as possible without directly staking the tarp corners themselves. I also attached the doors to the BMJ tarp. What a difference.

    Winds were still gusting up to 25 or 30 mph with a temp around 50 degrees at 1pm when I went out to lay down after reworking the tarp. I got in the hammock with my GoLite quilt and was asleep in about 5 minutes. An hour later my dog woke me up. No CBS at all. The quilt held the warmth.

    Here's some shots from the afternoon:
    "One of the best things you can do in this world is take a nap in the woods." ~ Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

    "While it may be a lot of work, the view is best from the summit." ~ an anonymous staff member of Philmont Scout Ranch

    Enjoy the day
    Shane

  5. #5
    Herder of Cats OutandBack's Avatar
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    Excellent report shane.
    Your setup is very close to what I have on order for my 3 season kit.
    44F with wind and CBS has me worried a bit.
    Since these are very typical summer temps in the Rockies @ altitude.

    Set-up:
    TTG single layer SB
    OES Delux with Grizbeak
    2QZQ breathable UQP
    HG 3S Incubator
    Wilderness Logics 3S TQ

    I am probably several weeks away from receiving my all my kit but plan to hit a wind spot asap. Will report back if the UQP helps with the wind.

    As for suggestions: If you have a piece of nylon or poncho or old tent ground cloth you could construct a temp UQP by just gathering the ends with some shockcord.

    I'm not a fan of wind broadside to the tarp. Much prefer the head end into the wind with the head end door closed.

    Even though you had the center of the UQ shockcorded I would still check for gaps. Doesn't take much of a gap to lose the heat you collected.
    Last edited by OutandBack; 03-05-2011 at 20:37.

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