Hammocking in Sweden

[PatHex]

@ Gareth :
Hum... I have a dinner (bien arrosé) with friends in our favorite restaurant... And because of the damned so good "vin de Bourgogne" and the meal... I'm JUST a little bit.............. HIPS...

Anyway... "merci beaucoup de la précision que tu apportes à cette expertise concernant l'équipement" (thank you for the accuracy of the your expert analysis about that gear) : I really appreciate !

About the sleeping bag you use up side down : la "capuche" (the head's hood) how do you keep it away from your face (and mouth) to avoid the condensation ?

[garethw]

@ Gareth :
Hum... I have a dinner (bien arrosé) with friends in our favorite restaurant... And because of the damned so good "vin de Bourgogne" and the meal... I'm JUST a little bit.............. HIPS...

Anyway... "merci beaucoup de la précision que tu apportes à cette expertise concernant l'équipement" (thank you for the accuracy of the your expert analysis about that gear) : I really appreciate !

About the sleeping bag you use up side down : la "capuche" (the head's hood) how do you keep it away from your face (and mouth) to avoid the condensation ?

De rien et "santé!"....I lived in Lyon a few years back so enjoy the odd drop of Bourgogne myself... Although generally I'm more a Bordeaux kind of guy. LOL!!!
Up where I now live everyone drinks champagne.

Anyway.. the bag has a string to tighten the hood, I just leave it slack and the hood is no real bother. In fact I often pull it up over my head to either block out the light on a summers morning or to keep the cold off my nose.
This bag works for me, the zip stops just below the knee, so I can flip it over, slip my feet in the footbox and tuck it under me, it is more versatile than a dedicated TQ. If I want to sleep on the floor, or a mates sofa, I can use this as a sleeping bag. The zips are not even noticed when used as a TQ.

I find sleeping out there is always some condensation, whether you are on the ground a camp bed or hammock.

I found I got more condensation with a thermarest in the hammock than with the underquilt. Also I find the hammock more comfy and snug with the UQ, the camp pad, even only partially filled flattened things out, and also left places not insulated.

Amicalement
Gareth

[hanktehtank]

Hi there Patrick!

Welcome to the forums! I saw that you might be joining some SKAHO events
perhaps in the spring so you are most welcome to hang here in Sweden!

I have DD Frontline and i can recommend you to purchase one aswell (Nice to have
a built in mosquito net and an extra bottom layer to keep your insulation in place)!

But yeah the only thing that is a bit off is the webbing imo. I havent gotten around
to upgrading into something better, but i´ll probably get a lot of suggestions when i
attend to SKAHOw 2012.

I havent been out so much yet during summer but i did not feel that i needed any
top/under quilts. I used my inflatable exped sleeping mat between the bottom layers
and a three-season sleeping bag and it worked perfectly. But i guess it depends from
person to person on how much heat you need to stay comfortable.

Im planning to go hanging/floating in the värmland region myselft next summer hoping to get
enough people together for some timber-rafting! So if you are still looking for suggestions
on what to do while in sweden check out this site :

http://www.vildmark.se/Timber-raft__1033.html

Should be quite pleasant to hang in your custom made timber-raft
while floating on a slow moving river.

The only downside is that its quite expensive...

[moski]

Welcome PatHex !
I am in the middle of a moving process, so i am not here so much right now!

I read about your spring plans, sounds nice, really nice.
I might actually join that.

I saw your talk about 2 huge bags and 15 kg boat.
I wonder what you think after you have meet me or Joz with our Alpackas.
Here we are talking 2kg boats.





Bieggolmai shows before/after at Rogens last spring.

[Stavros]

Welcome PatHex !
I am in the middle of a moving process, so i am not here so much right now!

I read about your spring plans, sounds nice, really nice.
I might actually join that.

I saw your talk about 2 huge bags and 15 kg boat.
I wonder what you think after you have meet me or Joz with our Alpackas.
Here we are talking 2kg boats.





Bieggolmai shows before/after at Rogens last spring.

(Beautiful guy on the pictures!)

Welcome PatHex from Swedish Lapland!

It´s great camping in Sweden, everything is so easy here with "Allemansrätten" and everything around it.

I have 3 kinds of hammocks;
1 DD Travel
2 DD Frontline
1 Warbonnet Blackbird 1.0 DL
I also have some DIY-hammocks that I use in the winter when I don´t need any mosquito-net.

My Warbonnet is the one that is by far most comfortable with the footbox and the shelf. But if there is a risk that I need to go to ground I prefer to bring my DD instead because that they work as a bivybag also.

Underquilt is a must in Sweden even in the middle of the summer.
I bought a winterunderquilt from ukhammocks.com and since it´s so lightweight I use it in the summer as well. It only weighs about 750gram and it compresses extremely well. I combine that with a winter topquilt from the same site.

I hope that I will be able to meet you at a summer SKAHO.

[PatHex]

Hi guys !

Thank you Hanktehtank and Bieggolmai for sharing your experience !
OK ! You convinced me, I'm going to order a DD Hammock. Now the question is : Frontline or Travel... ?! I wish not to have any condensation issue....

The DD Hammocks' guys should consider to manage an affiliate program for you... Just kidding !

At the next SKAHO summer's session, I would love to try your Warbonnet BlackBird !
Does the BB have only one footbox, on the right side ?

_ _ _ _ _

Wow ! The Alpacka looks awesome for packrafting (I didn't know this word and this concept of ultra light inflatable canoe just a few hours before ; yeah... I didn't catch what you're previously saying me Joz... hum !)
I did some research and find some videos on YouTube. This inflatable canoe (or raft ?) seems to be very durable despite its first wrong aspect of a toy.
This is insane, look at that... Alpacka Raft creek decent ! Crazy !

Inflating the Alpacka is even a kid's game ! Alpacka Inflation Demonstration

I couldn't find any information about the maximum inflating pressure, how much is it ?
Do you (Joz, Bieggolmai and Moski...) have to deflate the Alpacka a little, to avoid sur-pressure in the bladder, when not using it on the water on sunny days ?

And does your canoe loose a little pressure in contact with cold water ?
My canoe lost about 0.2 to 0.3 psi the first minutes in water, then I have to inflate it a little more to reach the 1.5 psi maximum pressure recommended.


Packrafting opens my point of view to a new world of adventure and sport ! I find also on Alpackaraft.com a inspiring design for my DIY inflatable canoe's top cover. Yesss !

My "huge" pack is actually very standard, considering the load of these packraft-hikers (can I say that ?!) : Swan Lake Packrafting trip

[Joz]

I couldn't find any information about the maximum inflating pressure, how much is it ?

Don't know. You inflate the last bit with your mouth, so "mouth pressure".

Do you (Joz, Bieggolmai and Moski...) have to deflate the Alpacka a little, to avoid sur-pressure in the bladder, when not using it on the water on sunny days ?

Well...I haven't. But I suppose it doesn't hurt.

And does your canoe loose a little pressure in contact with cold water ?

A little, yes. But not enough to be a problem. More so at night when it gets colder in the air.

[Dannytoo]

Greetings from Texas. I look forward to seeing pictures and reading you trip reports.

[PatHex]

Bonjour from France, Dannytoo !

I'm missing Texas (Houston) and the USA : I haven't find the time to come back since 1991 ! Two long decades...
I still have my "Don't mess with Texas..." t-shirt and a cap of the Cowboys' football team !

I will be in Sweden from the end of May 2012 for 1 month to 3... depending on the next future french president... Just a joke ! No more talking about politics...

I'm going to take my snapshot with me. And I would like to invest in a glasses' camera for sharing some videos of live's paddling on the rivers and lakes.
Just be patient... (I'm not...)

_ _ _ _ _
@ Joz : Which Alpacka do you have ?
What is the biggest raft ? Is it The Explorer (Fjord or unrigged) or the Double duck ?

About mouth blowing... These guys have forget their pump....

The other videos of Mikkel B. are great too !

_ _ _ _ _
@ hanktehtank :

Im planning to go hanging/floating in the värmland region myselft next summer hoping to get enough people together for some timber-rafting! So if you are still looking for suggestions
on what to do while in sweden check out this site :

http://www.vildmark.se/Timber-raft__1033.html

Should be quite pleasant to hang in your custom made timber-raft
while floating on a slow moving river.

The only downside is that its quite expensive...

Yes I already have take a look at the Vilmark i Värmland website ! Who says I am an already swedish wilderness's addict and this, even before reaching the location...?!
It could be a great and fun experience but as you say it is pretty much expensive... The *basic* equipment for a adult is 2750 SEK.
OK this is a 8 days trip, and I do understand that they have to manage taking the wood logs back to the place of departure.
I've found a video if you want to see the pics in HD. It's a slideshow: Timber rafting in Sweden

Here are some inspirations for cheapest floating and funniest alternatives at Karlstad : Flottracet 2009 another one : Flottrace

And come back to Mikkel's video : ... or the lightest way to have fun on the river with family !

[Joz]

I have the Yukon Yak (see my signature line ).

I don't know which is biggest, but check out the website http://www.alpackaraft.com for specifications.