from McMaster-Carr Supply with descriptions, properties, characteristics etc.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#closed-cell-foam/=fn8b2l
As for my preference, I am a Minicel kind of guy (hammocks, where I don't have to worry about cushioning.
Jim
from McMaster-Carr Supply with descriptions, properties, characteristics etc.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#closed-cell-foam/=fn8b2l
As for my preference, I am a Minicel kind of guy (hammocks, where I don't have to worry about cushioning.
Jim
KA-POW!Originally Posted by Jsaults
We're all gonna miss your brain, Diva. It was a good ride.
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
from my end avoid neoprene as heavy. The other 3 are close enough that price and availability become my driving issues.
I'm trying to prepare for an Ohio winter hang. I'm leaning towards 4 sheets of the 1/4" minicell...2 for my son and 2 for me. We have single layer hammocks, double wide, and have been using poncho liner under quilts.
However...we could use kampa type hammocks (hate all the tangle prone cords on the ends) but we have a few and they're quite comfortable and we could double hang them and put the pads in between and then our PLUQ under that...or whatever else I can throw together. Freaking trash bag as an under cover? Cut up an old comforter? Whatever, I'm just trying to get the best 1/4 inch pad sheets figured out first (2 sheets each of us, should we need to layer to get 1/2" and not feel like we're on a board). $88 dollars is $88 and I don't want to make a bad choice here.
Any other ideas? I have $100 I can spend on something that will work for 2 separate set ups.
I'll keep you posted, but tonight the projected low here in Gainesville is down into the low twenties (some places are claiming high teens) tonight.
I use a PLUQ (admittedly, one with sewn-in insulation, but that seems to only buy me about an additional 5 degrees of comfort thus far), and I'll be testing various ways of supplementing it for cheap tonight.
Thus far, on the table: space blanket, sit pad--one of the Wallyworld 3/8" CCF blue specials--cut to torso size for core warmth, jackets (both rain and fleece), and an extra fleece throw. I'll have a report in the morning time for you, if you want.
Yes, please. I was going 2 try 2 stay away from the walmart pad and go for a bit more flexibity and a full sheet that i can cut down but keep wide. But, i would still love a report.
I could always turn back 2 making an spe
I do have a down throw pinned to the pluq and hammock socks. 35 f degrees is no problem. So i have a good building point 4 car camping or pulk
My theory is that, with decent insulation on your sides, you can get away with a smaller torso pad that doesn't need to cover your shoulders or your legs. It just needs to reflect your core warmth back to you, and then your body should do the rest of it by allowing your peripheral blood vessels to dilate enough to keep your extremities warm. I could be wrong, though, and that's why I'm doing the testing in the front yard...
I'll let you know how it goes!
I slept well, and warm, last night.
Conditions: Temperature ranging from 26 F to 24 F, light and variable wind, no humidity to speak of.
Top Insulation: Thin, lightweight, polyester fleece throw (~40" x 60"); PLTQ (poncho liner with the mid-point and foot-end ties tied together to make a foot box); midweight polyester fleece zip hoodie sweatshirt used as a draft collar/torso booster.
Clothing: 40 gram Thinsulate watch cap; two sets of socks, one set SmartWool Hiker, one set loose acrylic boot socks; midweight nylon sweatpants; midweight polyester fleece longsleeve top; compression shorts underwear.
Bottom Insulation: Sew-'em-Up PLUQ with one layer of InsulBright added.
Supplementary Materials: 3/4 torso length sit pad (3/8" WallyWorld blue special, cut down); hot water bottle inside a sock, held between my thighs.
I tucked in last night around one-ish, with no tarp (there was very little wind), and everything but the sit pad in the hammock with me. I was well-fed (a calzone from work at about 9:30 and half of one of those "2 to Go" Milky Way bars just before bed), sober, and hydrated (0.5 L just before bed).
Temperature at that point was 26 F, according to my cell phone. I was cozy at that point, a little cool on my back but not cold there. I think 25 is about the comfort limit for the PLUQ by itself, for me. The hot water bottle was, well, hot at that point, despite being inside a sock. So, it warded off the chill nicely.
I slept soundly and warmly until about 5-ish, when Mrs. FLRider came outside to check on me. Her disbelief that I was crazy enough to be sleeping in sub-freezing temperatures--by choice--was amusing to me, even Before Coffee.
I checked my cell phone, and noted the temperature of 25 F. I tried to fall back asleep, but it evaded me for about fifteen minutes. The hot water bottle was only a few degrees above skin temperature at this point, and I think that had an effect on my comfort. Some of my top insulation (the fleece throw) had also moved around, and I was having issues with trying to keep it in place under my PLTQ.
After a few minutes wrestling with the throw, I managed to get it back into place. I had, however, noted that underneath me was chilly. Not cold, but right at the edge of comfort. If it'd gotten any colder, it would have been too much. So, I reached down and grabbed my sit pad from next to the hammock.
Pulling it under me required a few contortions, but nothing too bad. Once I got it into place from my rear up to my lower shoulder blades, I immediately felt the warmth of it. Where the tops of my shoulders touched the hammock fabric, it was still a little chilly, as were the sides of my body, but I quickly warmed as my core was insulated perfectly.
I fell back asleep right up until seven-ish, when the wife came back out to tell me she was leaving for work. I woke warm and refreshed.
A caveat: I'm a very warm sleeper, though my feet get cold easily. With the clothes I was wearing, a poncho liner and a pad on the ground would get me to about 35-40 F comfortably. With the hot water bottle, that extends by another five degrees or so.
I think my PLUQ is good down to about 25 with proper top insulation, and I think that this system would be good down to about 20, comfortably. For survival, I might be able to get another ten degrees out of it, but that's pushing my comfort level out the window. That's, "I broke a leg and can't get to a road to flag down a passing vehicle," type stuff. I wouldn't choose to sleep below 20 with this set up if at all avoidable.
If you want, I can post weights on everything later.
http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_1...&blockType=G14
If you have a Kmart near you, these pads are 1/4" thick and quite flexible over time. They're only 20" wide, so you need to extend them for the shoulders and hips. They're cheap enough that I just cut one up lengthwise and use mason line to "sew" the pieces on thesides of a full sheet. It's handy this way because if you leave enough slack in the mason line "thread", you can fold the shoulder extensions at the seam and roll the whole thing up like 2 layers of pads. The 20" narrowness means you don't have honkin' pads sticking out the side of your pack if you carry them outside your pack. Works well for me. I've gone to mid 40's with just a single layer of these, but I was chilled when the wind whipped up- but I get cold pretty easily when I'm asleep. You could extend your temp range by adding another pad underneath your body but not the shoulder wings.
So, for 2 people you'd need 5 pads total- 2 each for the main body and 1 to cut up into pieces to make wings for the shoulders and hips for both people. Buy some mason line ($5) and you're in for $55 + tax and you should be set into the mid 20's I'd guess. If you sew with the mason line, make sure you stitch 3/4" or more from the pad edge or it will rip the pad when you get in.
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