You are correct in my case anyway. I did 9 days on the jmt this summer and had to be prepared to go to ground (i didn't, thankfully). I wasn't about to carry a pad and not use it, and my setup was very light. I am fairly weight conscious, and I find the combo practical and comfortable.
However, I still want a full length winter quilt. It's just hard to justify for me.
Edit: I would add that I simply used a chopped up Ridgerest (a 48" and a 12" piece).
Last edited by hilo4321; 10-22-2013 at 10:52. Reason: clarification
It's gotta be FULL length for me.
I find that I squirm around quite a bit when I sleep, and I always find my feet slip off the pad when I use my 3/4 UQ. I do have down booties that I wear, but I still find my full length UQ so nice an comfy warm. I don't have any problems with draft if it is hung right, and I don't have the draft collars. (wish I did though, they sure seem nice)
It is all personal preference, just like the different hammocks. That is why this is such a great country, because we have choices, lots of choices.
"No whining in the woods"
Well I appreciate that, and I surely do enjoy discussing and researching the subject, but I clearly must defer to my northern brothers in this department. They have so many more super cold days to test with than I do. My extremes so far in a hammock are only about 10F, and the great bulk of my hammock hanging in the cold experiences are above 20F, and certainly above 18F. My days at temps below that are quite limited, and a big zero below zero!
OTOH, my first night ever in a hammock was 22F and far from any bailout, so that might count for something! ( froze my butt off that night!)
I know, I am always talking about skinning cats when it is cold and how many ways there are to do it! I hope that does not get too personal: can't tell for sure, but is that a cat in your hammock in your avatar? Don't know, might be a dog. And all of that cat skinning talks is why I keep my cats away from my posts! They don't need to hear/read such talk, they are paranoid enough as it is!
Still, no way around it: when it come to staying warm in a hammock, there's a bunch of ways to skin a cat! And I have used a bunch of them successfully. Still, I am a rank amateur compared to the northern boys like Shug and all the rest and their regular forays below zero. But I do get plenty of chance to combine wet- as in torrential rain and wind driven rain- with cold enough to kill you when wet temps, like 30 to 40F. There is lots of that down here in the winter!
As for the OP's inquiry, I'm really not sure which one I prefer having used both. And depends on the hammock. For example, if I slide a pad into the foot section pad pocket of my JRB BMBH, I know I am not ever going to come off of it, know matter how restless I sleep. I have had them come out from under me or even fall out of the hammock in a non-bridge, though that has not been a big deal. Although, the foot section of a full length JRB MW UQ is also never going to move on that hammock either, and my legs/feet always stay warm regardless of my moving during sleep.
For me, if you already have a torso sized pad with you anyway, for both a sit pad and a go to ground back up, or maybe as part of your pack frame, the leg pad approach seems the most weight efficient.
Last edited by BillyBob58; 10-24-2013 at 15:16.
If I'm planning to hike and camp then I go to either my Yeti 3-Season (14.5 oz) or my TeWa 0-degree (19.75 oz). I'm 6' tall and I supplement when necessary with either down pants (7 oz) or military liner pants (11 oz and a great bargain at 10 bucks!)
The puffy pants also can be worn around the camp and make getting up in the middle of the night for bio breaks an easy thing to tolerate.
G-Nut
Ever eat a pine tree? Me neither...
for me it makes more sense for a full length. winter is just easier for a full length and the other half of the year is to just keep the pesty, nasty, biting bugs off my backside. this past "summer" most nights were in the 50s(F) so with my pads it was nice to be prepared (honesty was a lack of options as I just started hammocking this summer after our may long weekend (rained).
a question for those DIY-ers or cottage vendors who make UQs.
Has anyone made an UQ with an actual hood?
have it sown on half and wraps behind, loosely, to Velcro or attach to the other side. protecting head from cold as well as ensuring drafts don't happen as frequently
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