Pixie-sized gal needs ultralight backpacking advice

[hutzelbein]

Hm, my short Incubator is 73" long (according to HammockGear specs - I didn't measure it myself), and it pretty much fits my 5'4" (65"?) with very little to spare. I wouldn't want it to be any shorter, as it would mean that I'm touching the shock cord with my head and feet. If I wanted to save additional weight, I would rather ask HG to make me a custom narrow Incubator. I find that with its 44" width, there is quite a bit of unused insulation. My underquilt moves diagonally with me to some degree.

[WV]

It might be difficult, but a small leap of faith would get you the insulated hammock that Paulie is selling. You won't find lots of endorsements for it, because not many people have even seen insulated hammocks. This is by far the best bang for the buck mentioned on this thread. Don't get me wrong - you'll be very happy with many of the alternatives suggested here, but they cost more, take longer to set up, and sometimes let the cold breezes penetrate the perimeter. I'd buy this myself, but I have 6 insulated hammocks already and some more in the planning stage. (I sleep cold myself).

[ebrianschmidt]

I just bought a 20 degree burrow from hammock gear. After contacting Adam and Jenny, they advised me to go with the short since I'm 5'6". The burrow short (regular width) is working out perfect for me so far, and is an amazing well made piece of gear. Works perfect with the 3/4 zero degree underquilt that I had picked up locally. I like the 3/4 because it seems like it would probabally pack up a little smaller than a full length uq, which seems a little unncessary. I have tried a small piece of foam pad under my feet, and that worked fine. But what I also found to work out suprisingly well was zipping my jacket or down vest around the end of my hammock where I stick my feet to form a shirt top and bottom quit of sorts. I have kind of a small stature (135 pounds) and try to double use things when I can to cut weight, but also size inside my pack as well. I just ordered a 40 degree underquilt from HG as well for summer use. In GA, there is actually a suprisingly large range of temperatures to contend with. So my plan is to eventually have a set of quilts for winter use, and warmer set for the rest of the year.

[Playapixie]

Wow, such a wealth of information, thanks everyone. I'm waiting to hear back from Hammock gear to place my order, but I'm planning to go with the Burrow 20 short/wide, Incubator 20 short, and spring for the cuben fiber tarp with doors. I also just ordered whoopie slings & some other bling & tarp ridge line from Dutch. So excited to get it all together. I'm also thinning now about changing the suspension system in my Hammock Roo to whoopee slings to cut some weight, which then give me a back-up/spare hammock for when my friends want to try hanging too.

[mrmike65]

The nice thing about your size is that you can use smaller gear that uses less material. For example. you could easily use a 1/2 UQ to the same effect as a larger person using a 3/4 UQ. Another area to consider is making your own hammock, size to your... size. I made my hammock just 2' longer than my height and find it quite comfortable. At 100 lbs, you can easily use the lightest materials available. Sgt. Rock's Ghost Hammock is something like 7oz, I bellieve. You might check out his page: http://hikinghq.net/sul.html for some other ideas.

Happy (UL) Hanging!

[hutzelbein]

Another area to consider is making your own hammock, size to your... size. I made my hammock just 2' longer than my height and find it quite comfortable. At 100 lbs, you can easily use the lightest materials available. Sgt. Rock's Ghost Hammock is something like 7oz, I bellieve. You might check out his page: http://hikinghq.net/sul.html for some other ideas.

That is true. With 24oz the Roo is not a light-weight hammock - although you can never tell from the manufacturer's specs alone. My WB BB 1.0 DL with stuff sack, 14' webbing suspension and biners is not quite 28oz. And the BB is a fully integrated hammock (= with netting, zippers etc.). A single layer, no-net 10' hammock can be *a lot* lighter. The single layer 1.1oz WB Traveler (10' x 60") is 10.5 oz with whoopies (but I find that WB specs err on the side of caution - all my WB hammocks weigh less than stated). The 1.1oz Simply Light Designs Streamliner SL 10' hammock weighs 7.5oz (probably w/o suspension). BIAS makes some very light no-net hammocks, too, although afaik all are 11', which is overkill for your size. However, they might be willing to do a 10' hammock. Since they make the hammocks to order anyway, it shouldn't be a big problem.

But I can fully understand that one specific hammock feels so good (or has some desirable features) that some extra weight doesn't matter. I could save some weight by going single layer - but haven't made the plunge, yet.

[Playapixie]

I did use the Roo backpacking last summer on one trip, but now I have a Hennessy Hyperlite (purchased before I discovered this forum.) Will probably stick with that at least for now. I am kind if enamored with the concept of the shelf in the Blackbird, though...

[FireInMyBones]

Let me start by saying that I've backpacked with a sub 5# base weight. I normally hover around the 8.5# mark. I do big miles. Here are my recommendations:

WV is right. Cheapest option and easiest option to set up would be the Bonefire hammock mentioned above. For your size and weight, this will likely last you years and save you money. I believe in insulated hammocks and even if you need something warmer than the 40F integrated quilt, you can always supplement with a pad.

The Hammock Gear TQ is a fine piece of kit. if you set it up right, a small tarp can be extremely effective. I recommend the Tadpole from Wilderness Logics if you're strapped for cash. If not, go with a cuben tarp with doors. It can be more finicky to set up, but will offer you a ton of protection. I recommend Zpacks or Hammock Gear for this style tarp.

[Charliev]

My diy 1.1 ripstop 11' hammock weighs 13.88 oz with suspension. HGTQ 20.5, HGUQ 15.43. Both quilts are 20*. UQ is 3/4. This is not overkill if you like to stay warm. Tarp is heaviest of my sleep system 10x10 1.1 silnylon 24.49 with amsteel 7/64 ridgeline and 4 aluminum stakes and tie outs. My sleep system is 5.42 lbs total with the above and also bugnet and pillow. And it all packs up quite small. I have a larger aquaguide 10x13 that comes in at about 5 oz. more but great coverage, worth the weight in some situations.

[Playapixie]

Loving all of these suggestions. I'm totally intrigued by the prototype insulated hammock a couple of you pointed towards, but since it's "rated" to a user of 120lbs, that would mean most of my friends/guests would be too big for it. Would be fine for me, except that I don't think 40degrees is warm enough for me. I already own to hammocks, though (Hennessy Hyperlite and Kammock Roo), so a third hammock just didn't feel like the solution.

I bit the big bullet and ordered the following from Hammock Gear:
-Burrow 20 top quilt in short/wide (wide so I can also use it on the ground if need be), with snaps (so it pulls double duty since it replaces my REI travel down bag that has been around the world with me, which I've used both opened like a quilt and zipped like a sleeping bag.)
-Incubator 20 bottom quilt in short (opted for warm over weight saving in the length; I just know myself & my environment, and being cold would suck.)
-Cuben fiber tarp with doors

I also ordered whoopee slings for both hammocks to get the weight down and aid set-up.

I'm still looking for a low-budget 2nd under-insulation (pad extender or used/DIY bottom quilt) for my guest hammock, as well as a lightweight fly for it (these would be used with the Kammock Roo), in case anyone has any older/budget gear they are looking to pass on...

Thanks! Can't wait for the whole set-up to be ready...!