How's it working out for new HH SuperShelter users?

[AA1PR]

Caveat emptor

I thought I made a steal at $100 but far from it...

I just got one two weeks ago and used it last weekend and froze my azz off at -12

I think it was a waste of $$$

when you lay in the hammock the over cover seperates from the under cover and you are left with a gap for the wind and cold to enter.

I should have invested that $$ towards a quilt

[ChrisH]

You really expected to be warm at -12F with just a SS? What did you have on top? Like I said in another thread, either sell it here on the forum or somebody can help you get what you want out of it. If you decide to sell it you could probably get most of your money back.

[TexasRT]

I didn't get one of the sale ones but have had one without the over cover for a year or so. It does a great job considering what it costs. Lowest temp so far is 22° and I did cheat just a little and put a blue CCF pad under the OCF at that temp. Slept like a dream for several nights.

[Red Wing]

You really expected to be warm at -12F with just a SS? What did you have on top? Like I said in another thread, either sell it here on the forum or somebody can help you get what you want out of it. If you decide to sell it you could probably get most of your money back.

IMHO he's right on both counts. I think you expected a little too much out of your system than what it's best capabilities are without using supplemental insulation.

Also, you probably can sell yours and get most of your money back to go towards a quilt, I did here a couple weeks ago. I just didn't want to attempt the project of fitting it to my WB or ENO. It is meant for a HH

[G.L.P.]

I had one and it did not work at all for me ..... i was cold at 40+ degrees i tried mine for over 2 weeks (6 nights) and i tried just about every trick there was and no luck
i had condensation problems with it as well ii seems to me that the SS is one of those setups you either love or hate there is no grey area

honesty for the extra $25 i would get a AHE KAQ ...just my .01

[chattalotchuck]

i have used this set-up [uc oc pad vb] a bunch of nights [14] from a windy 15 degrees w/c 4 on 1/8/11 and 9 inches of snow the next night although it was alot warmer in the yard and by the way i have hanging spots for guests, the Florida hang mid 20's. and the last 2 weekends up in cherokee and nantahala forests with temps in the 30s to upper 40s. the concept is on in the right conditions. if it snows or rains vent the oc or bring a towel it gets wet and hennessy said cold dry conditions. im thin and get cold quick so i use the pad and vb into the forties but if it drops near freezing or below i use a diy felt pad and reflective pad, real good sleeping. im new at this stuff and trying to work everything out. i wanted some flexibility during the learning curve and the hennessy gives me that. i think the pad should be wider and longer but it does work. the florida hang helped me so much equipment- equipment-equipment. hope to make the alabama and n georgia hangs. i remove the pad and the rest fits into the skins easy. it would have been nice to pay 99. i will upgrade my cheapo zero degree bag and my diy pads they are to big for my traveling style. beep beep

[BillyBob58]

(from another thread):I got the SS or 4 season insulation system and have to say Caveat emptor.

I find it totally worthless

I called HH to complain and they did not seem to even care.

and:

Caveat emptor

I thought I made a steal at $100 but far from it...

I just got one two weeks ago and used it last weekend and froze my azz off at -12

I think it was a waste of $$$

when you lay in the hammock the over cover seperates from the under cover and you are left with a gap for the wind and cold to enter.

I should have invested that $$ towards a quilt

You really expected to be warm at -12F with just a SS? What did you have on top? Like I said in another thread, either sell it here on the forum or somebody can help you get what you want out of it. If you decide to sell it you could probably get most of your money back.

IMHO he's right on both counts. I think you expected a little too much out of your system than what it's best capabilities are without using supplemental insulation.

Also, you probably can sell yours and get most of your money back to go towards a quilt, I did here a couple weeks ago. I just didn't want to attempt the project of fitting it to my WB or ENO. It is meant for a HH

AA1PR, I saw your post on the other thread, and I was thinking that was a bummer, I hate it when a piece of equipment does not work for some one. And not every piece of equipment works first time out ( and some times never does) for every person. I was going to give you a bunch of tips/suggestions and see if you had already done those things. And if not maybe you could sell it here, because some folks are just never happy with the SS.

But then I saw the MINUS 12(Fahrenheit? ) And I am not trying to give you a hard time or any thing, but I couldn't help but think: Are you kidding me? Is this a joke? In a system the manufacturer rates at ~ 30F or so, you are cold at MINUS 12 and call it worthless? I would never dream of trying to be warm at minus 12 in a basic SS, but I would not call it worthless for either the cost or weight. I can definitely do the 30s to 40s- and many others have done that and even colder. That is reasonable results for the weight and cost IMO.

Here is a thought: do you have a 21 oz full length (long) down UQ that might cost $250 to $300? If so, give it a try. Some of these are really excellent products, but I can assure you you have no chance of being warm at minus 12 F, and not even any where near minus 12 C. Especially if there is any wind at all getting past your tarp, and it is wet. I think you will freeze. But I also would not call those products worthless based on failure to keep you warm 20 to 40 degrees lower than rated/advertised by the manufacturer.

One of the bet products on the market is the JRB MW4. But at 28 oz, with no extra wind or water protection or over cover, and ~ $350-400, it is still only rated to zero. You might still have been cold at MINUS 12F.

Again, not trying to give you a hard time. Though I imagine you have no further interest in this product, still I will ask:
1: If you are going to try to use it at winter Vermont below zero temps, have you considered trying to add any clothing not needed in the sleeping bag under neath the HH pad? A down vest, fleece jackest etc? Best of all, a light summer sleeping bag? Or a ccf pad in the hammock to augment? Or a Garlington Insulator? I really think you will need something major like that to take this system way below zero. That is about 40*F lower than the system is rated.

And of course ( but have to ask): you did use the space blanket didn't you?

Good luck. If you have totally given up, maybe you can sell it and recoup most of your $100. But expect to spend way more to approach minus 12 with another product, unless you switch to really thick CCF pads.

I had one and it did not work at all for me ..... i was cold at 40+ degrees i tried mine for over 2 weeks (6 nights) and i tried just about every trick there was and no luck
i had condensation problems with it as well ii seems to me that the SS is one of those setups you either love or hate there is no grey area

honesty for the extra $25 i would get a AHE KAQ ...just my .01

GLP, now those are the results I really hate to see, cold at only 40F. And there are some other folks who have reported the same results as you over the years. I can never explain why this system works so well for me and some others, and works "OK" for another percentage, but then you have a few for whom it is a total bummer. Hard to explain. But thems the facts! You are not the only one, though I think more have done OK or better than have had results like yours.

I'm sure you used the space blanket, right? What are you using now to keep warm?

[AA1PR]

You really expected to be warm at -12F with just a SS? What did you have on top? Like I said in another thread, either sell it here on the forum or somebody can help you get what you want out of it. If you decide to sell it you could probably get most of your money back.

I knew it was not going to keep me warm, I am not that stupid. I had my 2 MSS bags. I have a hard time with hammocks but can nto sleep on the ground either. I tried getting into both bags, then the patrol bag under me & the intermediate bag over me etc. The problem was the wind was at least 25mph+. So if the HH SS would have sealed a bit tighter that alone would have helped to reduce the wind on my system. I survived, but never have been so dang cold.

The real problemis that I have a back injury (I'm disabled) and in that weather whet ever I tried really do not protect the back. The cold was penetrating my body and causing me to be even colder and aching.

My point is that the HH 4 Season insulation system needs to be modified or avoided altogether. I am looking into a UQ & OQ next, or maybe a pod thing I seen.

Any help or ideas are welcome

[BrianWillan]

I knew it was not going to keep me warm, I am not that stupid. I had my 2 MSS bags. I have a hard time with hammocks but can nto sleep on the ground either. I tried getting into both bags, then the patrol bag under me & the intermediate bag over me etc. The problem was the wind was at least 25mph+. So if the HH SS would have sealed a bit tighter that alone would have helped to reduce the wind on my system. I survived, but never have been so dang cold.

The real problemis that I have a back injury (I'm disabled) and in that weather whet ever I tried really do not protect the back. The cold was penetrating my body and causing me to be even colder and aching.

My point is that the HH 4 Season insulation system needs to be modified or avoided altogether. I am looking into a UQ & OQ next, or maybe a pod thing I seen.

Any help or ideas are welcome

There are many ideas to help deal with cold temperatures and wind. Site selection is a key factor overlooked by many. Where possible pick a site that has a natural block to the the prevailing wind. Make sure your tarp, which is the actual shelter, is large enough to to effectively block the wind. If you have enough snow, creating a snow wall around your tarp to block the wind. If you have really deep snow, dig a trench to hang your hammock in and pitch your tarp appropriately to block any winds.

Once all these factors are addressed then you can find tune your insulation system. If you knew in advance that the forecast low for your area was going to be that cold, you could have nested your 2 bags together and slept in them. Many have used the 2 bag MSS down to some pretty cold temps in the hammock alone and were comfortable.

To completely write off the HH supersheler as worthless given the conditions you used it in, is your prerogative, but until you've tried to address the other factors that contributed to your bad experience, is a little short sighted, IMHO.

Cheers

Brian

[BillyBob58]

I knew it was not going to keep me warm, I am not that stupid. I had my 2 MSS bags. I have a hard time with hammocks but can nto sleep on the ground either. I tried getting into both bags, then the patrol bag under me & the intermediate bag over me etc. The problem was the wind was at least 25mph+. So if the HH SS would have sealed a bit tighter that alone would have helped to reduce the wind on my system. I survived, but never have been so dang cold.

The real problemis that I have a back injury (I'm disabled) and in that weather whet ever I tried really do not protect the back. The cold was penetrating my body and causing me to be even colder and aching.

My point is that the HH 4 Season insulation system needs to be modified or avoided altogether. I am looking into a UQ & OQ next, or maybe a pod thing I seen.

Any help or ideas are welcome

Hi AA1PR, thanks for the additional info!

Does that include help/ideas on the HHSS, or have you totally given up on that? Because just like you will never be warm at minus 12 in high winds with a similar weight ( ~ 21 oz ) full length long down UQ by itself( not a chance!), you will not make it in the basic SS at those temps, as you have already well proved. It ( or that down UQ ) must be well augmented for these temps way beyond their ratings.

It is great to hear you are planning on trying some other options, I can't argue against that, not with all the gear I have tried and still have! However, until you get that other gear ( gonna be way over $99 ), you might experiment with various tricks with your SS, if you have not burned it already!

First, let me repeat the question from the other post: "And of course ( but have to ask): you did use the space blanket didn't you? ". Just making sure, because you don't stand a chance in the basic SS without the space blanket.

Next thought: Do you have a larger tarp? I'm asking because you mentioned the 25+MPH wind. Now I realize the HH Overcover is not a tight seal- helps prevent condensation- but I have still found it blocks a noticeable amount of wind, and holds in some heat. It really seems to me way better than nothing, but may be not.

But most of all, as you were using that tiny HH tarp, are you aware of how much benefit you got from that Sil-nylon (same as tarp material) under cover? Here is my guess: if you had been using a 30*F rated ( comparable to the HHSS rating) down UQ by itself, and the wind was getting past the small HH tarp as it apparently was, you might have been way worse off than just bad cold- if you could not escape inside any way. That wind would have sliced through the usual UL down quilt shell like a knife through butter and probably sucked nearly all warmed up air right out. One way you could tell this is to just pull that HH UC to the side in a windy 10F and see how much worse it can get.

Next thought is: have you got a way to be adequately warm on top with out using both bags? Say with lots of warm clothing inside one of those bags? Or do you just have a spare even summer bag, and/or thick lofty clothing you are not going to sleep in? If so, try this: take one of those bags and put it down into the under cover, underneath the HH pad and space blanket on top of it all, covering everything completely. That should buy you another 25-50 degrees of protection on the bottom. That might make all the difference in the world. Or put a pad in the UC ( I know, not usually recommended by HH) and make sure to put a puffy down bag or clothing on top of that. One guy- kwpapke - has been warm at minus 27 with such a technique, hanging side by side with the infamous Shug as a witness!
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=6740

I don't know if that will make you toasty at minus 12 in high winds, but I can almost guarantee you will be one heck of a lot warmer than you were!

Just trying to give you some ideas to get you through until you can get something else, assuming you have not already given it away or sold it. Good luck!

P.S.
What are those MSS bags made of, synthetic or down? If synthetic, you will still get some good back warmth by laying on them inside the hammock. But you won't have near as much warmth on the bottom- after your weight compresses the insulation- as you will on top or if you were on a pad on the ground. And, if down, the warmth will be close to zero at the point of greatest compression. However, if you put one of those bags under the HH pad, you will get almost all the warmth of the bottom layer AND the top layer added to the warmth of the HH pad. Assuming you have enough clothing to be warm enough on top with just one bag- the warmest bag if they are different.