I generally don’t think that having my birthday on Christmas is very fun, however it does have some perks that end up being really good. For instance, I have the opportunity to be graced with double gifts and presents. As it turns out, this works out well for a person planning a thru-hike, since the adventure doesn’t usually pay for itself. Anyway, I was graced with acquiring a descent chunk of change which in part lead to the purchase of several new gear items (Thanks Family!). I more or less already have everything for my trip, but I wanted to upgrade several items mostly because I could and also because they were (in my opinion) “necessary”.
During my trip I will be sleeping in a hammock. I got on the hammock bandwagon last year and purchased a Hennesssey Hammock Hyperlite.I used it over the summer to see how I liked it compared to sleeping on the ground, and instantly fell in love. When possible, sleeping and camping in a hammock is much more comfortable. Where I would usually wake up countless times during the night as a ground dweller, I slept like a baby until morning in the hammock. However, with the hammock also come some unique challenges. For one, hammock camping is generally more complicated compared to a tent. With a tent, you pitch it, throw your pad and sleeping bag inside and call it a day. With a hammock, however, there are a few more variables. A large one is bottom insulation. When you are suspended in a hammock you have no bottom insulation, and without this necessary piece of gear you will become cold very quickly. To combat this, hammock campers use a pad inside the hammock or an underquilt. The former is easy, and many go for this option because it is cheaper. Basically you just place a pad inside the hammock and sleep on top of that. There are some challenges such as staying on the pad during the night, dimensions, weight, etc. The remainder of the hammock campers use down under quilts. These are generally much lighter than pads, provide more ample insulation, and are easier to sleep in. The underquilt rests outside of the hammock and is suspended by some type of cord. It usually is positioned from your shoulders to the back of your knees. Most good 3-season underquilts will go down to 25-20 degrees F.
After doing a lot of research on hammockforums.net (I recommend anyone looking to get into hammock camping to visit the site as it offers a wealth of knowledge), I settled on an underquilt by Warbonnet Outdoors, the Yeti 3-season UQ, which weighs around 12.5 oz. It is good down to 20 degrees, and several reports from members on hammockforums testify it works as specified. This rating should be good for the majority (if not the whole) length of my hike. If I get to the south in Oct/Nov and need more insulation I’ll bring along my sleeping pad for more protection.
Another variable in the hammock realm is weather protection – a tarp. The tarp that came with my Hyperlite is not sufficient. It is quite small as tarps go and I’m nervous about how well it would hold up in any type of rain. Again, after doing my homework on HF.net, I settled on a MacCat SpinnUL Deluxe tarp. It ends up being much larger than the stock Hyperlite, and I am confident it will provide necessary protection on my hike. I also sent my Hyperlite in to get a zipper mod by 2QZQ, who do modifications on Hennessey hammocks. The hammock as it is has a bottom entrance, which isn’t very helpful when you have to adjust the underquilt. So I’m having the good folks at 2QZQ install a zipper on the right side of the hammock where the bug netting meets the fabric, and have them sew up the bottom entrance. This will allow me to enter the hammock from the side and adjust the underquilt (or anything else) from right inside the hammock.
For top insulation I’ll be bringing along my down EMS mountain lite bag, which is good down to 20 degrees and should be ample for my trip (I have used this bag down to 18 degrees with clothes on and fared alright). This is the only piece of gear I have that I am contemplating switching out in favor of a top quilt, which is like a sleeping bag without the bottom and you use it like a blanket. However, I’ve exhausted my birthday/Christmas funds at the moment. I have, however, found something that will net me some extra cash in the upcoming months so we’ll see how that develops.
So overall, my sleeping system consists of (in ounces):
Yeti UQ – 12.1
Hyperlite w/ suspension and zipper mod – 17
MacCat SpinnUL Deluxe – 10.2
EMS ML Bag – 37
Total 76.3 (4.7 lbs)
So around four and a half pounds, not too bad. A good down top quilt is around 20 ounces, so If I end up getting that I’ll shave another pound! We’ll see what ends up happening.
This turned in to a long post I guess, so I’ll be back another time and explain the rest of my gear.