Questions Re Hammocking and Saddle Packs

[Mbnut]

First off the hammock question.

Looks like an underquilt is the way to keep warm, mats being something of a pita to use.

What rating of underquilt do I need.... say to match my 0 degree top quilt. I am sort of hoping it will be lighter and less rated... so that I can use it as my summer sleep system for using with a mat.



Saddle packs.... is it me or are they a bit of a pain? I have a Altura Vortex that came as part of a job lot. It is horrible, I've had a wide, stretchy strap made up and glued a torsional beam inside but it is still a pig to mount and I simply can't abide 'wag'.

Ok... so having gone off to look for options I have just come across the Arkel Seatpacker 15.

Anyone have any experience of them.... if there is no negative feedback from the BB hive I think there is one of these in my future.

Cheers

[whitestone]

Can't help with your hammock questions.

Saddle packs: there's several mounting types, some deal with "wag" better than others. I've the Wildcat Tiger, no noticeable wag that I can discern. It does depend on how you pack it, make sure heavy items are close to the seat post so that they don't have large moments that could lead to side to side wag.

[Cheeky Monkey]

UQs are usually rated by temp or season and will come in various lengths to, sort of, offset the weight of an UQ + TQ. They tend to be pretty square / rectangular and vary by length; short (shoulder to knees), 3/4 (head to knees) and full (head to feet).

Personally, I doubt a dedicated UQ would convert as a summer quilt. They tend to be an equal weight to the TQ, depending how warm a sleeper you are.

[pushbikemike]

I have a jacks r better uq which converts to a quilt. I used an uq protector to boost its rating in colder months.

[Cheeky Monkey]

I tried my Revelation X as an UQ to a bridge-type hammock. Blinking cold and crafty, didn't fit (edit - well blow me "r_i_g" came out as "bicylce" thanks to Stu's "swear" filter - that was making no / less sense ) well. It's why I like dedicated UQs, piece of kit designed to do its job well

Then again Mike's bit of gear sounds good. Mike - is it lighter / heavier than your TQ? Barier layers are also good but it all adds more gear and bulk. Hammocking is not, IMO, the lighter option compared to a bivi+tarp but I'm happy with that when I want to use it as the comfort and fun factor are much higher

A handy book and website if you're not aware of it for almost all things hammocking- The Ultimate Hang by Derek Hansen.

[yeha]

The Clark 4 season hammock has baffle tubes sewn onto the outside. A friend has gone down to zero C without an underquilt. No reason why they can't be added to any other make.

[pushbikemike]

The jacks r better quilt is a Hudson River. Bought second hand off here. Weighs about 600g with suspension for use as uq. About same weight as my top quilt- golite bought second hand off here too.
I use a ukhammock edc hammock or a small homemade hammock for my daughter as a an uq protector if I feel the need for it. They double as gear hammocks to keep my stuff off the ground if it's really wet too.

The jacks r better quilt is a lot lighter and less bulky than my winter uq from ukhammocks but the winter uq is very cosy. I agree withcheeky monkey hammocking is not a light weight option but I can get fairly close in weights if I want and it it is way more comfy for me.

[Sussex Paul]

I've been using a neoair xtherm pad in my hammock as I already had one. I can place it diagonally across my hammock, and it stays in place throughout the night, the underside of the pad is rubberized and pretty grippy which certainly helps. (I don't think my Alpkit pad would be much fun, although I'm sure a bit of silicone painted on the back would help)

There is a lot of talk about getting cold shoulders when using a pad in a hammock, I get around this issue by using one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Highlander-SM0 ... t+-+Silver cut down to 2/3rds and placed perpendicular to my main mat at shoulder height.

I should confess I do have an underquilt on order from UK Hammocks, but I think I would continue using the xtherm if it wasn't an option, and would probably be my choice if I wasn't convinced I'd find somewhere to hang the hammock as it gives me a ground option

[Bearbonesnorm]

I noticed 'tother day that both Thermarest and Klymit both now produce mats designed for hammock use ... here's the Klymit one.

[Cheeky Monkey]

I noticed 'tother day that both Thermarest and Klymit both now produce mats designed for hammock use ... here's the Klymit one.

Was really interested but then found it was £200 on amazon. Ouch

[whitestone]

I noticed 'tother day that both Thermarest and Klymit both now produce mats designed for hammock use ... here's the Klymit one.

Was really interested but then found it was £200 on amazon. Ouch

£200? I need a lie down

[Bearbonesnorm]

You can pick the Thermarest one up cheaper but looking at the shape, I'm not sure it'd be quite as good?

http://www.alloutdoor.co.uk/sleeping-si ... 0wodFRwLYA

[pushbikemike]

I'd probably find it chilly round my shoulders if I used the thermarest one. And for £90 you could pick up an Underquilt.

[TheBrownDog]

Thanks to SussexPaul's suggestion Ive been using a cheap heat reflective mat under my shoulders as well as my Thermarest mat. Works ok but my next big ticket item will be a proper underquilt. Probably one from Cumulus to match my top quilt. Weighs about the same as a mat, should pack down to about the same size and no more hassle of mats moving around under me. This one is only rated to 2degs but it'd be easy enough to boost it with that reflective mat sandwiched between it and the hammock.

[Cheeky Monkey]

You can pick the Thermarest one up cheaper but looking at the shape, I'm not sure it'd be quite as good?

http://www.alloutdoor.co.uk/sleeping-si ... 0wodFRwLYA

The Klymit I kinda get. The shape of it looks like it'd work with the semi-diagonal body position you need to achieve in a gathered end hammock to give a fairly flat lay. The Thermarest one, not so much

I have enough UQs to keep me going for a while and the price of the Klymit is to high for me to buy one out of curiousity.

If someone is buying down ones though I can recommend UKhammocks (though they seem to be difficult to contact at the mo', apparently moving back to Yorkshire), Enlightened Equipment and Warbonnet (the latter two are US so you'd be running the risk of Customs, which never seem to miss anything nowadays).

[benp1]

I hammocked for quite a while and have never had a quilt, too or under

I used a self inflating mat and a sleeping bag. Never used it in sub zero temperatures but was always fine like that

When I get round to using it again i'll be using my xtherm and EE quilt

[Cheeky Monkey]

I hammocked for quite a while and have never had a quilt, too or under

I used a self inflating mat and a sleeping bag. Never used it in sub zero temperatures but was always fine like that

When I get round to using it again i'll be using my xtherm and EE quilt

It's like dedicated bikepacking bags or (shudder) a BP bike, they aren't necessary but add a level of ease and comfort, once you've got them (actually I agree with the former but think the latter's mostly horse-apples ).

I only tried a pad once and wasn't too impressed, possibly could have been improved with more experience / effort. UQs are just the bee's knees as far as I am concerned for gathered end style hammocks.

In retrospect I wish I'd got a double layer bridge style hammock though (Warbonnet Ridgerunner) as this would have worked as a sleeve and used a partially inflated Downmat or similar which could have been effective. Also would have been good to double-duty existing gear and add versatility incase I was ever (never happened so far) run out of trees. In the end I got a dedicated quilt from the supplier in US. More gear