Tyvek insulation properties
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Tyvek insulation properties
Strange one maybe, but does anyone know if a tyvek groundsheet offers any insulation when sleeping on cold ground?
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
All the best questions are strange . Unless you have some interesting bedding arrangements, presumably you'll have no insulating air trapped between the ground and the sheet or the sheet and your body so no help there. Can't see it doing much against conduction - it's usually 0.15mm thick so its R-value must be about 0.0000001. Unless you use Tyvek Thermawrap or Reflex.... My empirical view is that I have a tiny bit of tyvek to sit on to get dressed, and I can say that in winter my arse freezes within about a microsecond of sitting on it! Am interested in the full technical details from our chums here in the trade....
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
http://www.dupont.com/products-and-serv ... #Question5
Do Tyvek® weather barriers have an R-value?
No; however, properly installed Tyvek® weather barriers help protect against loss of R-value in insulation due to wind washing. Even at wind speeds of 5 mph, a wall without an air barrier retains less than 40% of its original installed R-values.
Re: Tyvek insulation properties
congrats you just proved that if you have some insulation there already it can improve it
Unfortunately your question was about whether it insulates on its own not whether it can improve other insulators
I also go with none at all - have you see how thick it is not? What material, at that thickness and on the ground, would have an r value worth getting excited about ?
I have an off cut you can have but i am certain the padded envelope it would come in will be of more use
Unfortunately your question was about whether it insulates on its own not whether it can improve other insulators
I also go with none at all - have you see how thick it is not? What material, at that thickness and on the ground, would have an r value worth getting excited about ?
I have an off cut you can have but i am certain the padded envelope it would come in will be of more use
Re: Tyvek insulation properties
Thanks for the replies... confirms what I thought. So is there a cheap, lightweight, packs-small product of some sort that I can stick under my mat during the winter months to offer insulation from the cold? Current mat has an R rating of 4.4.
Thanks
Thanks
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
Apologies if I'm misunderstanding, but isn't the mat doing that job admirably already with its R4.4? If you're tarp-only, reckon there's nowt wrong with a bit of tyvek/polycryo bunged down first to keep things clean and tidy though - but probably that's just me being needlessly house(tarp)-proud . I'll be taking a dustpan and brush with me next at this rate.
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The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....
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The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
Well I bought the mat in the US last year and only used it a couple of times in early summer in the desert so I wasn't sure if it was up to a cold, Scottish winter! I've previously used a down exped mat that was great over winter, so I guess I was thinking I'd need some additional insulation...just in case!
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP
The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....
"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....
"At least you got some stories" - James Acaster
Re: Tyvek insulation properties
American r values are 5 x the UK value so that r could well just be a summer mat with no insulation in it*
https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk ... ained-i206
Better mat being the solution there- i dont think anything else light weight will give a comparable r value to a winter sleeping mat and I don tthink there is another solution
I have seen folk use silver backed tyvek type liners and also what looked like silver and bubble wrapped - found it on a construction site so cannot advise on what it is or if it works but there are other materials - I suspect they will all be bulky though not that heavy.
*that said my winter insulated one only has a r value of 4,2 US and is fine - though I am not in Scotland temps
https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk ... ained-i206
Better mat being the solution there- i dont think anything else light weight will give a comparable r value to a winter sleeping mat and I don tthink there is another solution
I have seen folk use silver backed tyvek type liners and also what looked like silver and bubble wrapped - found it on a construction site so cannot advise on what it is or if it works but there are other materials - I suspect they will all be bulky though not that heavy.
*that said my winter insulated one only has a r value of 4,2 US and is fine - though I am not in Scotland temps
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
I've got a friend who does ultra running races, stuff like the spine challenge etc.
He tried making a DIY superlight mat out of bubble wrap, and tested it when we went bivvying in June.
He was bloomin' cold all night, and jacked it in to head home at about 4am.
So yeah, get a proper mat.
He tried making a DIY superlight mat out of bubble wrap, and tested it when we went bivvying in June.
He was bloomin' cold all night, and jacked it in to head home at about 4am.
So yeah, get a proper mat.
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
Bowmore 15 works well, glendfibidlih will just keep you away while you ponder missed opportunities.
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
I know you said a Scottish winter but as you already have a Irish in there WHERES the teelings small batch ?
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
Tyvek will do nowt from an insulation point of view. Best light (but not overly small option) would be some thin foam used to insulate beneath laminate flooring.
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
Ah, if only I liked whisky....lol. Thanks for the bit about difference between US and UK 'R' ratings, I didn't know that and seems very misleading. My current mat is a Klymit static V lite, which claims to be 4 season.... So suitable for winter camping in the UK?
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
A US R rating of over 4 should generally be fine for year round UK use.
May the bridges you burn light your way
Re: Tyvek insulation properties
Bearbonesnorm wrote:A US R rating of over 4 should generally be fine for year round UK use.
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
I have the Klymit Ultralight V (insulated version r4.4 US, there is also a non insured one) which was fine on last years, admittedly boiling, winter event. There was ice on the ground in the morning so must have got pretty cold.petemaz wrote:Ah, if only I liked whisky....lol. Thanks for the bit about difference between US and UK 'R' ratings, I didn't know that and seems very misleading. My current mat is a Klymit static V lite, which claims to be 4 season.... So suitable for winter camping in the UK?
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
I use a Synmat UL7 all year. I was out last night on frozen ground. R value (I assume US) is 3.1.
I've thought about using that thin foam used under laminate flooring as I have a chunk of it left over from insulating the van. I reckon I could get a 3/4 length part stashed in my harness quite easily. I've not "needed" it yet though
I've thought about using that thin foam used under laminate flooring as I have a chunk of it left over from insulating the van. I reckon I could get a 3/4 length part stashed in my harness quite easily. I've not "needed" it yet though
Re: Tyvek insulation properties
I’ve used similar stuff to this in cheap campervan conversations and ended up with off cuts - works really well as a sit mat or a boost for a thin sleeping mat for winter use. Weighs very little too.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/ybs-thermawr ... lsrc=aw.ds
https://www.screwfix.com/p/ybs-thermawr ... lsrc=aw.ds
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
Yeah - I make pot cosies/meal cosies out of that stuff and some duct tape. Great for keeping food warm when you're eating it or waiting for it to re-hydrate.Al wrote:I’ve used similar stuff to this in cheap campervan conversations and ended up with off cuts - works really well as a sit mat or a boost for a thin sleeping mat for winter use. Weighs very little too.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/ybs-thermawr ... lsrc=aw.ds
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Re: Tyvek insulation properties
I’ve used one of those car windscreen frost guards as an extra insulator under a mat. It works but is surprisingly bulky.
Re: Tyvek insulation properties
Thanks for all the responses folks, much appreciated. I did think about the thermawrap stuff, so if I feel I need some extra insulation I might try and source some (cheaper than buying a new mat!).