# Outdoors > Gear and Equipment >  New sleeping bag - For hammock.

## Ricochet

So I spent a night in my new Hennessy hammock ultralight explorer and froze my ass off. (Just had a Fairydown Equator bag. so it's a nothing rated, thin as, bag).

I 've read up on under quilts, mats etc but I'm only in the Kaimais and want to keep the gear to a minimum so thought I'd start with a moderately kick ass bag & see if that works.


I'm looking for around the 1kg mark and have my eye on this Macpac one:

Express 600 Standard | Equipment | Clearance | Macpac New Zealand


or this Mountain Equipment one.

MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT Glacier 500 Sleeping Bag - Reg | Trade Me


What do you reckon guys? Any better suggestions?

----------


## madjon_

> So I spent a night in my new Hennessy hammock ultralight explorer and froze my ass off. (Just had a Fairydown Equator bag. so it's a nothing rated, thin as, bag).
> 
> I 've read up on under quilts, mats etc but I'm only in the Kaimais and want to keep the gear to a minimum so thought I'd start with a moderately kick ass bag & see if that works.
> 
> 
> I'm looking for around the 1kg mark and have my eye on this Macpac one:
> 
> Express 600 Standard | Equipment | Clearance | Macpac New Zealand
> 
> ...


You will freeze even with a good bag without an insulation mat.The down compresses and has no loft= no warmth on the back(I use an FD scorpion 850)you will get to sleep but the cold will wake you.

----------


## Shooter

@madjon is on the money mate.  Without the a thermal layer beneath you (thermal mat of some decription then yes you will wake to the cold.  The only time I dont freeze when using my hammock is in the tropics.

However if you go to a synthetic/quilted bag then this will reduce the cold somewhat but the trade off is size/weight.

The thermal mat does not need to be huge or flash.  If bulk is an issue then concentrate on just covering your core.

----------


## stretch

You definitely need an insulation mat of some sort. When I had my hammock, I fashioned a lightweight thermal mat from thin closed-cell foam bought from Para Rubber. Same sort of foam as the roll-up thermal mats you can buy from regular outlets, but much thinner, and therefore much less bulky. I suggest cutting the foam into sections the same length as your pack width, then tape the sections back together, making the whole mat foldable, rather than a roll-up one. This will stop the ends from wanting to curl up on you, and makes it able to fit inside your pack, closest to your back.

I don't hammock anymore, so you can have my thin roll of foam if you like. Can post it if you're in a hurry, or get it to Tauranga personally if you can wait until Xmas-ish.

----------


## Ricochet

Yeah, I brought some 5mm foam from para too but was hoping a decent sleeping bag would make it unnecessary. the taping idea is great though @stretch. And thanks for the mat offer anyway, much appreciated.

----------


## chrome

Iv used a hammock under a fly a few times.   I used to lower the hammock so my back and whatnot were lying against my pack lying straps up.  It keeps the air flow out and is z good length to keep you warmer.  


Sent from the swamp

----------


## BobGibson

I use a Hennessy Hammock with their supershelter and have used it in temps as low as -5 with snow on the ground.
I sleep in undies and a tshirt most of the time with my Everest Mummy sleeping bag opened up and draped over me.
Never woken up cold once.
Until today I was using their Hex fly which is enormous but have changed to their Typhoon Fly which has closed ends sort of like a tent with no floor.
Hammocks are way more comfortable than sleeping on the ground in a tent.
People who complain that hammocks are cold just don't have them setup correctly.

----------


## Shooter

The super shelter is just a flash version of what has been suggested...  Thermal mat or my small thearmarest does the trick and is versitile in that you can and will use it with more than just hammock.

----------


## Ricochet

The super shelter looked annoying to me, I like shit simple & light. That was the whole point in buying a hammock. But if it's the best solution I'll do it.

I'll try a night out with the mat & see how I go.

I still need a better sleeping bag...

----------


## Shooter

This is good readining...

The Truth About Hammock Camping: Claim #2 - Hammocks Are Comfortable - The Ultimate Hang

----------


## BobGibson

What makes the  Supershelter work is that you have a air space between your body and the foam pad which is cupped so it molds to you body shape and you also have a space blanket (survival blanket) on top of the foam pad. Any way my layers are like this
1/ my body
2/ Hammock material (Holds you)
3/ Dead air space (acts as insulator) 
4/ Space blanket (reflects you radiant heat back) wont work as well if in contact with body
5/ Foam Pad (provided shape to trap dead air)
6/ Supershelter material

 Not sure from Shooters post if he lies on the foam pad inside the hammock or has it suspended outside. unlike a flat pad which will be close to your bum but further away from your shoulders. I think the survival blanket also improves the efficiency of the Supershelter but you can buy them from the Warehouse for $5 and would probably help with Shooters foam pad 

I also tried a Exped inflatable mat before I purchased the Supershelter. I placed that inside the Hammock and lay on it. Found it a bit fiddly to get the inflation level correct.  It worked ok but did adversely effect the comfort of the hammock and a good exped mat will cost the same or more than  the Supershelter anyway.

The Supershelter is not complicated to set up. I leave mine attached to the hammock and only take out the foam pad the rest still fits inside the snakeskin.

Best idea I can suggest is experiment with it at home until you get the system sorted. That way if your cold you can always sleep the rest of the night inside. 
Its a bastard being cold on the first night of a multi night trip and know your committed to more suffering.

----------


## madjon_

My original hammock was a wool fadge unstiched,tied taut,under a fly,zipped the bag around the whole shebang.So me in the hammock,in the bag,balaclava on the swede.

----------


## BobGibson

Do you remember how much your original setup weighed Madjon_

----------


## madjon_

> Do you remember how much your original setup weighed Madjon_


No idea,I do know I weighed a lot less :Sick:

----------


## Rushy

Put your jacket or any other dry clothes you are carrying in where the mat can go.

----------


## Pengy

Keep an eye out for one of the Macpac bags that only has down on the top half, with a sleeve on the base that takes a foam mat (or whatever). Nieve I think is the model

----------


## P38

I use one of these in my Hennesy.

Brand new Moistureproof mat 2m x2m | Trade Me

Warm as toast.

Cheers
Pete

----------


## Ricochet

> I use one of these in my Hennesy.
> 
> Brand new Moistureproof mat 2m x2m | Trade Me
> 
> Warm as toast.
> 
> Cheers
> Pete


Do you sleep directly on it P38?

----------


## P38

> Do you sleep directly on it P38?


Yep.

I cut it to shape so it sits nice in the hammock.

The foam acts as an insulating layer

Lay it silver side up to reflect your body heat.

And start stacking up the Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's 

Light weight and can be folded down quite small.

Haven't slept at high altitude or in the snow but have used it n the North Island bush during winter

I paid $1 for my one in a $1 reserve auction.  :Have A Nice Day: 

Cheers
Pete

----------


## BobGibson

Any silver coated material works by reflecting radiant heat and looses most of its efficiency if it make contact.
You can easily test this at home by getting a sheet of aluminium foil (kitchen grade) lay it on top of a pack of frozen peas. Now place you hand a few mils above the foil and it feels comfortable then place you hand on the foil and it feels cold.
Heat/Cold reflective surface need a air gap to work.
I suspect the reason P38 finds his setup warm is because he doesn't use it in very cold situations. 
I've spent many nights in frost and snow and it works fine but if you never expect to spend a night out in very cold temps P38s idea will work.
Your original question was what sleeping bag?
I would suggest any good quality down bag with a full length zip. If you intend to tramp any distance with it pay attention to its packaged size and weight.
The longest trip I've done with mine is a solo hunt  50km round trip over 7days. in May this year in Fiordland

----------


## Ricochet

> Any silver coated material works by reflecting radiant heat and looses most of its efficiency if it make contact.
> You can easily test this at home by getting a sheet of aluminium foil (kitchen grade) lay it on top of a pack of frozen peas. Now place you hand a few mils above the foil and it feels comfortable then place you hand on the foil and it feels cold.
> Heat/Cold reflective surface need a air gap to work.
> I suspect the reason P38 finds his setup warm is because he doesn't use it in very cold situations. 
> I've spent many nights in frost and snow and it works fine but if you never expect to spend a night out in very cold temps P38s idea will work.
> Your original question was what sleeping bag?
> I would suggest any good quality down bag with a full length zip. If you intend to tramp any distance with it pay attention to its packaged size and weight.
> The longest trip I've done with mine is a solo hunt  50km round trip over 7days. in May this year in Fiordland


Ok, thank you Bob. It's costing me $17 so I'll give it a crack since I'm only in the Kaimais and so I wouldn't be out in much less than 10deg overnight. And yeah, I'll get a decent down bag too.

----------


## Nick-D

Get a quilt man. Way lighter and easier to use with the bag. I use a Hammock Gear burrow 20 (sleeping on the ground in a bivvy) and it is wicked. 600 grams and rated -7. Think mine was about 400 landed

----------


## BobGibson

I endorse what Nick-D says
I already had my Everest Mummy bag (now 40 years old and weights 2kg) so didn't need to purchase anything.
But if I was in the market for on the Burrow 20 would be a good choice.

----------


## Ricochet

Right, so my aluminium foam mat thingy arrived, it was pretty flimsy. Then I recalled stretch's advice about taping my original mat together so I cut my 5mm foam mat into segments & have now ados'd it to the aluminium mat leaving a 5mm gap between segments.

Thank you P38, Stretch & Speights! ...Maybe, we'll see how it goes.

----------


## P38

> Right, so my aluminium foam mat thingy arrived, it was pretty flimsy. Then I recalled stretch's advice about taping my original mat together so I cut my 5mm foam mat into segments & have now ados'd it to the aluminium mat leaving a 5mm gap between segments.
> 
> Thank you P38, Stretch & Speights! ...Maybe, we'll see how it goes.


Let us know hoe you get on.

Cheers
Pete

----------

