Hammock vs Tarptent

[A/T Spike]

I did the southern portion of the AT (Srpinger thru the shenandoahs) in 09 starting with an old "walrus" brand 1 person tunnel style tent i liked it fine and really only used the rain fly and tent poles, sent the inside stuff home. Around May i switched over to the ol' hennessey hammock, and really really liked it.

I'm going out in begining of May to finish the trail on a sobo hike, I would really like to hammock the entire time but i know how much the cold can make hammocking a pain if you don't have some bottom insulation. My question is is there any form of underquilt available that doesn't weigh down the hammock significantly in contrast to tarp tenting? I really like hiking on the light side about 20-25lb pack weight. So how light can you get a 3 season hammock and keep warm underneath? Overhead tarp included i know theres no way it will be lighter tan tarpin it with my hikin poles but man do i like the sleep i get in a hammock.
What all do you do? thanks

[leaftye]

If your bottom quilt is made out of Momentum 50 or 0.33 oz/yd cuben fiber with 900 fp down for insulation, it will be very light...under 10 ounces is possible.

[kayak karl]

If your bottom quilt is made out of Momentum 50 or 0.33 oz/yd cuben fiber with 900 fp down for insulation, it will be very light...under 10 ounces is possible.

who is making this under quilt?

[10-K]

who is making this under quilt?

.. and who's paying for it?

[kayak karl]

what is the weight of your 3 season setup now?
ie: tarp, bag, pad, groundcloth and misc.

[perrito]

who is making this under quilt?

12.5 oz. here.

[leaftye]

who is making this under quilt?

Whoever you can cajole into making it.

[kayak karl]

Whoever you can cajole into making it.

im just asking because of the one that have been made were not too successful. since cuben does not breath compression for packing and re-fluffing have been problems. did you make one?

[leaftye]

Where have you heard that? That's very unusual. I have a cuben quilt. It fluffs just fine. One of my buddies made a cuben quilt as well and didn't have problems. Both of ours had a M90 strip. Quite a few people on BPL also have cuben quilts, both with and without a breathable strip for lofting, and haven't had problems. When I get another cuben quilt, it won't have the breathable strip.

Anyway, someone made a 10.8 ounce quilt with M50 fabric. Cuben fiber can be as much as half the weight, so of course a lighter quilt would be possible. I know Tim Marshall makes them, but right now he's on a bit of a hiatus as he's changing up his business. I believe Javan Dempsey can also do it. But anyone with the desire and skill can sew it too.

[kayak karl]

Where have you heard that? That's very unusual. I have a cuben quilt. It fluffs just fine. One of my buddies made a cuben quilt as well and didn't have problems. Both of ours had a M90 strip. Quite a few people on BPL also have cuben quilts, both with and without a breathable strip for lofting, and haven't had problems. When I get another cuben quilt, it won't have the breathable strip.

Anyway, someone made a 10.8 ounce quilt with M50 fabric. Cuben fiber can be as much as half the weight, so of course a lighter quilt would be possible. I know Tim Marshall makes them, but right now he's on a bit of a hiatus as he's changing up his business. I believe Javan Dempsey can also do it. But anyone with the desire and skill can sew it too.

thanks a lot for the info. stories i heard were a year or 2 back. im going to look into it. just got a cuben tarp and love it.
TY

[A/T Spike]

Sorry for the long delay to respond thanks so far for the tips, so far my tarp setup weight is 8oz for sleeping pad, 7oz sil tarp, 4oz ground cloth, 1lb 9 oz sleeping bag. Plug hiking poles which i would take anyways.
My hammock and tarp overhead is comperable in weight without having the underquilt. If i can get one together that suffices keeping it under 12oz i tihnk i'll dot that.

Has anyone ever tried to convert an old sleeping bag into an underquilt?

[kayak karl]

what temp does this get you down to?

[A/T Spike]

The tarp setup keeps me happy to about 20F It's a great 3-season setup

[Buffalo Skipper]

Has anyone ever tried to convert an old sleeping bag into an underquilt?

I have done this and it has been discussed frequently (almost daily) on the Hammock Forum. Look under DIY.

The question is what do you consider 3-Season. If you want something to take you down to 40°, I would suggest any of the summer weight down quilts. Full length would weigh around 16-22 oz. 3/4 lenght quilts would be from 10-17. There are also synthetics available, which would weigh only a little more or less, depending upon the type. Again, a tremendous amount of info is available at Hammock Forum.

My current setup (winter, good to 20°):
29 oz Hammock (including suspension)
32 oz Tarp
36 oz 25° sleeping bag as top quilt
24 oz 20° down underquilt
--------------------------------------------------
7 lbs, 9 oz--total Winter sleep system


My dream setup (summer, good 45°+):
29 oz Hammock (including suspension)
20 oz Tarp
13 oz lightweight down top quilt
12 oz lightweight 3/4 synethetic underquilt
--------------------------------------------------
4 lbs, 10 oz--total Summer sleep system

Just need more money to throw at the problem.

[lori]

A hammock setup won't beat a tarp setup on weight. It will beat many tent setups, however, and be about equal to a tarptent setup. But there are so many variables it's tough to say definitively - and choosing the gear is pretty much going to be based on what works for you.

I have a Sublite, a Blackbird, a NeoAir and MacCat Deluxe. Plus underquilts. Here's how it all adds up for me.

Sublite, NeoAir, JRB 3 season quilt: 20+13+20 = 53 oz

NeoAir, Blackbird, MacCat, extra foam pad for shoulder area: 13+25+14+5 = 57 oz, plus JRB 3 season, 20 oz, 77 oz

Blackbird, JRB x2 (underquilt + top quilt), MacCat 25+40+14 = 74 oz

Winter setup: Blackbird, JRB + Winter Yeti, large cat cut 10x13 tarp: 25+20+17+22 = 84 oz

Very light ground setup: MacCat, NeoAir+ground sheet, JRB quilt - 14+14+20 = 48 oz

Notes: My focus is on functionality at the lighter weights.

The first setup is a great desert/summer setup, when no rain is expected and the hammock is not ideal for hanging. Tyvek is reflective and lets one nap in full sun without the radiation of heat through nylon. It will stand up to brief rainstorms but soak through in heavy ongoing rain (mine did so in 5 hours in a coastal downpour).

The second setup is for high elevation trips - over 10k you have variable availability of trees and I like to be comfortable on the ground.

Third setup is the ultimate in luxury - awesome awesome comfort, sleep the night through in any 3 season conditions, down to 25F, lower with layering on of clothing.

Fourth setup is heavy due to the tarp, not the insulation, as the Winter Yeti is a 3/4 length quilt and actually a few ounces lighter than the JRB 3 season quilt. I would be using clothing to add to the top quilt's warmth if necessary (most of the warmth in a hammock comes from the underquilt, the W Yeti is 0 degree with a mylar vapor barrier liner). The tarp can be closed in like a hut around the hammock.

The very light ground setup is what I will take on trips like my high elevation, 4 day 60 miler over multiple mountain passes, or on a search and rescue outing where we will get a few hours of sleep somewhere if we have a chance. No lounging and laying in bed.

If I were very concerned about weight and willing to sacrifice comfort, I would get a sheet of ripstop nylon and whip the ends, add a mason line adjustable ridgeline to set the hammock at its most comfortable sag, throw on a pair of whoopie slings made from Amsteel, and have a very simple gathered end hammock somewhere around 10-12 oz with suspension. I might yet do that for search and rescue. Most of those are low elevation in trees. A head net would do it for the bugs since the majority of me is wrapped up in the quilt - I could use a pebble and bit of string to tie it up off my face.

[Buffalo Skipper]

One more note (you just posted a 20° requirement).

My 7-9 weight will come down with a new tarp and top quilt. Weight will be:
5 lbs, 8 oz.

Working on the tarp design with a friend, should have that done in a month or less. 20° underquilt will probably wait until next year.