Hi Everyone,
I need some last minute advise. My wife got me my first hammock/bug net/Tarp system and I am pretty excited about trying it. I was 100% set on bringing it up for my BWCA trip this week, but I am looking at the forecast and seeing that we could get down to the low 30's at night. So, my question is whether or not hammock users on this site think it will be too cold for my set up.

Here is what I have...

ENO Hammock System
https://www.rei.com/product/129825/eno-onelink-shelter-system-with-doublenest-hammock

ENO Underquilt
https://www.rei.com/product/882626/eno-ember-2-hammock-underquilt

20 Deg Marmott sleeping bag

What do you think? Will I be too cold? If so, I may just bring my tent instead.

thanks!!
-Kevin

You should be fine! There is no better sleeping than in a hammock! I spent 4 days in mine this past February down to -10 F and had no issues with staying warm. The big ? is your under quilt.....Mine is a hammock gear brand under quilt I've used for years. I would practice setting it up prior to going out. If it's cold, you will want the under quilt snug up to the bottom of the hammock with you in it so there are no air gaps. Too high and you will mash the insulation in the quilt and lessen the effectiveness of it.....If it's warmer (30's to 50's), you can loosen it up and get a little ventilation underneath.....you'll have to play with it....

enjoy!

Mike

You’ll be fine. Bring a hat and gloves and wear long johns. Gotta go with the hammock.

Have you hammock camped before?
How long have you remained comfortable in the ENO you have?
What is the temperature rating on the Ember?
How long is your trip?

Regardless, the best answer is Yes, take your hammock AND Yes, definitely take your tent. ENO make solid, durable products but, not the best engineered for camping comfort. You might find achieving maximal hammock sleeping bliss elusive with your ENO set. You should either have several nights' practice in your back yard or a bail-out option if your first overnight experience with the ENO will be night one of a multi-night, back-country trip.

The extra weight of a tent and sleeping pad can be considered the cost of travel insurance. Aborting your trip early because you can't get comfortable in the ENO would be tragic.

With the right hammock, tarp and insulation, there is nothing better than hammocking in the BWCA. It is worth giving it a shot to see if the ENO gets you close to bliss.

I agree with OCDave. Give the hammock a go, but consider taking the tent as a backup. The temp rating on the Ember 2 is 40* - 50* according to ENO's website. You will get a little extra warmth from the Marmot, but the compressed insulation underneath you will do little to actually keep you warm. Extra layers of clothing, including a hat, will help, and it may work out for you, but you'd hate to have to bail in the event it doesn't. Good luck!

I would discourage trying out new gear in the wilderness unless you have had at least one night in the back yard or ? Having said that the next primary concern is the protection of the underquilt. You might compensate for that by adding a sleeping pad and gain both some support and insulation. Definitely a warm hat and sleep clothing.
At least you won't have to worry much about bugs.

bhouse46: " You might compensate for that by adding a sleeping pad and gain both some support and insulation. "

Few things are worse than a sleeping pad in a hammock. Nylon against nylon slides all over the place.

My question in response to the original question is - why do you think a tent would be warmer? Nothing is worse than sleeping on the hard, cold ground when it's cold.
Take the hammock.

I've found a sleeping pad in the bottom of the hammock very helpful, it kind of "spreads" the hammock out, makes it easy to get in and out of , and you can adjust how much you have it inflated to sort of "fit" the hammock, in addition to the insulation value.

Using the sleeping bag in the hammock you might turn it upside down and use it as a top quilt. I did it this way for years with only my feet in the mummy bag and the rest of the bag on top of me. You will get more down covering the top of you this way. And any down under you in the bag is practically useless anyway.

I use a folding seat back pad in the canoe and in a pinch you can use these under your legs as more insulation if it's going to get really cold. I did this when it got down to 30 degrees one night and it was great.

pack small and take both. both my hammock and tent pack small and if the camp area is not suited for one shelter, i set up the other.
it has happened where i did not have a decent set of tree's for my hammock.

I'm in a similar dilemma but my trip is during warmer temps of late June.
Had my bottom entry Hennessey Hammock modified to side entry so am anxious to try it out again but reluctant to rely solely on the hammock for sleep. (I wasn't set up properly on the first attempt.) Packing both 1-person ultralight tent (w/pad & sleep bag) and the hammock set-up.
I figure total weight this one trip will be increased by 5 lbs to determine if I can handle hanging as stand-alone sleep equipment.
Good luck, stay warm and hope you enjoy hammock hanging, kpdoyle.

You’re fine, but... Setup The whole rig several times before you leave and lay in it. Part of the fun or pain of hammock camping is all the little tweaks and adjustments for the perfect hang. It’s not always as straight forward as it might seem.

There is zero chance I would bring a hammock as my only means of shelter to the BWCA if I have never truly camped in it before. I'd take it car camping for a weekend, where it'd be easy to bring a tent as well - without having to haul both of them on my back.

It's not a matter of whether the tent is more comfortable than the hammock if all else is equal. It's a matter of 1) What if you wind up not liking the hammock? 2) What if you are unable to find a suitable setup to assure yourself a warm (relative) sleep?

A car camping weekend in similar weather will give you the confidence to use the hammock because you will be able to set up a tent as well if it doesn't work out, or at the least, retreat to the car if you're unable to find a comfortable hammock situation. I'd hate to think of ruining a BWCA trip because I only took a hammock without having tried it out first to find the optimal set up.

I'm not discouraging hammock camping. Only taking out on an extended BWCA trip before using it in less remote/demanding situations.

I would never bring untested equipment into the wilderness. That being said you will probably be fine.

I'd say toss in a sleeping pad. It can make your hammock setup warmer by combining pad and underquilt. If that's not cutting it for you you can just sleep on the ground under your tarp. With those temps you won't have to worry about bugs at night. As mentioned above, use your sleeping bag as a quilt. Nothing is quite as bad as trying to get into a sleeping bag in a hammock.

As others have said - bring the tent too.

If you've not spent a lot of time in a hammock, it would suck have no plan B and to find out your setup needs tweaking or that it's just not for you.

As others have said - bring the tent too.

If you've not spent a lot of time in a hammock, it would suck have no plan B and to find out your setup needs tweaking or that it's just not for you.