I am obviously new to hanging.... Could you just slide into a sleeping bag while you are in your hammock?....instead of an underquilt..??

Unfortunately that doesn't work well because you are compressing the insulation at the bottom of the sleeping bag, which removes it's ability to trap body heat and keep you warm. An option that isn't ideal but is used by some (especially in the beginning) is to introduce an insulated air mattress into the hammock, but they can be difficult to keep in place and don't effectively provide insulation around the shoulder area. The Big Agnes integrated sleeping bag/pad system is probably the best option if you want to go the pad route. That's how I started out. Most people who stick with hammocks come to the conclusion that the underquilt is really the best option and down is the best insulation, but down underquilts aren't cheap. Then you get into what kind of fly to use for weather protection and what kind of suspension system to use. It's a whole new world of camping options!

Yes but sleeping bag gets compressed under you, with air flowing under your hammock it gets cold, an underquilt stays lofty and warmer.

If you use your sleeping bag, a foam pad under you will block wind and help you stay warmer. In the summer months it is not as big of a deal.

Thanks guys. Good info . Like I said I'm a newbie and everything helps! Thanks again!!

quote Cc26: "Thanks guys. Good info . Like I said I'm a newbie and everything helps! Thanks again!!"

The best "newbie" advice I ever got was to watch all the Shug videos. And to join Hammock Fourms. Shug is a member of both bwca.com and hammockforums.net. Solid, usefull advice for sure. Whoooo Buddy!
-mark-

Yea, you know...I learned a lot from Shugs videos. And had lots of good laughs. Good stuff.

Yes I have watched a few with the wandering fool. I enjoyed the singing haha

Yes you can crawl in but you will be cold. If an underquilt is out of the picture go plan B. Get two yoga mats and tape them together. Try it out before, the woods is no place to test gear.

Walmart has some blue pads that are super cheap and light. I cut one up for my son his first year. He had a hard time staying on it at first so I duct taped it to the bottom of his sleeping bag. He couldn't roll off of then.

quote Savage Voyageur: "Yes you can crawl in but you will be cold. If an underquilt is out of the picture go plan B. Get two yoga mats and tape them together. Try it out before, the woods is no place to test gear. "

+1 on the yoga pads. They are wider than the famed blue pads.

I am a huge hammock hanger. I dont own a under quilt, I just cant justify the cost of one. What I did, I had a buddy sew a second ultra light layer to my hammock, with a couple of openings. this way I can put my closed cell pad in there. The problem with puting your pad in with in the hammock, it slides all over the place.

All a person needs is something to stop the air from penetrating your butt. Depending on the temp, is the thickness of your pad. People say that if you lay in your hammock in your sleeping bag, you compress the bottom of it. So sleeping on the ground doesnt do that?

In my hammock and my 3/8" pad, with my 25 degree North Face bag, I can sleep in my hammock to about 30 degrees

Yes that is what I was thinking.... I will be going up to the BWCA the last week of June, and figure the low temp to be 40 at the very lowest? A couple years ago it got to 40 when we slept by lower basswood falls.

quote brotherbob1958: "People say that if you lay in your hammock in your sleeping bag, you compress the bottom of it. So sleeping on the ground doesnt do that?"

bb1958 -a few points in response:
1. Your sleeping bag is compressed even if you are sleeping on the ground. The vast majority of tent campers use a pad under them. Either a ccf or an inflatable pad will insulate you from the ground.
2. If sleeping on the ground without a pad you will experience conductive heat loss. The body conducts heat to whatever the skin is in direct contact with. So conductive heat loss will be less severe if ground sleeping in a tent and a bag, because the fabric and insulation will provide a small air space to warm with body heat.
3. In a hammock you experience convective heat loss. Convection is the process of air flowing by and carrying away body heat. Convection will draw heat out of a compressed bag in a hammock much faster than conduction because the heat is more actively being moved away from you.

I started with a ccf pad that is somethibg like 5/8" thick. It kept me warm and was very comfortable.

it wasn't until I switched to my uq that I learned what a calf ridge was.

Not a dumb question...I assumed the same thing last summer. Froze the first night, got up and rolled out a yoga mat and was fine the rest of the trip. You need something...

quote outdooraddict: "I started with a ccf pad that is somethibg like 5/8" thick. It kept me warm and was very comfortable.


it wasn't until I switched to my uq that I learned what a calf ridge was."

Okay, I'll bite. What's a calf ridge?

quote awbrown: "

quote outdooraddict: "I started with a ccf pad that is somethibg like 5/8" thick. It kept me warm and was very comfortable.



it wasn't until I switched to my uq that I learned what a calf ridge was."

Okay, I'll bite. What's a calf ridge?
"

When you lay in a hammock and you feel a "ridge' where the hammock has a tighter area by one calf. The fabric gets pulled into a ridge and your leg gets cramped.
There are thousand of words posted about this on HammockForums including solutions.

quote awbrown: "

quote outdooraddict: "I started with a ccf pad that is somethibg like 5/8" thick. It kept me warm and was very comfortable.



it wasn't until I switched to my uq that I learned what a calf ridge was."

Okay, I'll bite. What's a calf ridge?
"

When you lay in a hammock and you feel a "ridge' where the hammock has a tighter area by one calf. The fabric gets pulled into a ridge and your leg gets cramped.
There are thousand of words posted about this on HammockForums including solutions.