Q&A / Episode #1 / Why not a sleeping bag / Hammock Camping

hey everybody this is the marine since starting this channel i've been getting a lot of questions about the hammock and the tarp and other things and for a while now i've been thinking about doing a q a series because i believe it's easier to show someone how to do it instead of talking about how to do it so the plan is to take some questions that are posted down below and then read them with the consent of the person that's asking of course now i don't claim to be a hammock wizard or some type of a guru but i'll do my best to try to answer them now one thing i like to add is there's a lot of you guys that are experienced and have been doing this for a while and i ask you guys to really help out because there is no way i can answer all these questions and i'm going to try to show the ones in the videos that would be easier to show than to talk about so you guys that have this experience please share your knowledge with these people and help out so with that being said the first question is our first question is a question i've been asked a lot over the years and it's from john d and john asked why not use a sleeping bag and that's a great question john there's so much confusion and misconception about using a sleeping bag hammock camping or sleeping overnight and i'm afraid i may have added to some of that confusion so before we get to that question there's a few things we need to know so all this will make sense in the summertime when the temperatures are 70 degrees 20 celsius during the night time you may only need just a light blanket to stay comfortably warm but when the temperatures drop below 68 degrees which is 19 celsius you're going to need some type of insulation underneath you and it doesn't matter how much insulation you have above you if you don't have enough underneath you in the hammock you will get cold you will freeze and this is what the hammock community called the frozen butt syndrome and a lot of people make this mistake the reason why the hammocks stay so cool underneath is that they're suspended in the open where the circulating air convection robs heat all around this is beneficial in the summer but it can be miserable when it gets [Music] cold now there's many different ways to insulate underneath you like a thick wool blanket a sheepskin or clothes foam mat even an under quilt but the question is why not a sleeping bag and to answer that question or part of the question is you can use a sleeping bag but it's only effective on how you use it now there's basically three ways of using a sleeping bag with a hammock and the first way is the way it was meant to be used you unzip it you climb it and just zip it up and people will mainly use sleeping bags in tents or out in the open but when you're sleeping in the sleeping bag you're gonna need a little protection from the hard ground the roots and the rocks but when the temperatures drop and it gets cold you're going to need protection more from the cold because the sleeping bag by itself will not work though the ground acts like an insulator depending on the person the material i would believe maybe someone would be able to get down into the 50s which is 13 celsius but when in a hammock with the circulating air around you and if you're using a down sleeping bag you'll be lucky to get past the 60s which is about 17 celsius so again the question is why not use a sleeping bag and i believe what john meant is why not use a sleeping bag without any type of insulation underneath you to answer that question we have to look at the two different types of material that's used to insulate a sleeping bag the type of insulation will directly affect the warmth weight water resistant packability and the price now the first material or insulation is down down is a favorite among hikers and backpackers and that's because it's very lightweight and you can compact it down to a small size to make room in your pack people may not know this but down is very durable and it will last for decades with proper care but when down gets soaking wet it'll lose most if not all is insulating value and down can be very expensive especially with the high fill power but the reason why down does not work well with a hammock is because when you get into your sleeping bag the weight of your body will flatten those chambers that have trapped that warm air the loft and that will be removed and flattened and it will now provide little or no heat at all now let me explain in your sleeping bag you'll have chambers and there'll be down filled in there down insulates by trapping warm air in the chambers of your sleeping bag the higher the chambers the loft the warmer the sleeping bag so when you get in the sleeping bag to sleep in a hammock those chambers that are locked with down underneath you will now be completely flattened by your body weight there's no loft to trap the warm air which will lead you to have your top warm but underneath you freezing now using a sleeping bag you'll need to have some type of insulation underneath you another type of material or insulator is synthetic typically polyester synthetic fill dries quickly even when wet it's less expensive and though it is densely packed it still needs the loft to provide warmth but not like down they're heavier and bulkier and down and less durable and believe it or not the insulating value is reduced each time you stuff that bag into the stuff sack though they don't need as much loft to keep you warm again when you get in the sleeping bag that loft that traps a warm air will be flattened by your body weight because synthetic is densely packed material it'll provide more warmth when flattened than down the thicker the material of course the warmer you'll be but then again the heavier and more bulky now if you're going to use a thick synthetic bag that's bulky heavy for car camping or in the backyard that's great but if you're going to be backpacking or hiking you're going to need a down sleeping bag and there's a better way to use a down sleeping bag but unfortunately you're going to need some type of insulation underneath you using the sleeping bag the traditional way can be challenging getting in and out of you can stand up put the sleeping bag on and then get into the hammock otherwise you can lay the sleeping bag asymmetrical in the hammock and try to climb into it and zip it up but there's a better way to use a sleeping bag and that's using it as a top quilt when using the sleeping bag as a top quilt you don't have to worry about the sleeping bag being underneath you because now you have insulation underneath so what you first do is you take the sleeping bag and you zip it down 18 inches from the bottom which will create a foot box then you'll flip it upside down first you put your feet in the foot box pull the sleeping bag over you and then start tucking the sides about an inch or two which is three to five centimeters underneath you starting from your legs to work it all the way up to your head now if your sleeping bag is a mummy bag you just spin that hood around and put it on during those cold temperatures but if you don't have one or top quilt you just put a hat or a balaclava and that'll keep you nice and warm what makes this way so much better is you're not cramped and confined in your sleeping bag it's really roomy and very comfortable but another thing that makes the system so great is you can regulate your body heat when it's warmer temperatures you can keep that top quilt or the sleeping bag loosely around you and when you get hot you can open the top and let that heat escape around your shoulder but when it gets cold you tuck that sleeping bait closer to your body so it's a smaller space to trap the heat your body heat in there and it'll keep you really warm during those cold temperatures now the last way to use a sleeping bag is using it as a pod system you take the hammock and you run it through the bottom of your sleeping bag we're suspended all around you this way is very effective in cold temperatures but you'll still need a little something in there like a blanket to keep you warm now another thing with that zipper on the end there's an opening you have to put some type of clothing a jacket down jacket and to plug that hole up there a negative or con using this pod system in the summer time it is extremely warm and it's hard to regulate the heat but for the three season it is super warm in here very effective in the winter time so for those extreme cold temperatures this system will work very well but by having it this way it can make it very difficult depending on the material to lie asymmetrical in there to find that flat lie to get very comfortable now you can buy a wedge like this one to widen your sleeping bag to help you get an asymmetrical line it really helps a lot and you're going to have to have a sleeping bag with a separate zipper on end if it doesn't have one you're gonna have to cut it and sew one on to modify it and also put loops on each end sew those loops on there because you're gonna attach shock cord or bungee cord to hold that sleeping bag that pod system in place so it will work now if you have any questions you want me to answer or any comments please write them down below i'd love to hear from you you guys i've been crazy busy i'll try to get these videos out as soon as i can until next time thank you for watching and god bless

Channel: Adventures with the Marine

Views: 73,704

Keywords: hammock, tarp, hammockcamping

Id: GXn1kaNKBLo

Length: 10min 49sec (649 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 12 2020