Wish-Lust: Go Outfitters UnderQuilt.

Here's a pre-emptive Kickstarter post for the new project by GO! Outfitters, who bought us one of my favorite camping hammocks, the  asymmetrical GO! Hammock  
and the outer-shell for it, the Apex Camping Shelter & Hammock Camping Tarp and the upcoming, and freshly released Kickstarter Project, the Adventure Under Quilt: Hammock Camping Insulation. 

The idea of the UnderQuilt is to ensure that the underside of the  hammock sleeper stays toasty warm. As more people are switching from tent camping to hammock camping. they are coming across an unusual phenomenon; they often find that their backsides can get cold fast, because it's exposed cool air and wind. Some people use sleeping bags in hammocks but the insulation gets compressed and doesn't work as it would on the ground.

Others sleep on sleeping pads, but keeping them in place can be a nightmare in a hammock. They slide around and bunch up inside the walls of  the hammock, and can be far from comfortable. The UnderQuilt adds a layer of insulation to the outside of the hammock, freeing up the internal space, which is at a premium, as well as adding an extra layer of weather-proofing.

Filled with  100% Polyester Max Loft 10° Insulation.  but we have set the Temperature Rating of the quilt conservatively at 20°F). plenty warm enough for anywhere  I would want to camp in a hammock, to be sure. with a
210T Ripstop Polyester, Calendered, Water and Wind Resistant Shell Fabric and
210 Polyester, Breathable Liner Fabric not that it matters greatly as you won't be touching the liner, as the whole thing sits under the skin of your hammock. Designed with their own Hammocks specifically in mind, but will suit any gathered-end hammock, thanks to the ingenious cinching self-locking drawstrings and built in attachment systems, the UnderQuilt will suit up to a 7' user. 

It is 81 long and " 52" wide, and comes with its own weatherproof stuff-sack packing down to a mere  1lb. 9oz. (Includes: Under Quilt, Compression Stuff Sack, 2 Carabiners, and Built-In Shock Cord Suspension rig) all in a  8" diameter  x 10" long bundle.

I really like the idea of this, and hope to back it myself, for those rare camping trips I get  to take. Winter is coming, and I'm a skinny kind of guy at the best of times, and my bony ass needs all the warmth I can give it.   Do check out the deals on their Kickstarter page, the bundles would make an excellent way of starting your own hammock camping collection.

Review: Therm-a-rest Sleeping bag

I've talked about what I take camping here and there; tents, cookware, hammocks and the like, but I haven't really covered the sleeping bags I use.

I tend to pack pretty lightly when it comes to bedding if I am by my self, as I wear a microfleece combination  like the Platatac Half-zip jacket and the matching microfleece sniper pants which keep me pretty toasty, and a light sleeping bag like my Aurora Wanderer, and maybe the Tribe Provisions Go-Anywhere woobie for comfort. With company, I usually zip two of the Wanderers together, or make a nest of combinations of blankets and bags.

However, when it gets really cold, and you're on your lonesome in the bush there is certainly room for a good high-loft sleeping bag in everyones kit.

I have a fairly dated Therm-a-Rest brand sleeping bag, so old it's no longer listed and I cant remember what the ID of it is, but the bag is BIG, and very warm.

Filled with Polarguard HV - high void continuous filament, which is a  durable synthetic insulation made from hollow, uncut polyester filaments, it maintains high loft even when wet and is apparently 25% lighter than standard Polarguard.

Fast drying, moisture resistant yet machine washable, it's a really good filling, and I haven't noticed it shifting, clumping or having any of those cold-spots I recall from childhood back-yard sleeping-bags. 

It's also considered highly compressible, as well as being odor, mildew, fungus and allergen free.

Mind you, it's an old model, and I have no doubt more modern bags, with modern fillings blow this out of the water.

Here it is beside my lightweight Aurora Wanderer Superdown sleeping bag. The Therm-a-Rest bag is standard rectangular in shape, 86cm (34") x 193cm (76") but feels even longer. I'm 6'4" and you can see it stretching higher than me. The Wanderer is a more modest  75cm (30")x 180cm (63") but it has a hood, in the mummy-style, to keep me in, even so I often find myself popped out, and cold-shouldered on chilly nights.

The Therm-a-Rest bag has a 100% nylon outer shell, and a 65% polyester 35% cotton liner for breathablity. It is rated down to -5oC (20oF) where the Wanderer is only a 0oc (30oF) bag. The difference in size and bulk of the fill however, make that difference noticeable.

Both have tape-covered, double ended zippers, to shut out drafts as well as giving you feet-openings. ((Don't wear boots to bed people!)).

At 1.2kg (2lbs 10oz) it isn't that much heavier than the 900g (just shy of 2lbs), there is not much difference in the load when hiking, but the difference is in bulk.

The Therm-a-Rest packs down to a considerable 85cm (34") x 105cm (41") bundle where as the Wanderer only measures 51cm (21") x 61cm (24"), MUCH smaller and that equates to easier carriage, but at the expense of cold-weather comfort ... You'd have to make the call, how cold is it going to get, and how much do you need to lug around.

I look forwards to upgrading at some stage to an even more modern, hopefully more compressible sleeping bag, but for now I have options.