Thanks for the tip about the Lightspeed Camp Sleep Pad. Will keep it in mind. I more or less need something like this full time to help fight restless leg syndrome.

As for outdoor sleeping, being a cold sleeper I’m convinced of two things.

One is to use my shelter to block drafts, which can raise the effective temperature 10°F to 15°F with no weight penalty. Hiking in Finland’s post “MYOG Tarp – Pitched in the Snow” shows what NOT to do. But Hendrick is tougher than most.

The other thing is to insulate my head. Feathered Friends Winter Wren with a built-in hood is the coziest bag I’ve ever used, plus it has armholes and a bottom opening for walking around in.

The Feathered Friends Flicker is more flexible though. Fully unzipped, it’s a blanket. Partly zipped up, it’s a quilt. A long size (6′ 6″) fully zipped up and pulled up over my head is almost the same as a hooded bag, for little me, at 5’7″, with all my body heat kept in one continuous space. Much warmer in my universe than a quilt and cap.

‘Nother thing I found while hammocking: Even in summer I was often a bit chilly due to a gap between my torso and the top quilt.

Finally had a D’oh! moment and tried one of those $2 two-ounce aluminized mylar emergency blanket thingies crumpled up and stuffed over my stomach. Filled the gap and solved the problem.

Nice to know about y’all’s working options too.

Chris-

I’ve taken the hammock down to 15 degrees using the ten-degree sleeping bag plus extra foam insulation in addition to the underquilt, but it is hard for me to stay warm below 25 degrees or so. Some friends swear by full lenght, winter underquilts so you can check that out as well.

I use the ground setup in winter because here in Utah, the canyons are great places to go in winter but many lack good hang sites.

I’ve got one of the older style Darien’s that were made with single layer of a different material that they no longer use. I know they have more variety of materials now to choose from and you can customize your hammock.