trick to take your insulation clothing to sleep

[IronBotFan]

My friends and I are going camping this weekend, we love to camp, we usually do this every month. and I was wondering how you other hammock sleepers and ground campers deal with bringing your insulated clothing to sleep.

I used just to wear my super light Montbell jacket to bed when it was cold, but then it hit me. Yeah, the insulation on the back was getting squished flat when I lay on it, so it wasn't doing squat.

So, what I do now is take off my jacket and zip it up.

Then, I just lay the zipped up jacket right over my chest and stomach, and tuck the arms under my armpits so it stays put. Then I pull my top quilt up over the jacket.

This way, I'm getting double the warmth from the jacket (front and back) right where I need it most – my core.

I've found that if my middle stays toasty, the rest of me usually does too.

Anyone else ever tried this trick?

 

[GROOT26]

Genius move! To wrap your puffy around the foot box is like giving your toes a cozy burrito hug, no more roasting like a baked potato one minute and freezing the next. Lmaoo.. Ditching the sweat soaked layering dance for a dialed in quilt setup and some smart base layers? Thats some next nevel hammock wizardry right there huh. Awesome!!

 

[Harley2]

That's a smart hack! I usually just wear my jacket, but your method sounds way better for core warmth, I am def gonna try zipping it up and tucking it next trip

 

[LowTech]

Genius move! To wrap your puffy around the foot box is like giving your toes a cozy burrito hug, no more roasting like a baked potato one minute and freezing the next. Lmaoo.. Ditching the sweat soaked layering dance for a dialed in quilt setup and some smart base layers? Thats some next nevel hammock wizardry right there huh. Awesome!!

I've used my jacket that way when it got colder than expected and I was using a 3/4 lenth underquilt. Zipped it up, pushed the sleeves inside, and pulled it over the foot end of my topquilt. That and the sitpad I had in the TQ kept my feet toasty all night.

 

[CampSway]

Great idea! I do the same thing,putting the jacket over your core is way better than using it in a hammock because it keeps the insulation fluffy. Keeping your core warm helps warm up your whole body. Clever trick

 

[Sound of drums]

Oh, that's a lifesaver for someone who's constantly cold! Will def try this next time

 

[red-rob0t]

Is this post for me? haha! I'm always cold so I find this as a good tip. thanks!

 

[cougarmeat]

Note that there are some schools that say, "Less is more." Or in this case, "Less is warmer." The idea is, you create an envelope of warm air around you with your quilts. Note that IronBotFan was not wearing the jacket; it was more an added layer to the top quilt.

I have tried it both ways. I stay warm if I'm wearing a "sleeping jacket", but I'm not as comfortable, don't have that glow of a good night's sleep, as when I just wear light PJs and let the top and bottom quilts do their job.

There are some potential problems with wearing your outer gear to bed. The seams/construction could cause unforeseen blood flow restrictions. There's also a potential for tearing because of the same. The outer gear's design environment is more to be worn by a person standing up without additional tugging at seams.

For me, the transition from day clothes to night clothes is comforting. And if there's a slight initial chill, it just reminds my body that it's time to turn on the furnace. Remember, the down quilts and garments don't make heat; they just keep the heat your body makes.

That said, I still have some of my mountain gear from long ago. One item is a pair of down pants that have suspenders and a zipper on the inseam. At night, you can zip the two legs together and have the bottom half of a sleeping bag. Your down jacket makes the top half. And you need a pad for insulation from the cold ground.

That wouldn't work well in a hammock because, as pointed out, the down underneath you is compressed so its loft is only the thickness of a couple of pieces of nylon. You'll need an under quilt of some kind anyway.

That's all an "over pizza and beer" discussion. I'm advocating for focusing on a good fitting UQ, maybe the addition of an Underquilt protector (UQP), and letting the quilts do their job. That's what IronBotFan was doing but other posts indicated wearing a jacket, as a jacket, to bed. I'm just mentioning that there are different schools of thought on that.

 

[psyculman]

Down hooded jacket, down pants, down booties. Your insulation moves with you, no gaps, drafts etc. And you can get up at night with no heat loss. I know some will say "but the down just compresses under you. True, but that compression is very insignificant compared to the overall benefits in less volume/weight and much greater warmth IMO.

 

[cougarmeat]

Yes, the cold can creep in from the sides, especially if you move around a lot with a minimum-sized top quilt. The benefit of a sleeping bag or psyculman's down garments suggestion is that there are no gaps. So much depends on your body's internal "heater" and the expected weather. For example, I live in a low-humidity area (high desert), Temps in the mid-20s are nothing. But when I've been places where they have a phenomenon called "rain", I can be downright chilled at 32°.

Posts on other forums suggest using a simple (around $10) Min/Max thermometer to display the coldest nighttime temperature. You can then assess how well your gear works at a given temperature, which might not match the manufacturer's rating. For example, I sleep best if there's a 10° cushion between the expected temperature and the gear rating.

 

[PatrickMiller]

For those of you snoozing in hammocks, some are now packing a light vest or puffy sleeveless just for sleeping. Since you don't have to worry about your back getting squished, it works great. Your idea of reusing stuff is awesome too, and saves you from grabbing more gear.