Sleeping bag and pad

For the temps you are talking about I would suggest having Kooka Bay (Bender) make you a down pad or look at a NeoAir All Season. Both pack small, are very comfortable, and are warm. Well from what I have seen so far the All Season is warm but I have only had it down to 19 F so far.

Since you’re trying to keep things as small and light as possible, you should consider getting a quilt instead of a sleeping bag. Excellent quilts can be bought from Tim Marshall with EnLIGHTened Equipment, he’s a member here, or from Hammockgear.com. You’ll need head gear to keep your head warm, and I don’t recommend a traditional beanie because they’re not very warm, and they’re heavy and bulky. The Rayway bomber hat is great if you can sew, otherwise the Blackrock down hats are great, or a down balaclava like Downworks makes are incredibly warm if you wish to push that 20°F rating.

get an en-rated bag if yr worried about the temps …

a simple cheap foam pad isnt really adequate for your ground insulation at those temps … you need to decide if you want an inflatable or a foam bad … if the former the BPL SOTM market report on them is quite excellent

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I will check into the quilts and down pads.

eric chan – I think I would like an inflatable pad? Merely for the size, I think. Or maybe the down pads mentioned above.

The down pad is an inflatable (like the All Season). Here is a review I did of my old Kooka Bay pad. I just got a new R-9 model two days ago.

http://tinyurl.com/KookaRay

http://cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/mattresses/trek-and-travel/neoair-all-season/product

Ah, I see. Thanks, I will look into that. I was on his site and didn't see any pricing for the GoosePads. What is the price range on those?

i use a neo air personally … below freezing combine with a foam pad

there are other mats as well

one i would not buy right now is the POE mats just based on BPL feedback

Kooka bay down air mattresses can be rather expensive, but there's nothing comparable to it. The closest thing are the Exped's, but they're much heavier. The higher fp down and thinner fabrics that Bender uses should also allow his mattresses to roll up smaller as well.

I've had good luck with my POE Elite AC, but others haven't. I paid about $60 for mine and if I were to do it again, that's all I'd want to pay until they fix their manufacturing & warranty issues.

You will need to contact Bender as far as pricing as it all depends on what you want. The GoosePads are made to any size you want, and uses differing down fills.

http://kookabay.com/contact.html

That said my new one is 28 x 73 with 900-fill down and was $269.00

Well that's the horse of a different color. Don't look at at sleeping bag, look at at Top Quilt. Lighter than a sleeping bag, and taylored more for hammocking. My recomendations are Hammockgear (Burrow) or Jacks R Better. I have a 3 Season Burrow with overstuff and it will take me will below 20°. Their products are rated very accurately. With 1 oz of overstuff, mine weighs in at 23 oz. Jacks R Better makes comperable products with just as good a reputation. Mine was worth every penny!

+1 on Doug's recommendations. If you do want to use a sleeping bag in your hammock and you buy a Hennessy or a Warbonnet Blackbird (those with left-hand entry), you will find that a left hand zip sleeping bag will make life easier. You can use an opened bag like a top quilt too, but I like full wrap-around insulation myself and only do the bag-as-a-top-quilt trick when it is warm.

Think about your bottom insulation for your hammock too. If you are a cold sensitive sleeper, you may want to look at full length high-loft underquilts. Not cheap or light!