Semi-commercial sleeping gear for the jungle

I've been hypothermic in the Panamanian Jungle so having something more than a cotton sheet would be desirable.

I'd look for a cheap synthetic sleeping bag which is rated to 50*F, not that you should see temperatures that low based on what you are describing. You should be able to find one for less than $50 USD. I was in Panama with the military and the USGI patrol bag, which is available on Amazon, worked great for me.

I have zero experience in the jungle so take this with a heap of salt, but I imagine a hammock would be the way to go. More comfortable, you can get off the ground away from the creepy-crawlies, and plenty of cooling. Something with a built-in bug net, maybe.

If a little bit of insulation is needed, I think a fleece blanket would be ideal, both for bottom and top insulation. A sleeping bag would be uncomfortable and unnecessary in those temperatures. A blanket is easy to vent and adjust in your sleep, and fleece is impervious to water. Not a common recommendation around here because of the weight, but the performance is great, especially for the price.

If you need water filtration for a whole crew (and weight is a non-issue), then the Katadyn Expedition is the gold standard. It’ll do a gallon per minute.

I think hammocks is something I need to experiment with.

I'm pretty sure the temperature didn't fall below 70F at any point last year. It's equatorial and apart from the rain the climate doesn't really vary much.

Never saw temperatures below 70*F in Panama either. Soaking wet from a rainstorm and a brisk breeze will have you shivering with blue lips where it will feel much cooler.

Advice is free for a reason. Take it or leave it. Sometimes lessons are better learned the hard way.

I haven't been to Panama, but close–Costa Rica's Osa peninsula. That Panama humidity is something to behold. I started out using a 200 weight fleece bag, which was far too warm at 75*F. It was sweaty and confining. When I got back to San Jose, I found a thin flannel sheet, which worked well for my other nights out. I could vent easily, it absorbed any sweat, and it was cheap.

By the way, sleeping on a tree platform just below the forest canopy is a fun experience. The monkeys would visit us all night long, as they swung from tree to tree. Also, you'll want bug and rain protection. The forest is alive at night, and it of course can rain at any time.

How many nights were you out in the Jungle? More than 100? Weeks at a time?

Yes there are many if not most nights you can get away with that. There will be days where you'll pay for that.

I've frozen my arse off at night cold and wet and didn't die. Go for it. You'll likely be fine. If not, well chalk it up as a character building experience.

This is starting to shape up to be one of those Priscilla Fluffy Whatshername threads where the OP asks for advice but then poo poos all that is thrown their way from people who've actually lived in those conditions so I'm bowing out early on this one.

Good luck and have fun.

These are the camps:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/onbangladesh/5350741503/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickbotter/3879965827/

These are overnight stays, conducted 365 days a year for tourists who sign up the day before. The tourists just bring their clothes.

People tend to complain about the thin sleeping mats (just basic foam ones, not self-inflating) and about the mosquitoes.

The equipment is carried up river by porters (quicker), the guests walk through the jungle. There are spare sheets/blankets for people who are cold.

I'm trying to come up with some equipment that would make the experience a little more 'luxurious' for the average camper, but is not too expensive.

Would a sleeping bag liner work similar to the flannel? What kind of rain protection did you use with the humidity? I'll be headed to Osa (supposedly) in the next month or so–I hear it is an amazing place!

Get a hammock with a big roof that extends well beyond your hammock with an attached bug netting on both sides.

If the roof is guyed out so it comes down a bit for privacy that's good too.

BTW, having served in the Peace Corps in Mindanao in the Philippines I can tell you that netting on your hammock is as important as a good headnet for day use. Malaria carrying mosquitos abound. Not to mention that the hammock netting will provide you with a good night's sleep. And then there is dengue fever… and schistosomiasis… :o) Read up on it.

Get EVERY W.H.O. recommended shot you can and take an anti-malaria prophylaxis drug as prescribed.

i.e typhoid, typhus, hepatitis A & B, tetanus booster, etc., etc.!! Start your hepatitis shots early as they are taken a few months apart for max protection.

Matthew,
In your shoes first I would look at some low cots , hostel type sheets and fleece blankets.
For cots take a look here :
http://www.rei.com/c/cots
something like the Bayer type will hold most people , still relativly small and portable for your purpose.
That will gives a close enough to what people are used to experience, takes them off the ground for air flow and possible mud /running water.

For sheets/liners , something like this :
http://www.rei.com/product/627255/cocoon-cotton-bag-linertravel-sheet

For fleece blankets take a look here :
http://www.rei.com/c/travel-sleep-accessories

Hiking tents are too small/fragile for your needs, car camping tents are not really designed with your need in mind either ,basically I see you want a sort of simple dormitory set up not the typical multi-room car camping tent.
The exception is the canvass type tent (for durability and weather exposure) but those tend to be heavy ,bulky and generally expensive.
However a quick search came up with this :
http://www.camptents.com/shop/canvas-tent/
10'x14', heavy duty poles , 56" to 96" high.

Hammocks are really good for people that …like hammocks.
Not sure how many people would be comfortable having their first night in one in the jungle.
Besides you would need to clear a lot of vegetation every time you move to a new spot.
Please keep in mind that I don't work for REI nor that canvas-tent manufacturer nor I use stuff like this.
(but yes I have car camped and spent nights at 23c plus with 90% humidity…)

Hi, thanks for your feedback Franco.

I just spoke to the guide just now. He said that now the porters have a stock of self-inflating mats, and the guides rent them from the porters for around $2/day. So that problem is relatively diminished. I'm not really sure which style they are though.

I definitely LOVE the camping beds. I have this one: http://www.outwell.com/en/Products/Furniture/FoldingFurniture/PosadasFoldawayBedSingle.aspx

which I've used for camping for around 4 weeks in total. I did notice the fabric pull/tear slightly due to me being a little fat (nearly 210lb), but it didn't affect the tension/support of the bed.

The only problem I've got is I can bring some stuff out to Indonesia in my luggage, but those things are HEAVY, so that's probably not going to happen. There are some references to selling them online in Indonesia, but hundreds of miles away. Kinda sketchy http://www.tendamurahbandung.com/produk-276-velbed-allumuinum-kesehatan.html

As for the tent/hammock I discussed this and basically hiking tents are a no-no because as you say they want a dormitory, not being up close and personal with a single stranger – they like the tarpaulin + wooden pole arrangement they've got at the moment, the only thing I can see to improve is that you've potentially got the option to camp away from other groups – apparently they use shared camps for the reason that the 'tent' is already there. Seems again like you scan source some big tents http://www.rumahtendabandung.com/2013/07/tenda-komando-standar-tni-murah-bandung.html but I don't know if they are worthwhile. At any rate the tarp system is at least 'ok' – I guess the big frame tent adds cost to carry it, and buy it, whereas they don't really incur any costs at the moment (just a couple of dollars a time I think).

The sleeping bags are a problem there, apparently the ones on sale are too thick and hot for tropical conditions – ok in the mountains maybe. They said to bring some tropical sleeping bags. But I'm not sure between sleeping bag and the cotton liners. I would worry about the liners showing wear quickly, but maybe they are actually better and easier to clean than a sleeping bag with a zip.

Ian, i remember you posting about this before, but if i remember correctly, you said that you were wearing clothes that were 50% cotton and 50% nylon blend? Both more highly conductive materials when wet, especially cotton.

That would explain some of that. If you had been wearing wool, polyester, kevlar, polypropylene and/or blends of these, it probably would have mitigated that some. What would be best in such a situation would be polyproplylene or wool fishnet baselayers with a WPB poncho over same.

It would help to keep you cool and drier from increased convection, but limit conduction cooling (both from wet fabric on skin, and cool rain constantly soaking in).

Uh no Justin. No it wouldn't. There's no free lunch when living in a jungle and hiking/patrolling in a monsoon.

These are certainly things that people talk about on backpacking forums. "Oh but my charts and studies tell me…"

I've worn it all. 50/50 nylon cotton ripstop blend is perfectly fine. You keep worshiping golden elephants. I'll stick with experience and with what works.

I've tried the lightweight Thermarest cot! From REI. It's somewhat easy to set up and quite comfy.

http://m.rei.com/product/866262/therm-a-rest-luxurylite-mesh-cot

Thermarest pad and a light tent may be better because set up was a pain compared to the goodness gained from the item.

You should experiment with a hammock if you are considering that direction. Setup is a pain and many people find it's not comfy for prolonged sleep.

Good luck!

"I've worn it all. 50/50 nylon cotton ripstop blend is perfectly fine. You keep worshiping golden elephants. I'll stick with experience and with what works."

Interesting, so you've tried that particular combo in that particular situation? See, i do have plenty of experience with polypropylene fishnets, and was partly speaking out of that experience in combo with holistic logic.

If Golden Elephants is a symbol for logic, then there is a reason why logic is called logic.

Justin,

Just to clarify that you with your vast jungle experience are making the following proclamation, that while 30+ seasoned infantrymen were freezing their collective asses off in the Panamanian Jungle, that if a single one of them would have been wearing fishnet clothing instead of BDUs then they wouldn't have been hypothermic? Yup. Sounds like holistic logic. You go ahead and run with that.

You know I think you're special sunshine. I just can't pass on an opportunity to bust your chops some.

One more time for the OP:

If you want, I can go to walmart, buy the cheapest/thinnest sleeping bag they have there and sew a jungle rated patch on it. It'll likely be rated to 50*F or so but these cheapie sleeping bags are rated optimistically so no guarantees that it will get you to 50*.

That's basically what a "jungle" sleeping bag is with the exception that some of them have a bug net sewn on them. That, in my opinion, is a fatally flawed design and here's why.

We all instinctively know how to stay comfortable in a sleeping bag when it gets warm out. Step one, unzip. Step two, kick a leg out. Step three, peel the bag off of you. Step four, etc etc keep making adjustments until you find the sweet spot.

Well if you have a sleeping bag with an included bug net sewn in, and that is your only system to keep the bugs and other critters off of you, your only options are to either zip up and suffer through the heat and humidity or unzip and get eaten alive. Here's another problem. The nights that you are most likely to zip up due to rain, bugs won't be much of a issue. The nights where you'll want to open it up and vent, the bugs will tear you up.

My recommendation. Get a lightweight synthetic sleeping bag; I never said or suggested a "mountain bag". Pair that with some kind of mosquito net that will work for your sleep system (eg ground sleeping vs cot vs hammock). Bring some kind of lightweight sleeping bag liner as well just to be safe.

I spent my entire time in the jungle sleeping on the ground because that was a tactical requirement. If I were to do this again for R&R, I'd bring a hammock. One of the liabilities of the hammock in the north that is a benefit on the equator is that air flows all around you. I've also stood on ground that was nearly knee deep in water an hour later. Being a couple feet off of the ground when this happens is also a good thing.

A cot has some of the same benefits. You are off of the ground so better air flow around you.

The USGI Patrol bag I previously mentioned is proven in this environment. I have hundreds of nights in the jungle with it. You can find them on Amazon just about any day of the week for less than $20.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0046JYNB8/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1417200999&sr=8-1&keywords=usgi+patrol+bag&condition=used

Again, I sincerely wish you well on what sounds like a grand adventure.

I'm not saying i have vast jungle experience, all i was saying that if you are going to be exposed to constantly wet and semi-cool conditions, then having and using absorbent and conductive materials is not a good idea. Unless you've tried something, you shouldn't knock it automatically. I asked you if you specifically tried that combo of fishnet and WPB poncho in those conditions, because after all, you did say that you tried it all. You didn't answer that.

I don't know what is making you so prickly, but i hope you feel better soon.

Dude. I wore a tutu when I climbed Mt. St. Helens. What makes you think I haven't worn fishnets?

nm

"Dude. I wore a tutu when I climbed Mt. St. Helens. What makes you think I haven't worn fishnets?"

Hi Ian,

Wasn't trying to say or imply that you haven't ever worn fishnets hiking. Was more specifically asking if you ever tried the combination of fishnet and a WPB poncho during those kind of jungle conditions in which you experienced hypothermia. It was a specific question for a specific context since you so strongly pooed on my idea for that specific application.

Next time i get to a jungle, i will try it out myself. I don't go to jungle areas often, as i don't particularly like that kind of climate (but my spouse being a travel whore, well i've been dragged there a couple of times), so may be awhile.

Justin,

To be clear, when I imply that I've worn fishnets, I'm specifically talking about the kind a person would allegedly wear whilst hanging around the Greyhound station peddling bootie. I've never worn them hiking. There's always St. Helens 2015.