How warm is a GI poncho liner, or woobie for hammock underquilt?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How warm is a GI poncho liner, or woobie for hammock underquilt?

Posted: 3/17/2017 3:48:07 PM EDT

Well tomorrow is going to be my first overnight in my hammock out in the deep woods. Lows in the mid 40s. I have fashioned an underquilt from a synthetic GI poncho liner. This will be used in conjunction with my 20 degree synthetic sleeping bag.

Will I freeze my ass off?

Im trying to avoid taking a thermarest in the name of going light, but my system is untested. This woobie seems warm...I inserted paracord drawstrings at the head and foot seam to draw it closed at the top and bottom and I will use the attached lace ties and some clips to go full cocoon.

Posted: 3/17/2017 3:53:34 PM EDT

[#1]

Might want a reflective thermal blanket for underneath. You can get the throwaway silver ones for cheap, and you'll be glad you did!

Posted: 3/17/2017 3:57:51 PM EDT

[#2]

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Quoted:
Might want a reflective thermal blanket for underneath. You can get the throwaway silver ones for cheap, and you'll be glad you did!

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I actually have one in my mini survival kit that is going with me anyway. It packs pretty small- I Just had not thought of that for use in the hammock. Good idea!

Posted: 3/17/2017 4:04:27 PM EDT

[#3]

I've been down around 30* in my 20* bag with a ponch liner just thrown over top of me and a pad underneath me and been OK.

And I do NOT like getting cold.

Posted: 3/17/2017 4:19:30 PM EDT

[#4]

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Quoted:
I've been down around 30* in my 20* bag with a ponch liner just thrown over top of me and a pad underneath me and been OK.

And I do NOT like getting cold.

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The pad underneath was key I think. Thats what I am wondering if I can do without.

Posted: 3/17/2017 4:22:55 PM EDT

[#5]

Poncho liners are rated to 10 degrees just by themselves

Posted: 3/17/2017 4:27:54 PM EDT

[#6]

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Quoted:
Poncho liners are rated to 10 degrees just by themselves

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Rated to keep you from dieing at 10 degrees.

Posted: 3/17/2017 4:43:53 PM EDT

[#7]

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Quoted:
The pad underneath was key I think. Thats what I am wondering if I can do without.

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Quoted:

Quoted:
I've been down around 30* in my 20* bag with a ponch liner just thrown over top of me and a pad underneath me and been OK.

And I do NOT like getting cold.

The pad underneath was key I think. Thats what I am wondering if I can do without.

Possibly, but the woobie was just layed over top like a blanket, not wrapped underneath like an underquilt.

Posted: 3/17/2017 5:26:26 PM EDT

[#8]

I think a pad is key- either foam or inflatable.

The problem with a hammock is the air can move underneath you and if you just use a wobbie your weight will compress it to nothing. You need something that is actually able to maintain some dead air space underneath you to insulate.

Posted: 3/17/2017 5:51:56 PM EDT

[#9]

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Quoted:

Rated to keep you from dieing at 10 degrees.

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I've spent time wrapped in a poncho liner. I wouldn't want just that in 10* weather!

Posted: 3/17/2017 6:11:29 PM EDT

[#10]

Attach it to a poncho. Back in the day we had the Korean seamstress sew them inside the old green wet weather jackets. Just thinking of that brought back the smell of that rubber material.

Posted: 3/17/2017 6:25:22 PM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:
I think a pad is key- either foam or inflatable.

The problem with a hammock is the air can move underneath you and if you just use a wobbie your weight will compress it to nothing. You need something that is actually able to maintain some dead air space underneath you to insulate.

View Quote

+1
I camped out in a good bag on a canvas cot onetime. It got down to 30 degrees and my backside was super cold! Then I remembered a 'Space Blanket' that I had in my gear. I put it down on the cot, and then my bag. Slept just fine after that! Air underneath your bed and compression of your insulation = A Cold Night!

Posted: 3/17/2017 6:27:26 PM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:
I think a pad is key- either foam or inflatable.

The problem with a hammock is the air can move underneath you and if you just use a wobbie your weight will compress it to nothing. You need something that is actually able to maintain some dead air space underneath you to insulate.

View Quote

Yes. This is the idea behind the 'underquilt' for hammocking. It actually hangs beneath the hammock so you are not laying atop it. I've got this dialed in, I am just wondering how warm the ponch liner underquilt will actually be.

Posted: 3/17/2017 7:14:56 PM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:

Yes. This is the idea behind the 'underquilt' for hammocking. It actually hangs beneath the hammock so you are not laying atop it. I've got this dialed in, I am just wondering how warm the ponch liner underquilt will actually be.

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Yep, I've got an original GI Jungle Hammock that has an air space pocket underneath. I always figured it was to keep the serious bugs from biting, or maybe to insulate?

Posted: 3/17/2017 8:13:56 PM EDT

[#14]

Quote History

Quoted:
Attach it to a poncho. Back in the day we had the Korean seamstress sew them inside the old green wet weather jackets. Just thinking of that brought back the smell of that rubber material.

View Quote

You sewed it to a cheese coat?

Posted: 3/17/2017 10:17:08 PM EDT

[#15]

I was planning a similar thing. I was going to tie the two ends together to cocoon me in my hammock. Even if I sleep in a bag, or on a pad, I could pull the woobie up around me for some "relaxed" insulation.

Posted: 3/17/2017 10:31:03 PM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:
Might want a reflective thermal blanket for underneath. You can get the throwaway silver ones for cheap, and you'll be glad you did!

View Quote

Those things are so noisy I don't know how you slept with it. In an emergency, sure, do you want you have to, but the only real uses I've found for them is as a reflector or improvised tarp*. That said, I keep one in each of my bags still. They deteriorate though so you need to change them out periodically.

* Put it on top of improvised lean-to or debris shelter for rain and wind protection and put more stuff on top of it to provide some insulation and to hopefully hold the noisy thing in place.

Posted: 3/18/2017 9:11:45 AM EDT

[#17]

The cheapee ones are noisey, but I use the better ones that have grommets and binding around the edges. They are thicker and last longer, but are not as noisey either.

Posted: 3/18/2017 9:37:23 AM EDT

[#18]

Rigging up a poncho liner by itself is not too affective. The challenge is sealing up around the edges. An under-quilt works by creating dead-air below you, and if it can't seal up around the edges, they aren't very effective at all. A lot of DIY modifications of sewing in shock cord which has been the only way under-quilts have worked for me. Even a purpose-designed under-quilt will fail if it isn't rigged properly.

However, if you're looking at 40-degrees, I would still recommend a CCF pad in the hammock. I used a cut-down section of Z-Rest pad (I think it's about 6 six sections). It folds up and rides against my back inside the pack but when in the hammock it covers my neck to the bottom of my butt which is where I feel the most cold. I've also just used extra clothing and layered the bottom inside my hammock creating more barrier material, so there are several options to fend off that cold-backside syndrome which is what makes hammocks both awesome in the summer and miserable in the cold weather if not rigged properly.

ROCK6

Posted: 3/18/2017 11:21:19 AM EDT

[#19]

I've never much understood the raving for poncho liners. They decrease the suck a bit in terms of damp and wind chill but they don't do a good job of keeping you warm at all, by themselves

Posted: 3/18/2017 7:23:46 PM EDT

[#20]

Correct, better than nothing but not much thicker than the old m-65 field jacket liner.

Posted: 3/25/2017 3:46:32 PM EDT

[#21]

The better reflective blanket is a usgi model called a "casualty blanket" .
it has the grommets and the edge sewn over.
they hold up pretty well.

Posted: 3/25/2017 5:16:57 PM EDT

[#22]

Quote History

Quoted:
The better reflective blanket is a usgi model called a "casualty blanket" .
it has the grommets and the edge sewn over.
they hold up pretty well.

View Quote

+1 ! I own several, and they work good!

Posted: 4/6/2017 7:36:52 PM EDT

[#23]

Quote History

Quoted:

I've spent time wrapped in a poncho liner. I wouldn't want just that in 10* weather!

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I wouldnt want just that in 40 degree weather.

Posted: 4/6/2017 7:50:43 PM EDT

[#24]

Quote History

Quoted:
I think a pad is key- either foam or inflatable.

The problem with a hammock is the air can move underneath you and if you just use a wobbie your weight will compress it to nothing. You need something that is actually able to maintain some dead air space underneath you to insulate.

View Quote

This.

The space blanket will work, but downside is it doesn't allow moisture to transfer.

I took mine and hole punched it some . Those allow the moisture a way out, but keeps reflecting the heat back up

Posted: 4/8/2017 11:16:21 AM EDT

[#25]

Quote History

Quoted:
+1 ! I own several, and they work good!

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Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
The better reflective blanket is a usgi model called a "casualty blanket" .
it has the grommets and the edge sewn over.
they hold up pretty well.

+1 ! I own several, and they work good!

+1 do you have a source I need more.

Posted: 4/8/2017 1:28:51 PM EDT

[#26]

Try Walmart online or Sportsman's Guide..............

Posted: 4/8/2017 5:48:41 PM EDT

[#27]

Quote History

Quoted:
I've never much understood the raving for poncho liners. They decrease the suck a bit in terms of damp and wind chill but they don't do a good job of keeping you warm at all, by themselves

View Quote

Because, when that's all you have . . . .

I still have mine from 30 years ago. It's picked up smells from around the world and it takes me back to each one of them, when I want to go.

Posted: 4/10/2017 10:51:11 PM EDT

[#28]

Quote History

Quoted:
Attach it to a poncho. Back in the day we had the Korean seamstress sew them inside the old green wet weather jackets. Just thinking of that brought back the smell of that rubber material.

View Quote

The smell of the puke coats just made me throw up in my mouth a little!

Posted: 4/10/2017 10:55:06 PM EDT

[#29]

Mystery Ranch makes a very warm double sided woobie. I have my original from over 20 years ago. But the new one sure is warm , my hammock is a fox parachute double hammock. Very comfortable. Warm in the wither, cool in the summer and keeps the bugs out very nicely.

Posted: 4/11/2017 5:56:18 PM EDT

[#30]

In the 40s youll be fine.. Fold the liner in half, and make a 3/4 "underquilt".. Just make sure its snug around the sides and edges, but lofty and some air space under your back.. I did that for years... But do yourself a favor and save up for a proper quilt, they can be pricey but they are awesome and worth every penny...

Posted: 4/11/2017 8:51:12 PM EDT

[#31]

The ground is the enemy. Air under you with a poncho liner under the bag should be fine.

Posted: 4/11/2017 9:24:06 PM EDT

[#32]

Wiggys has some very warm options.

http://www.wiggys.com/clothing-outerwear/ponchos-poncho-liners/

Posted: 4/13/2017 5:12:10 PM EDT

[#33]

So... did he die of exposure? No update?

Posted: 4/15/2017 12:10:13 AM EDT

[#34]

I tried a poncho liner UQ down to about 45 degrees and froze my ass off. It's well worth the $100 for a Jarbidge underquilt from Arrowhead. I'd never hammock without one again. Hell, I take one just to hang out in so I don't get a cold butt.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How warm is a GI poncho liner, or woobie for hammock underquilt?

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