Hammock cocoon - Why?

[Mountain Goat]

Just wondering- whats the point in hammock cocoons? Can you not just zip up a sleeping bag around the hammock- most have zip openings at bottom as well as the top.

[Martin]

A sleeping bag won't be large enough, although if you can find one that is, then it will be just fine. :)

Martin

[Silverback]

a sleeping bag won't be large enough, although if you can find one that is, then it will be just fine. :)

martin


+1 :)

[skids]

I use an old sleeping bag as a cocoon, works great, saved me spending £80 on a underblanket.

[Kernowek Scouser]

If you lack the skills to make your own hammock cocoon, whether there is any point to one is somewhat moot, as you are very unlikely to see one for sale.

But for the sake of argument, as Martin has said, most sleeping bags are simply too small to fully envelope a hammock with you in it, certainly none of the bags I own are big enough. And while you can quite easily and satisfactorily adapt most sleeping bags into a hammock under quilt, which will take the sting out of the wind on your back. In cooler months, you would still need some kind of top sheet or an additional sleeping bag to keep the rest of you warm in the hammock.

So unless like Skids, you have a suitably large sleeping bag to mimic the performance of a cocoon, you will need to carry at least two items in your pack to keep you warm, as opposed to just the one with a cocoon. This may not sound like any great hardship (and to be fair it isn't really) but if you are out for more than one night and / or you are walking a fair distance, the additional weight of multiple items of sleeping kit and space they take up in you pack, may well leave you thinking "I wish I had a cocoon" as you rub your aching back.

I don't have a cocoon myself, but I have spent the night in one a friend very kindly let me borrow. I found it to be a tad claustrophobic, especially when I woke up and was momentarily disorientated, but it did keep me very warm and I had a very good nights kip in it.

If I had the skills, I would make one or if one became available to buy, I would bite the sellers hand off at the shoulder, but as mentioned above, they are as rare as a bushcrafter who does not enjoy a laugh around the camp fire, so the worth of them is somewhat moot.

Someone, vastly more experienced than me, told me while there are some thing you just should not do (like having a go at carving a spoon, in the dark, after a skinfull) there is rarely a single right way to do most things, so find what works best for you and go with it.

And if what works does not cost an arm or a leg, even better :D

Atb.

Colin

[John_McC]

Just a thought could you not zip two small sleeping bags together (like we used to do to make a double) and rig up some sort of draw string at the open end to close it once you were in. Please note that my choice of sleeping is defiantly on the ground so have no experience with swinging from trees :camping:

[Martin]

...So unless like Skids, you have a suitably large sleeping bag to mimic the performance of a cocoon, you will need to carry at least two items in your pack to keep you warm, as opposed to just the one with a cocoon. This may not sound like any great hardship (and to be fair it isn't really) but if you are out for more than one night and / or you are walking a fair distance, the additional weight of multiple items of sleeping kit and space they take up in you pack, may well leave you thinking "I wish I had a cocoon" as you rub your aching back....

In fairness, if I was walking any distance, I wouldn't be carrying a hammock anyway. It's a heavy weight sleep option in my opinion.

Martin

[suggy]

Think the Pea-pods are still available, made from down and cost a packet

http://www.speerhammocks.com/Products/PeaPod.htm

[Kernowek Scouser]

Just a thought could you not zip two small sleeping bags together (like we used to do to make a double) and rig up some sort of draw string at the open end to close it once you were in.
It could be bulky and I imagine you would have a fair bit of superfluous bag at the ends, but you might be on to something here. T^

I've got a couple of matching bags up in the loft (they were part of a job lot of gear I picked ages ago. They are way too narrow for me, so I've never used them) next time I am up there and if I think on, I'll get them down and put your idea to the test.


In fairness, if I was walking any distance, I wouldn't be carrying a hammock anyway. It's a heavy weight sleep option in my opinion.

Martin

Are you still camping out in your Terra Nova Laser fella? I guess when you factor in the weight of webbing that comes with a hammock, any additional suspension gear you might use, and then include your tarp and rigging. on top of the weight of the hammock itself; the final number you arrive at will be somewhat greater than a lightweight technical tent. Then you have to add whatever you are taking to keep yourself warm. So I am not going to disagree that swinging is not the most lightweight option... but :wink: in my (granted limited) experience of swinging versus ground dwelling (which I am more of an old hand at) while I know I must be carrying more weight to swing comfortably, I don't feel the weight, indeed they carry seems lighter, if that makes sense.

Probably a psychological element to it, as I can fit all my swinging gear into a small compression sack and while it may in actual fact be heavier than my tent, it neither looks nor feels it. The rest of my sleep gear is then pretty much the same, for both swinging and ground dwelling, self inflating mat, sleeping bag, poncho liner (used as an underquilt when swinging, as an extra blanket when ground dwelling) and a bivi bag. So it does not feel like a heavier carry, even if it is.

I am sure you really wanted to know all that :D


Think the Pea-pods are still available, made from down and cost a packet

http://www.speerhammocks.com/Products/PeaPod.htm

I've not seen one of these before, it looks quite intriguing. But at a stonking $399.00 + shipping,, looking at one is all I am likely to do :eek: Cheers for the link though.

Atb.

Colin

[Martin]

Colin, still using the Terra Nova Laser. Brilliant bit of kit and still light as a feather. Coupled with a Rab down filled bag and a Thermarest Prolite mat, I sleep like a baby and still have miles in my legs at the end of the day.

Martin

[Bob W]

Bloody hell martin, you're kipping on, and/or in, the thick end of £700 worth of kit!! I'd want all inclusive for that ;)

Quick question;

Sleeping mat, in or outside your bag in the tent??

[Martin]

Bloody hell martin, you're kipping on, and/or in, the thick end of £700 worth of kit!! I'd want all inclusive for that ;)

Quick question;

Sleeping mat, in or outside your bag in the tent??

True, Bob, but I do kip well and feel refreshed and ready to walk full distance the next day. Great question on the mat inside the bag. I've never considered putting it inside as I tend to fidget around at night, rolling from one side to the other. I will give it a go, inside the bag, next time I'm out which will be in three weeks time.

I've had the tent for three years now and it will keep going for many years to come. The Thermarest was a second hand bargain from GlenM and the sleeping bag was new but is a luxury I was happy to pay for. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I sleep and rest for a large part of the day and night when I'm out so comfort is paramount. I also spend good money on boots as they are on my feet all day.

Martin

[Bob W]

True, Bob, but I do kip well and feel refreshed and ready to walk full distance the next day. Great question on the mat inside the bag. I've never considered putting it inside as I tend to fidget around at night, rolling from one side to the other. I will give it a go, inside the bag, next time I'm out which will be in three weeks time.

I've had the tent for three years now and it will keep going for many years to come. The Thermarest was a second hand bargain from GlenM and the sleeping bag was new but is a luxury I was happy to pay for. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I sleep and rest for a large part of the day and night when I'm out so comfort is paramount. I also spend good money on boots as they are on my feet all day.

Martin

To be honest Martin, I've never used a sleeping mat. The only time my little tent gets used is when doing the river in the Canadian canoe, there's normally two of us and we just hit the deck, admittedly we're sometimes a bit chilly through the night, so my question was one for a comparison.

I was also curious after reading your thoughts about hammocking being heavier than taking a tent, so I hit google and I can see how in your case it would be. My little banshee 200 weighs twice as much as your tent at 2kg, the DD frontline and 3x3 tarp, which I'm considering buying, come in at 1.61kg combined, throw in a few lines, tree huggers, etc and I reckon I'm looking at a similar weight as the banshee, I don't include bags etc as they're used whichever system you go with.

As an aside, my sleeping arrangements when fishing are somewhat more luxurious compared to the tent, see pic, no comments on the legs :ashamed: A bed, sleeping bag and over-blanket if cold, or just the bag or blanket when warm. I've never really had a problem with cold coming up under the bed which is only about 8"-10" off the ground. Weight isn't an issue, if I'm not fishing out of the boot of the car, the whole lot goes on a specifically designed "tackle" barrow and can be pushed as far as any lake would need.

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