With the right and detailed strategy, we can hammock camp and sleep comfortably and warm during the winter season. Someone will require additional steps to eventually stay dry, warm, and have fun in these specific seasons.
Regardless of the chances of snow and cold temperatures camping during the winter with a hammock can significantly be rewarding and unforgettable experience. Without further ado, allow me to take you through a comprehensive guide on how to hammock camp during the winter.
Contents
Utilize the quilts to stay dry and warm
To block the wind and aid trap heat, utilize the quilt, an insulated blanket stringed up under the hammock. Besides, this blanket is designed to create a fantastic layer of air between the hammocks and quilt. Therefore, the heat will get trapped to offer more insulation making the user warm.
You will get warmer when you deploy beneath the quilt instead of using the sleeping bag that comes with your hammock; this is because the insulation right in the sleeping bag tends to get compressed and lose the capability of trapping the heat.
Regardless that this bag still does a beneficial job insulating the top of the user’s body, many individuals forego the bag and preferably utilize the top quilt, specifically manufactured for hammocks. The top quilts are compressible and light; thus there are easy to carry around in any place.
Consider and wind and seek natural shelter
First, select the best campsite close to two trees or other strong anchor points. Avoid the zones with cold pools during the night, like basins and other related zones, which are lower than the rest of the surrounding land. While setting up the hammock, focus on dealing with the potential wind.
Generally, note the specific direction of the wind, take advantage of the natural windbreaks such as rock formations, hills, and trees. And instead of hanging the hammock in a relatively open zone, consider moving it to the cluster of trees and taking advantage of their specific natural sheltering effect. Additionally, you can consider hanging the tarp between two strong trees as an extra layer of your protection.
Utilize the sleeping pad
This is the best alternative for the individuals who cannot afford the quilt that you should place below you inside your hammock. This pad serves two main purposes increasing insulation and comfort. Besides, someone can eventually utilize the inflatable sleeping pad of standard foam and be aware that they can slide or even slip out of your hammock as you try to move around when sleeping.
Generally, some hammocks come with their inner compartment, which holds the inflatable or foam sleeping pad, preventing your pad from shifting. The inflatable model is the perfect choice when weight saving is considered, while the closes–cell foam pads are manufactured to offer more warmth.
Further, the other selection is purchasing the pad manufactured specifically for the hammock. This product comes with side sections that fold to conform to your hammock and feature fabrics that reflect the user’s body heat. And still, you can find the best sleeves which slip over the pad and have reflective fabrics to aid you in retaining the heat.
Layer your clothing
It is also an excellent idea to typically wear many layers when you are utilizing the hammock to camp during the winter. This allows someone to regulate the temperature to typically keep you from getting too cold or too hot. Thus, with little practice, you will start learning to remove and add clothes even without leaving the cozy confines of the hammock.
Therefore, it’s good to keep additional clothing inside the hammock at all times you camp in winter to stay warm. And also, ensure you remove the snow from your clothes before getting to your hammock. In essence, the experts recommend you break down your winter clothing into three specific layers the middle layer, the insulating fabric, the base layer, the wicking fabric, and the top layer, wind and rain repellent fabric.
Further, add the quality pair of moisture-wicking warm socks, winter hiking boots, winter gloves, and a knit hat. Only ensure that all the items you select will keep you dry and warm in cold conditions.
Ring the tarp above your hammock
Ringing the tarp above your hammock aids in blocking the rain, snow, wind and traps the heat. Remember that it is helpful to typically place your tarp very low as possible.
And after you attach your tarp right to the specific spot on the tree above the hammock straps, consider pulling its corners lower and securing them. Besides, you will come across various tarps and rainfly from different hammock manufacturers out there.
Hammock straps
During the winter season, you are typically required to utilize the hammock straps. This means the faster you set up your hammock, the quicker you will get inside out of cold weather. The hammock straps are much more straightforward to utilize with mittens or gloves on instead of eventually hanging hammocks using the ropes.
Besides, many camping hammocks, such as Hennessey hammocks, are delivered with built-in incredible straps. On the other side, hammocks such as ENO hammocks require the user to purchase the straps separately.
Rest the head on your pillow
This is also among the effective strategy used when camping during the winter using hammocks. You should also prevent your skin right from pressing over the hammock materials as much as you can. Therefore, the pack travel best pillows are designed perfectly to cover the user’s shoulders and neck while sleeping.
Stash hot water bottle
This is the trick many hammock comperes have been using for years now. You only need to fill a bit large and insulated water bottle with hot water before going to bed, followed by stashing it closer to your feet. Automatically, this bottle will warm the whole of your body, not only the feet, during the night.
Conclusion
Winter hammock camping is a memorable experience if you have a supportive guide. Invest the correct hammock camping gears if you don’t have and ensure you have the best winter clothing. I have deep researched and came up with the best tips and strategies to help you hammock camp in winter, warm, dry, and enjoyably.
