How to use a Sleeping Bag in a Hammock...Version 2.0 

That board fence is the only thing keeping your neighbors from having you put away...

You Sir, are a wealth of knowledge for those that desire to emulate you and camp out in the cold. You are also, without a doubt, a nut. That is what makes watching you videos so enjoyable! :-) Keep up the good work, Sir!

Hey Shug, been watching for a while. I'm proud to say I did my first winter hammock camp out last weekend. The Boy Scouts had their winter camp out and I took my hammock (I'm an assistant leader). I used a pancho liner as an under quilt, a foam pad, and a military modular sleep system. It got down to 24 degrees and I was snug as a bug. Thanks for all the tips and motivation. I think I got bit by the winter hammock bug.

In my opinion for folks starting out, invest in an UNDER quilt first, just throw your existing bag over you like a top quilt, like at the end of the video. Zip it if you want, but its to claustrophobic for me. I have never zipped my bag up, even on the ground (pre hammock days).

Thanks Shug! This info came just in time. My granddaughter is wanting to start camping with me she’s 8 years old, I’m getting the double Dutch set up I still will use a under quilt but I wanted to use my sleeping bag for her. Great tips!

I love the aerie 20°f down underquilt! It zips up into a pod system and you could push it into the single digits weather. It’s waterproof, has a zipper, works as a sleeping bag. If you have 2 for some reason you can even zip them together, to make a huge sleeping bag!

Awesome video. Exactly what I was looking for. I’m trying to figure out the best system for hammocking near the beach in the north shore of Maui. It’s very mild here. I think I am colder than most people.. The coldest low temperature for winter is about 64deg. F but winds may be 30 mph. I totally hate trying to squirm into my WM bag and the zipper seems to be shot. I have never had success in the past with a pad in a hammock. Here in Maui, I have a mosquito hammock, and the forest floor is covered with thorned sticks. Almost always, my back starts feeling cold and I don’t want a top quilt until around midnight. Your video has helped me solidify my thoughts. I need a bottom quilt which will stay under me during all my gymnastics. I need a top quilt to put in place in the middle of my night. I just need a pillow for my head. I sleep in my hammock every night. I love sleeping in the woods. Thanks again for being a very cool guy with a great sense of humor and sharing your knowledge with the world! Best wishes.

Awesome video Shug. You answered lots of questions. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all and best regards -Yves

Jamen with the Shuge!🎼! I do the eno' under quilt"with the 20° down bag over; like the way of the last part Shown very nice!!!👌🔥💯🤚☁️ like sleeping in cloud nine in sector 7-) I started Hammocking when I was 16 years Old"and now I'm 61-and still learning that's the beauty; there's always something New💖🏜.🌲.~~

I used method two until getting my top quilt...have to say shug my top quilt is just superb.. Excellently explained as always Mr Shug. Regards Matt

Beautiful weather we are having here in the Twin Cities! It's a dang blizzard out there. Watched this video in between shoveling sessions.

Just received the Shug hat from your daughter's Etsy shop. My daughter loves it! We are both lucky dad's for having such talented daughters. Take care, Shug.

Thank you, Shug! I’ll be getting a full under quilt to go with my Marmot bag.

The T-Shirt itself, is reason enough to give a thumbs up to this video.

I admittedly have a very short hammock as it's one I've made myself from a bedsheet that being said I've learnt that my sleeping bag will comfortably slip over me and my hammock up above my head even. So I can become a little cocoon. Definitely my favourite way to use a sleeping bag and hammock.

The 2nd method you demonstrated in this has always been my go-to maneuver when I was using a sleeping bag. For me, it was the easiest way to do it. Even when under the tarp and I had to squat down a bit. Exiting the hammock was simply done in reverse of how I entered it with the bag. The "problem" I have now is that I'm trying to break myself of doing that same thing with the top quilt. Old habits die hard.

I rock my mummy bag in top quilt mode combined with an underquilt. Nice to have the hood in cold snaps. Thanks for another great video Shug!

Just did my first backcountry overnighter in a hammock. Used a sleeping pad with a sleeping bag and I stayed pretty warm and way more comfortable than I ever have been on the ground in a tent. But the 30 min of noisy tossing and turning to find a comfortable position when I first turned in for the night showed me I have some fine tuning to do in my process! I'm going to try zipping myself mostly into my bag before settling in next time.

Love method two, would love a top quilt and UQ more. Thanks Shug, this will help in the meantime.

Thanks Boss. Looks like that could be a struggle for those of us less bendable than others, but you make it look easy.

Shug your Vids always put a smile on my Face in addition to giving some good info! Thanks!

Awesome videos. I use the military sleep system. I have decided to try hammock camping instead of being on the ground. Your videos give me instruction and hope.

Hey Shug, just started (binge) watching your channel. Wife and I really enjoy your sense humor (and I particularly like your "weasel-cam"). We aren't hammock campers or hikers but we are BWCA canoe fans for decades. We are introducing another generation, our grandkids, to the beauty and they love it too. If you can make out the tiny snapshot from my comment, it's a photo I took in 2008 while camping on Rose Lake. The next day we camped on Duncan and casually hiked about a half mile of the border trail. The views were fabulous.

Hey Shug (and other campers de hamaca) I've a bag for moderate weather that I've found to be fantastic for the hammock. Trouble is they're not easy to find anymore (and this one was gifted to me 20 years ago). It's what I call a "sniper bag". It's basically a lightweight mummy-shaped bag WITH SLEEVES, and also a "port" just below the knee level where one can poke his feet out if needed. I've used it inside another mummy bag on my coldest nights out. (I have no goose pluckins stuffed gear.) I'm sure a DIY sewer could rig up his/her own version for cold weather. And you have so many small mfg's looking to serve this niche, I wanted to mention it here so maybe they can work with the idea. I'm an ideas kinda guy. See you between the trees. Whooo Buddy!

love your videos. very informative and funny! thanks for sharing.

I think that's the first time I ever saw a frown on your face! @08:14 *Thanks for the tips!*

Real nice blues tune at the end! Regards Dimitri

This was really cool! I've only summer camped and fall camped. The coldest I've ever camped is +47. Until it reaches 60, I don't sleep in anything at all, just wear some super thick socks, warm leggings, fleece and down on top, and a beanie. When it gets "colder" I have a 40 degree rectangle bag that unzips all the way, and two directions. So I hang that like a cuccoon around my hammock so none of the down is compressed at all, and KAPOW, super warm!

Love it... as always, great presentation and info.

Thanks for the ideas. For me it is example number two. I have a Serra Back country bed bag, it has no zippers. You crawl in from the top and it has a big down blanket near the top you tuck around you. So I guess you get in it like putting on pants then swing in to the hammock. for the nightly pee break it is swing out, stand up and drop the bag to the ground do your business then stand back in it and pull it up. I need more practice in the back yard. Thanks again. Bruce from the city of orange in orange county California.

Number 3 works for me now that I got an under quilt. Thanks Shug.

I came across this channel accidently - and this guy is so brilliantly crazy in his videos I just HAD to subscribed lol :)

If I keep watching your hammock info videos I might just wind up in one!! Great info Shug, thanks!!

I watched your video and this was my experiment. My first sleeping bag was a MSS intermediate black bag.(military sleep system) but it is about 5 pounds. The next one I got was a Sierra Back country bed. It is a down bag with no zipper and you slide in from the top. So the first night I tried this one and it was like you getting in that orange bag holding the hood over the head and getting in .the hammock. It is extra long so I snuggled down in. So far so good. 1 o'clock time for a pee break. Swing out and stand up, step out and when done do the inch worm to get back in. A pain but doable. Don't know what I had to drink that night but I was up 4 more times. Sucks when you are laying there and it seems like you can feel your bladder filling. The next night I used the MSS bag and it zips down to about a foot and a half from the bottom. I did like you showed using a sleeping bag for a top quilt and it worked! I just needed a longer one as this comes to my chest on the side opposite the hood. This worked. I am making the Gemini under quilt from hammock forums and have the first part built and also using a windshield screen between the layers of my Blackbird xlc. Tried again last night with the MSS bag but got cold. Was warm from the waist down but could not snuggle down far enough. Went in the house :-( Found hammock gear econo 20 degree top quilt extra long and wide options for $184.00. That is what I am saving for when tax refund comes. I am going to try the down bag again and see if not drinking anything would help. I had fun with my blackbird hammock and super fly tarp. Wife thinks I am crazy playing in the back yard. Sorry this is so long, but I am a gabber in the real world. Thanks for all your help and info. Bruce from the city of Orange in Orange county California.

Thank you very much for your demonstrations and you are one goofy person sitting here on my lunch break eating my chili and watching you be a goof as you're rolling around in the snow in your sleeping bag thank you for the smiles and thank you for the information

A subscribe from the UK 👍. I have just started my hammock adventure after years of ground dwelling. Great advice test what works for you and some great ideas too.

I am 'down' with what you are sayin'! Even ground dwellers are better off with a quilt. For us it is just a 'quilt' not a 'top quilt'. Kinda like camping in January and calling it 'winter camping'. I never understood that - I know it is winter. All the best Shug! ;-)

While others are binge watching old Game of Thrones, I am binge watching old Shug videos

The very first night I ever slept in a hammock I tried to get into my sleeping bag while in the hammock, and I capsized and ended up on the ground. The funny part is what happened to my bugnet. Nevertheless, from that night on, I used my sleeping bag in top quilt mode until I was able to save up enough to buy a real top quilt. Gave my sleeping bag to my youngest son. You make it look easy peasy ;-)

A good winter storm to test or maybe play with some gear! Very Good Shug!!👍

Well, I've seen nearly every video of yours over the last few years of enjoying your content. Yet I still find myself coming back to them when I have a question. Thanks for your help over all these years, it's been excellent. Keep it up! And I hope your shoulder heals up well.

I’ve been using a synthetic under blanket with a down throw on top of that. Then I use my 20 degree down sleeping bag as a top quilt. I only cover up with it. I put my feet in the foot box and leave the sleeping bag unzipped. Works out great.

Great video Shug!! I wish I has seen this before my first hang. Took me 20 minutes to get into my hammie and not fall out! I was so sweaty by the time i finally got in, it was rolling off my hair and down my face!! Now it's a snap ... I may fail sometimes, but I try to always fail forward!! This will help all the newbies!!

Great video shug. Lead me to the last one I watched from last year

had to comment on this one Shug !! you reminded me of a time me and a mate was hammocking and he woke me up with all the noise he was making, i shined the torch at him and he was jumping around like you are in the video, middle of the night pitch dark i was wondering what was going on with him and laughing at the same time .... the zip had stuck on his sleeping bag right at the top and he could`nt get out of it.. and he really need to pea bad, seriously i had to cut a hole in the bag for him to go !! another reason for a TQ and to go hammocking with a friend.... ha ha ha good times.... see ya on the forums good man !!!

Yup sleeping bag does me just fine with a pad under me that is. Thanks to shugs videos I hit a new record low -36C.

Old shug cuts thru the BS and keeps me from getting vapor lock in the think tank. I dont have to think like a corkscrew.🤣

Sleeping bag in "top quilt mode" is excellent for side sleepers. Hood on your head and sleeping on your side, all is good with the world. Also, I prefer to stretch out a bit and the additional width of an opened sleeping bag is nice.

Hopping around in your sleeping bag.. LOL Great info.. Thanks for the video

Shug is the man!

I would hate to see all your snow down there I am in Columbia Heights, we just got the edge of the snow and it made drifts about 2 feet deep. Lots of stuck vehicles. Even plows. Feel sorry your area. Nice videos. Thanks

This was a video I have been waiting for for a long time. It was helpful as I always struggled getting into a sleeping bag. You made it look somewhat easy!!!!!!

00:12 - As Shug would say... "Don't do what I do." Down sleeping bags make for lousy pogo sticks. LOL Good video.

Going to South Mountain SP this weekend to try these out. I don’t have a top quilt yet. I’m bringing my 23 degree under quilt and pad just in case.

Great information, but I really love the song at the end.

Thanks for this video, Shug. I'm in the process of completely overhauling my hammock rig. I just purchased a Dream Hammock Raven to replace my Hennessy and got a Wilderness Logics 20 degree underquilt. I'm still going to have to use my North Face Aleutian sleeping bag for a while longer until I get some more funds for a quality top quilt. I've been worried about the zipper on this bag tearing through my brand new (and expensive) hammock. I did get the 1.6 Hyper D which is supposed to be fairly strong, but I'm still paranoid about it.

Another goodie, thanks

Thank you!

I use my MSS in my hammock with a undetquilt and run my tarp a little lower to keep the heat in my sleeping area.

During my second overnighter this summer, here in deep woods of Dalsland county, Sweden, I had a very awful experience: I was constantly sliding down while lying inside my sleeping bag. (Prior to this occasion, I used it in top quilt mode a few weeks ago, when it was warmer, and didn’t slide down as much.) No matter what I did - pushing myself backwards with right arm on the ground; raising the head-side strap a lot: my feet were always twice the height of my head from the ground... Maybe the thin, reflective sleeping pad I used posed a bit of a culprit, but removing it didn’t fix it much. I really think someone should invent a hammock-compatible sleeping bag, with a way of locking it to the hammock in the head area, somehow. Yeah, I know. I’m still a rookie and my complaints are everywhere right now (!) but, hey, it’s a science and they need to crank their science game up a bit. :-)

Sleeping bag used as a top quilt is fine with me...I see no need in changing since I already own a few expensive down bags from my ground dwelling days. Whoo bud!

Such a good video. So many useful tips! Thank you so much for the sleeping bag bunny hop entertainment ..lol! Music awesome as always!

Hey, Shug thanks. Spent the last four hours just chilling out in my brand new Dutch chameleon. An my 0° C / 32° F mummy bag with mil-spec pad under me damn comfortable. But I do think I will be investing in a top Quilt and under Quilt from HG very soon. Thanks. Huey0328

Never thought about that second way. I will try that.

The end is wonderful.

Shug...I'm running out of vids of yours to watch! Maybe a q&a thing again... Or tell us about the Minnesota bound episode...or where whoo buddy came from... Any new gear ya got... Sum thing!!

Thanks again for the pointers! I'm a new viewer (and I'm catching up on a lot of your vids) but this saved me from having to rewind on your channel to get the answer to this question! You explain things very well. P.S. l never even considered hammocking until I watched your channel. I've already started making one. Sorry, I know this section is for comments not whole letters!😂👍 See ya on HF

Always enjoy your vids! the hard work is appreciated!

Good information. I am new to Hammocks. I did it once last September. I fell in love with hammocks. I just bought a new ENO hammock and I have straps on the way. I like your information. I have bags and equipment to help me in cold weather, I will take it slow. I am a bit older than you. My old neighbor (RIP) Bill Coyle was a clown for BB. Take care

Looks to me like the stand up method works the best. Would also work great for a Hennessy bottom entry hammock.

Shug you crazy...loved the intro

Excelent hi from colombia

one man hopping around in his back yard succeeds were the big budget multinational television companies mostly fail to do, and that is to entertain

Great video. I actually use and have had great luck with a Frontcountry zipperless sleeping back. The bag allows you to get into it before you get in the hammock because the foot box opens up. Climb into the hammock, adjust a bit not alot needed then can put my feet in the box. Sleeping back is warm and comes with a tongue kind of like a shoe and pull it up...Done. What do ya think? Using a under quilt but no top quilt needed so far.

I was hoping to see you do 'the worm'. Lol

I've used sleeping bag in quilt mode for a couple years now, even on the ground. I am a bigger guy and never liked the constriction feeling around my shoulders. I've done that with a CCF pad under me down to about 25° comfortably. The only problem is shoulders creeping, catching an exposed section of hammock body. An SPE is the next step. unless someone wants to gift me an UQ

Another great vid!

this is the funniest channel I have ever seen! Thank you! Good Luck!

It is even cold inside without any wind. I started sleeping at home in a hammock to hopefully prevent migraines, and quickly understood I have to do something. I tied down down comforter with ropes underneath and with some adjustment it works pretty good. However my problem is, that if dress warm for early morning, I am too hot before and after, so now I put sweater nearby and have to put it on when it gets cold early morning. I wonder, if there is a better solution...At night we have now about 68-69, and not sure how much early morning is-my guess about 64-65 (outside 55).

Hey Shug, does the sleeping bag have to be a bit longer for use in hammocks? Like, if I'm 6 feet and the bag is designed for exactly 6 feet, is it going to work in the hammock or does it need to be a bit bigger to accomodate the curvature?

I string my hammock between two trees as close together as possible and hang my hammock as tight as I possibly can. Then I wedge my inflatable mat in there followed by my sleeping bag. This gives me a nice flat surface to sleep on. When I get in I insert my feet and legs, pull the bag tight up to my waist, and tuck my shoulders in and zip up the bag. I have well over 1k nights.

Shug, have you seen folks cut a hole in the bottom of their sleeping bag to pull their hammock through to "make" a top/bottom quilt?

Rare footage of the elusive Jumping Snow Slug in its natural habitat

The most seamless way to do this is sleeve your sleeping bag OVER your hammock. Simple to get in and out of.

... No you do not have to have a top quilt.Golden!

I love your videos

#SHUGISLEGEND

Dude so helpful

Totally agree. Wider is better. I've got two bags, winter and less-winter. The winter is narrow, always a pain. This is not the first time you've stated your argument for using top and bottom quilts is bladder-motivated. There are heart-pacemakers, lots of dental inserts, but I think what we all really want is a camel-back-capacity bladder-add-on (leak proof)... and warm toes.

Nice job again.. Saw you on Minnesota Bound... nice job!

You have some little fans in the UK - my children. And they’re related to you!! My Husbands Grandad, Jack, is your Uncle. Well, he’s passed now. So Hello - we are extended family!!

Hi Shoosh, I notice you double stacking your underquilts, but would double stacking top quilts work, in leu of bringing less clothing, say to zero C, to minus 10 C. (reason being I am wearing wool around camp, but too heavy) until I can afford down pants and jackets... I use HG 0, and HG 20, down, with 2oz over stuff in the 0 quilt... All secure in sector Alpha 3, here in the UK....Whoooo matey.

you bring me soooo much joy!

Just wondering if the enlightened quilt would he as good or better than a top quilt?

Another great video!

Hammocker Helper!

In another lifetime I wouldn't mind us being neighbors growing up! Must have been a wreck!

Ok, Shug....good video but I have a question. What if it's super cold? Is it possible to use an underquilt and an insulated mattress in combo, regardless of whether you prefer a sleeping bag or topquilt, or do they mutually exclude each other from working properly?

I'm sure you've probably said it in an entire video but I was wondering what that material is that your hammocks made out of in this video thank you very much

Question about foam pads: How do you stop them from sliding about in the hammock? In the middle of the night I find mine about halfway down my hammock. Should I pin it in place with safety pins?