Ogri-pod Mk 2
With all the talk about hammocks lately, I thought I had better chip in with my 2 pence worth.
As some of you might recall, I was carrying out some modifications to my Ogri-pod.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17722&highlight=ogripod
Having found it too warm for a February foray in West Wales, something had to be done.
I have since tried a few methods of keeping warm in a hammock, foam pads, blankets and gritting my teeth to name a few. Knowing that my pod was over-engineered meant that I could reverse some of my original ideas to cool things down. I still wanted to retain its ability to cope with serious cold weather but it had to allow mid-season hammock trips without me passing out with heat exhaustion. In essence, all Ive done is to open up the stitching, add a length of Velcro and two support cords and I now use it up-side-down. I covered everything with a layer of cheap poly-cotton DPM so it blended into the background a little. The modifications means that it can be used supported like an under-blanket and open in warm weather or progressively closed from the foot-box upwards over the top of the hammock as the weather cools.
I have maintained the head end closure mechanism of cords, which lift and secure the insulation at any desired height.
This brings me neatly to what I might further modify or incorporate in any future guises.
Most important would be to trim away some of the bulk, and there are a few things I can try without loosing too much versatility. The donor material was a 13.5 tog king size duvet, so I could use a lower tog rating. This alone would reduce the sheer amount of insulation being used. I wouldnt want to go too much lower, but a 10 tog rating might be worth a try. Secondly, having done much cutting and sewing to reshape the original item, I can afford to narrow a lot of the current shape or use a smaller donor item - it is 60 inches wide from head end to below the knee! Future shapes would be more like coffin shapes, tapered at each end, which will still encompass the whole body or perhaps a simple tube and use inner cushions of clothing to eliminate cold spots at each end. Something that has crossed my mind is to use a feather filled duvet, and as part of the trimming process, cut the inner stitching and shake the feathers from the part that will be cut away into the areas that will remain . Cunning huh?
I have also done away with the sock that used to enclose the whole thing I found that while it kept any breeze at bay, it had a nasty habit of accumulating lots of condensation, not good if you are trying to keep things dry and warm.
And finally the photos ..
Getting set up, it all lays in the hammock while I clip the ends into place.
Head end hangs loose for ease of entry/exit. Possibly due for trimming away to reduce bulk.
Head end can be raised from within the hammock and tightened to suit the conditions.
Self portrait showing foot-box and ever-present ridgeline which is my favourite for stashing gear overnight.
Stay tuned folks as theres bound to be another version before too long .
ATB
Ogri the trog
With all the talk about hammocks lately, I thought I had better chip in with my 2 pence worth.
As some of you might recall, I was carrying out some modifications to my Ogri-pod.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17722&highlight=ogripod
Having found it too warm for a February foray in West Wales, something had to be done.
I have since tried a few methods of keeping warm in a hammock, foam pads, blankets and gritting my teeth to name a few. Knowing that my pod was over-engineered meant that I could reverse some of my original ideas to cool things down. I still wanted to retain its ability to cope with serious cold weather but it had to allow mid-season hammock trips without me passing out with heat exhaustion. In essence, all Ive done is to open up the stitching, add a length of Velcro and two support cords and I now use it up-side-down. I covered everything with a layer of cheap poly-cotton DPM so it blended into the background a little. The modifications means that it can be used supported like an under-blanket and open in warm weather or progressively closed from the foot-box upwards over the top of the hammock as the weather cools.
I have maintained the head end closure mechanism of cords, which lift and secure the insulation at any desired height.
This brings me neatly to what I might further modify or incorporate in any future guises.
Most important would be to trim away some of the bulk, and there are a few things I can try without loosing too much versatility. The donor material was a 13.5 tog king size duvet, so I could use a lower tog rating. This alone would reduce the sheer amount of insulation being used. I wouldnt want to go too much lower, but a 10 tog rating might be worth a try. Secondly, having done much cutting and sewing to reshape the original item, I can afford to narrow a lot of the current shape or use a smaller donor item - it is 60 inches wide from head end to below the knee! Future shapes would be more like coffin shapes, tapered at each end, which will still encompass the whole body or perhaps a simple tube and use inner cushions of clothing to eliminate cold spots at each end. Something that has crossed my mind is to use a feather filled duvet, and as part of the trimming process, cut the inner stitching and shake the feathers from the part that will be cut away into the areas that will remain . Cunning huh?
I have also done away with the sock that used to enclose the whole thing I found that while it kept any breeze at bay, it had a nasty habit of accumulating lots of condensation, not good if you are trying to keep things dry and warm.
And finally the photos ..
Getting set up, it all lays in the hammock while I clip the ends into place.
Head end hangs loose for ease of entry/exit. Possibly due for trimming away to reduce bulk.
Head end can be raised from within the hammock and tightened to suit the conditions.
Self portrait showing foot-box and ever-present ridgeline which is my favourite for stashing gear overnight.
Stay tuned folks as theres bound to be another version before too long .
ATB
Ogri the trog
