Natural Bushcraft - The True Spirit of Bushcraft

A Hammock Cocoon works on the same principles as an 'underblanket' but instead goes right around your hammock.

If you're unfamiliar with hammocking or insulating yourself whilst in one, allow me to give you a brief guide to it.

When sleeping in a hammock you take away the problem of the ground sapping away your body heat, however the passing of a constant breeze on the underneath of your hammock can be just as bad and make you cold. So you still need to insulate yourself when hammocking even in the warmer months.

There are a few different ways you can insulate yourself. Quite simply by using a foam roll-mat just like you would on the ground, this provides an insulative barrier between you and the cooler air. You can also use an 'underblanket' which is a blanket that hangs around the bottom of the hammock, ideally with a small gap between the blanket itself and the hammock, this creates a cavity of still air. The cavity of trapped air beneath your hammock can slowly warm from your body heat, so now your warmth stays around your back and makes for a much more comfortable nights sleep.

My favorite way to insulate myself in a hammock is by using a cocoon, this essentially uses the same principles of a underblanket (as mentioned above) but traps air all around the hammock. It not only insulates extremely well but it has other benifits that I love too.

As far as I'm concerned the Hammock Cocoon has the following benifits:

• It insulates very well.
• Allows me to carry less gear (no need for a sleeping bag or roll-mat!)
• Is a lot easier to get in and out of
• Over all more comfortable hammocking, doesn't feel as restrictive

My wife Claire demos the cocoon

Obviously in the picture above the cocoon is open but at night when it's cooler you would simply do up the zip (fully clothed or not) and leave an opening for your face. In summer time you can leave it fairly open so it  just keeps your back warm.

Here is another picture of the cocoon closed with no one in inside:

Click on the image above to enlarge

My cocoon was made by SnugPak, I purchased it second hand from a friend who bought it through a Group Buy on BushcraftUK. As far as I know this item is fairly bespoke and you won't find it for sale in your normal outdoor retailers. I've heard rumours that SnugPak will only produce a batch of these if you can get 10 interested people to buy them (I would like Snupak to confirm this or in fact provide any comments about the production of this cocoon - as I get asked about it regularly!)

This is the embroidery on the cocoon:

I really love this cocoon, I use it all the time through all the seasons and the way I see it, it has simplified and lightened my sleep system whilst adding comfort and making hammocking even easier. Let's face it when you're in a wet woodland during mid-Winter, getting into a sleeping bag, then bivi bag, then wriggling into your hammock like a giant worm from a muddy floor can be a pain in the backside (literally if you miss the hammock!)

I have been down to -5c in this cocoon on Dartmoor with no additional sleeping-bag or roll mat, whilst admittedly this was a little nippy and a little additional blanket would have been good on that one occasion, I have on numerous times stayed in it just below -0c and have been comfortable.

Some people have even taken to making their own Hammock Cocoons out of things like old mummy sleeping bags, blankets etc. tinkers in our forum has given it a go, take a look at the thread here.

I am actually looking for someone to write a how-to style guide on how to build your own cocoon, so if you have made your own and feel like sharing with the Bushcraft community, please get in touch and perhaps you could write an article to be featured here on Natural Bushcraft.

Happy Hammocking!