Underquilts are very cool, but at least in my life I frequently end up in a not hammock friendly camp spot at the end of the day: Mountain peaks beyond the tree line, bushland, beach camp spots, prairie etc. In these cases I will have to revert to sleep on the ground and I will thus almost always have a sleeping pad with me. Given this fact, it only makes sense to use the sleeping pad for insulation and the TTTM Mat Pro caters exactly to this need. In fact, I would go so far to say that it is the best backpacking or thru-hiking hammock for this very reason. I use it in combination with a Sea-to-Summit XR Pro Large sleeping pad, which perfectly fills out my hammock's pouch and actually provides a very comfortable insulating layer for my hammock. In fact, this set-up is not really inferior to using an underquilt. But it get's even better: imagine you had both, a sleeping pad for moderately cold temperatures and an underquilt for freezing temperatures. Combine the two of them and you have a perfect set-up for sub-zero, all while being able to regulate the insulation for warmer temperatures by choosing either or.
What else? The ridgeline organizer is really handy, the tie-outs nice to have, the completely removable bug-net with zippers on both sides the only way bug-nets should be handled on hammocks and the entire hammock is still relatively light and comfortable. I use the TTTM lightest straps as a suspension system.
As much as the moon bags are cute, the zipper opening is too short and narrow, which makes stuffing the hammock away slightly more tedious than it should be in my opinion. So I will make my own double sided stuff sack to go with it, but that's really a minor detail and rather an inspiration to start DIYing my own accessories for it.
I use a Khibu underquilt, a ZenBivy topquilt and the TTTM Full Moon tarp for very cold temperatures and I'm telling you, I sleep better than at home in it. Of course the set-up has a price, but I can't think of a better modular set-up to brace almost every condition the world can throw at you. It's a tropical night? Hop in, close your bug-net and say good night. Dammit, no trees around? Sleep on the ground with the Zenbivy Sleep system and use the hammock as a bug bivy. It's raining? Use the TTTM Full Moon Tarp to build a ground shelter. You found some trees, get up in the air, of course. Cold? Slide the sleeping pad in (50% full). Colder? Use an underquilt. Extremely cold? Use both.
Also here's a little hack I found: Get the TTTM Second Tree Kit for your bikepacking adventure and you'll get two whoopie slings, which you can also use to lengthen your hammock's suspension system in case you'd need to.
I know this sounds like an advertisement, but I payed for everything myself and I'm just very happy to have found this combination of gear, so I wanted to share it with like-minded folk. But in all the gear-craze: Never forget to just get out there in the first place and engineer your own (and sometimes cheaper) solution wherever you can.
