The thing everyone underestimates about hammock camping: you don’t get cold because you’re lying wrong — you get cold from underneath. Your body weight crushes flat everything you lie on top of, so the sleeping bag beneath you insulates almost nothing. The fix is called an underquilt: insulation that hangs on the outside of the hammock, where it never gets compressed. (Hangers have a name for the problem: “cold butt syndrome”. Charming, but accurate.)
Three popular choices in Europe: our down underquilt, plus Snugpak’s and DD’s synthetic underblankets. Comparing down to synthetic is a bit apples-to-oranges — they solve the same problem in different ways. We’ll do it anyway, and we’ll do it honestly.
Snugpak Hammock Under Blanket — the affordable workhorse
Synthetic (Travelsoft polyester). That means: it handles moisture without losing its warmth, it shrugs off rain and dew, and it’s cheap and tough. All of that is genuinely good, especially through a wet Nordic autumn.
But: 1,450 g — roughly twice the weight of a comparable down quilt — and bulky. Even packed down to 23 × 23 cm it eats a serious chunk of your pack. Snugpak publishes no official temperature rating; in the real world it’s comfortable down to a degree or two above freezing and will handle 0°C if you rig it well. It’s not a winter quilt.
Best for: basecamp, canoe trips and damp conditions where weight and pack size don’t matter. Price in Europe: around €60–90.
DD Underblanket — the cheapest way in
Also synthetic (200 g “synthetic silk”, i.e. polyester), 950 g, simple clip-on mounting. An affordable entry into three-season insulation, especially if you already hang in a DD hammock.
But: it’s short — 200 cm, shorter than many hammocks (including DD’s own ~270 cm), so you easily get cold gaps at your feet and shoulders. DD rates it at −5°C, but in practice comfort sits closer to 0 to +5°C, and the warmth stands or falls on how tightly you tension it. Get the rigging wrong and you get an air pocket and a cold back.
Best for: budget, spring and autumn, and as plug-and-play in the DD ecosystem. Price: around €65.
Momo Jord Underquilt — down, and four seasons
Here we change material: 850FP RDS-certified down in an ultralight 10d shell. Down weighs less, packs smaller and warms more per gram than synthetic. We make four models so you buy exactly the warmth you need:
- UQ300 Summer — 300 g down, +5°C and warmer, 600 g, €255
- UQ400 Late summer — 400 g down, 0°C, 700 g, €295
- UQ500 Spring & late autumn — 500 g down, −5°C, 800 g, €319
- UQ800 Winter — 800 g down, −10°C, 1,100 g, €409
And here’s the killer stat: our warmest winter quilt, the UQ800, handles −10°C and weighs 1,100 g — less than a Snugpak that only takes you to freezing. To match Snugpak’s warmth our UQ400 (0°C) is plenty, and it weighs 700 g. Half the weight, same night. And 208 cm of full length means your feet and shoulders are actually covered — even on a big hammock.
When you should not choose down
Down isn’t always the right answer. If you’re constantly getting wet — canoeing, long spells of rain, clammy condensation — synthetic is more forgiving; it still insulates when damp. Is your budget rock-hard, or do you simply not care about weight and pack size? Then Snugpak or DD are perfectly sensible buys. We sell honesty, not just down.
Three quilts, side by side
| Momo Jord (down) | Snugpak (synthetic) | DD (synthetic) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fill | 850FP down | Travelsoft polyester | 200 g polyester |
| Weight | 600–1,100 g | 1,450 g | 950 g |
| Warmth | +5°C to −10°C (4 models) | ~0°C (rigged) | ~0 to +5°C (−5°C stated) |
| Length | 208 cm (full) | 211 cm | 200 cm (short) |
| Pack size | 30×12 → 33×20 cm | 23×23 cm (bulky) | — |
| Handles moisture | Less well (down) | Good | Good |
| Price | €255–409 | ~€60–90 | ~€65 |
| Best for | Light, warm, packable, all seasons | Wet/basecamp, budget | Budget, DD ecosystem |
Which one suits your hammock?
Size matters. Our 208 cm covers an adult fully and fits most hammocks — including a Hennessy (which is actually what people google most about Hennessy: “underquilt for Hennessy Hammock”). DD’s 200 cm comes up short on anything longer than their own hammocks.
Want to understand fill power, the difference between comfort and limit temperature, and how to rig the quilt so you don’t get gaps — read our big underquilt guide. This article is about which one to choose; the guide is about how it all works.
The verdict
Budget, wet or basecamp? Snugpak or DD do the job and cost less.
Want the warmest, lightest, most packable quilt with full length for a Nordic climate — year round? Then it’s down, and then it’s ours.
