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A couple of weeks ago, I used a fleece bag sack (goes over the sleeping bag), and was able to sleep in -4C temps - there was ice on the outside of the hammock.
Then there's the issue of sag. Some newer camping hammocks are made to lay crosswise, but not all. Laying at an angle (Brazilian hammocks are made this way) keeps you more even. In a top-slung or gathered hammock, you're sleeping in the bottom of a bowl. Pads help minimize this, make it easier for back sleepers. The curve can hyperextend your knees and doesn't let you back relax properly.
Finally, a traditional pad in a gathered hammock won't keep the sides from closing in on you - you feel like a mummy at times, especially with insulating clothes, heavy bags, and perhaps an underquilt. The wings on this should help stabilize the sides AND provide insulation there. Again, if you make direct contact with the hammock material without insulation, you're just making a heat conduction path that will sap warmth from you quickly.
Yeah, your joke made me chuckle, but I saw an opportunity to 'splain a bit why this is such a cool design. I can get two days of fully contained (carrying all water and food) camping out of a 45lb daypack with a hammock instead of a tent.
Sure, some people take a heli to the tops of mountains because the can't or don't want to climb. Some people only go underwater with attached breathing lines. Other people think camping involves an RV with satellite hookups. So what? Are they not allowed to enjoy those pieces of nature unless they suffer?
So long as people are respectful of others and don't damage the environment, who cares how they participate? Even the lumber-jack looking hipster who's only experienced a tree in Central Park or the Nature channel could become an advocate, simply by being able to access these things on their (nondestructive) terms.
When hammock camping it's either a pad or an underquilt. This is one option.
I will say it's a challenge to get into the Clark with one of these in place. It's wide enough that you have to *make* it go down into the sack of the hammock, and hold it in place while climbing in. Once you get there, it's almost like it's sewn in place, though. The insulated version is actually a bit too warm during the day.