> Allen has used his "pillows" for years evidently and will possibly 
> comment.

They work well for me and I see that others have adopted the idea and in 
some cases it is replacing burlap, carpet samples, or hard inner covers.  As 
mentioned previously, the various methods I have used over the years are 
documented under "Selected Topics" at www.honeybeeworld.com

> Experience has shown me i need a certain weight to winter.  If in doubt I 
> weigh the hive with a scale ( Paulose) like Mike Palmer uses

I am unaware of this scale, and Google is no help.

> Combining two "dinks" many times means you end up with one super big 
> "dink".  Failing queens are one of the main reasons for "dinks".

This can be true, but if the hives look OK, other than size and are maybe 
behind due to supercedure, drifting, accident, etc., we have found that more 
often than not, the resulting hive winters just fine and is OK in the 
spring.  The combining has to be done in good  weather, though, leaving time 
for feeding if necessary.

YMMV. 

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