Hammock Camping Thread

Thanks for the quick responses, guys. I'm glad I thought to ask. Hex

Next up: I typically use climbing webbing to wrap around the tree and then feed the tag end through rap rings on my hammock. I see the HH comes with a built-in suspension rope, so my current technique is out. Are the HH webbing straps just climbing webbing with loops? The ones I use are just made of webbing with a loop tied in the end.
 
ToddDubya said:
Thanks for the quick responses, guys. I'm glad I thought to ask. Hex

Next up: I typically use climbing webbing to wrap around the tree and then feed the tag end through rap rings on my hammock. I see the HH comes with a built-in suspension rope, so my current technique is out. Are the HH webbing straps just climbing webbing with loops? The ones I use are just made of webbing with a loop tied in the end.
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I use the same with some dutchware clips. That way I don't even take the buckles off my cinches. Pretty neat (this is with the Netty though).
 
Cool. I'm about 95% ready to buy. I definitely want to get it in while the weather is warmer so I can do some testing before Snow HTF.

I've been going back and forth on the hammock idea for years and I'm pretty psyched to jump in and do it.
 
ToddDubya said:
So you guys with the Hennessy setups, do you run the standard rain fly or did you get something bigger like the hex? That seems like it would be nice for giving the hammock a "porch" during the day.
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I have the basic fly, it's not too bad, about the least that will get you through. I used it a couple weeks ago when we had that all-night rain and it did keep me dry the whole time though. Really peaceful sleep too.
 
NHAtHeart said:
I have the basic fly, it's not too bad, about the least that will get you through. I used it a couple weeks ago when we had that all-night rain and it did keep me dry the whole time though. Really peaceful sleep too.
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This. My kids, and most of the kids use the UST Base Tube Tarp 1.0 and it provides great coverage for them. Over this past weekend we had a pretty good system come through and it rained hard. Everyone stayed nice and dry. The price went up a little this week, it's now $34.74.

The Yukon Outfitters Walkabout Rainfly is $39.99, provides great coverage, and is seen pretty often on WOOT for $20. The tie down points are re-enforced and the tarp itself is lighter that the UST. Had a really good review on The Ultimate Hang as well. I would link Yukon's website but for some reason it sucks on Chrome and IE. I got the Walkabout for $29.99 with a 25% off coupon in August.

On Hammockforums.net, I see a ton of people making their own flies, or buying flies that look like tents for winter time for hundreds of dollars. If you are going to 4 season hang, devotely, I can see dropping the coin, but I think it would be better spent on things to keep you warm (underquilt, topquilt, etc) or for a quality cottage made hammock....
 
The difference between the hex fly and the basic one is $20. If I widen my scope to look at other options I'll never get one.

Here's what I'm thinking:

Expedition Asym Classic
Hex Rain Fly
SuperShelter*
Overcover

* I still don't see how the SuperShelter could be as effective as a traditional underquilt and the reviews out there don't speak much to experience, just how to set them up. I'm going to do a little reading on the Jack's R Better underquilts today. They're a little spendy, around $300, but I want something that works.
 
ToddDubya said:
The difference between the hex fly and the basic one is $20. If I widen my scope to look at other options I'll never get one.

Here's what I'm thinking:

Expedition Asym Classic
Hex Rain Fly
SuperShelter*
Overcover

* I still don't see how the SuperShelter could be as effective as a traditional underquilt and the reviews out there don't speak much to experience, just how to set them up. I'm going to do a little reading on the Jack's R Better underquilts today. They're a little spendy, around $300, but I want something that works.
Click to expand...

For affordable underquilts, take a look at:

Arrowhead Equipment: Very well regarded on the forums. I have the New River 3 season Regular length, and it is WARM. I'm a warm sleeper, so I can probably get sun 40* out of it. My son has the Jarbridge 3/4 length 3 season, and he had to change out of his pajamas because he was too warm.

DD Hammocks: I wish I had seen these first, honestly. Also highly regarded, and the price INCLUDES shipping from the UK. The Jura top "sleeping bag" is rated to -5*c (23*f). The "underblanket" is rated the same.

My buddy made his own underquilt out of a $15 US Army poncho liner from Midway, and it worked very well.

On a side not, this is in the WOOT sellout today:

http://sellout.woot.com/

kelty tarp.JPG

Also a very well regarded rain fly.
 
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SO MANY OPTIONS!

I like the idea of the bottom entry HHs. I also like the built-in, no-zipper bug netting. I've got a "jungle" hammock with a bug net and the zipper is a hassle (granted it's maybe not the best hammock). With bottom access you don't need zippers. At this point I think I'm sold on the HH Expedition Asym Classic. The only thing holding me back from buying it is that it limits my insulation options.

I think I'll just pull the trigger (minus the SuperShelter), try it with my ghetto rigged yoga mat/Reflectix setup and see where that gets me. I have a poncho liner that I could convert to an UQ, but it's currently my travel pillow/backup blanket. Or I could invest another $25 and buy a new one [grin].

I have a few sleeping bag options that I can try as well, from a basic cloth "camp" bag, to a 25/45 EMS Solstice to a 0 degree mummy bag.

Once I feel out the HH and see where the holes are in my insulation I'll have a better idea of what to do next.
 
ToddDubya said:
SO MANY OPTIONS!

I like the idea of the bottom entry HHs. I also like the built-in, no-zipper bug netting. I've got a "jungle" hammock with a bug net and the zipper is a hassle (granted it's maybe not the best hammock). With bottom access you don't need zippers. At this point I think I'm sold on the HH Expedition Asym Classic. The only thing holding me back from buying it is that it limits my insulation options.

I think I'll just pull the trigger (minus the SuperShelter), try it with my ghetto rigged yoga mat/Reflectix setup and see where that gets me. I have a poncho liner that I could convert to an UQ, but it's currently my travel pillow/backup blanket. Or I could invest another $25 and buy a new one [grin].

I have a few sleeping bag options that I can try as well, from a basic cloth "camp" bag, to a 25/45 EMS Solstice to a 0 degree mummy bag.

Once I feel out the HH and see where the holes are in my insulation I'll have a better idea of what to do next.
Click to expand...

I have the HH asym classic, I'll try to get some pictures of it setup with my insulation setup.

I have access to a large number of comforters and misc other bedding for free. I took a down matress pad that has an elastic around the bottom of it. Think a fitted sheet with quilted down on the bedding surface. I can hang it with bungees at the ends of my hammock, climb in the bottom then push it with my foot through the bottom entry. It pulls up on both sides of the hammock and snugs the down quilting up to the bottom. I'm planning to sew some nylon on the outside of it to add a better windbreak.

On the inside of the hammock I have two very thick wool blankets that go on the bottom, then I have a fleece and comforter that can go over the top of me. So far it's been quite warm and it hasn't cost me anything.
 
NHAtHeart said:
I have the HH asym classic, I'll try to get some pictures of it setup with my insulation setup.

I have access to a large number of comforters and misc other bedding for free. I took a down matress pad that has an elastic around the bottom of it. Think a fitted sheet with quilted down on the bedding surface. I can hang it with bungees at the ends of my hammock, climb in the bottom then push it with my foot through the bottom entry. It pulls up on both sides of the hammock and snugs the down quilting up to the bottom. I'm planning to sew some nylon on the outside of it to add a better windbreak.

On the inside of the hammock I have two very thick wool blankets that go on the bottom, then I have a fleece and comforter that can go over the top of me. So far it's been quite warm and it hasn't cost me anything.
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Do you carry all that in with you? I'm counting a down mattress pad, two blankets, a fleece and a comforter. That would fill my whole pack [shocked].

I am thinking about a way to make a woobie-quilt HH-compliant. Basically cut a slit in it, tape those seams and then overlap it a little. Something like this only with an access hole. I also like the idea of adding some baffling to up the R-value a little.
 
ToddDubya said:
Do you carry all that in with you? I'm counting a down mattress pad, two blankets, a fleece and a comforter. That would fill my whole pack [shocked].

I am thinking about a way to make a woobie-quilt HH-compliant. Basically cut a slit in it, tape those seams and then overlap it a little. Something like this only with an access hole. I also like the idea of adding some baffling to up the R-value a little.
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Lol, sorry nah I'm setup for "truck" camping. I can see where being remote would require a bit lighter setup :-D.
 
To be honest most of my camping involves lugging gear from the vehicle across the campsite to where I'm setting up. Sometimes I have to lug the picnic table to a better spot closer to my buddy's camper. I'm trying to move away from that paradigm, but I don't think my friends can carry their camper in a pack so the other option is to camp by myself.

Man, I need a third friend [sad2].
 
Boom, ordered. I went with the HH, the hex fly and the overcover. I'll figure out what goes underneath next. I have a feeling I'll end up buying something like the Jack's R Better Nest or Winter Nest.

I like that it comes with free snake skins and the water catchment system (that I'll probably try but not actually use much). I saw that they suggest getting another set of snake skins for the fly because it's bigger. That better be a suggestion and not a necessity because I was planning on leaving it all together.
 
ToddDubya said:
Boom, ordered. I went with the HH, the hex fly and the overcover. I'll figure out what goes underneath next. I have a feeling I'll end up buying something like the Jack's R Better Nest or Winter Nest.

I like that it comes with free snake skins and the water catchment system (that I'll probably try but not actually use much). I saw that they suggest getting another set of snake skins for the fly because it's bigger. That better be a suggestion and not a necessity because I was planning on leaving it all together.
Click to expand...

You can leave it all together, just wrap it good when you take it down and it will all slide in. I opted to keep mine separate, it was easier to keep the hammock dry when raining during set up, but both ways work well.
 
ToddDubya said:
Boom, ordered. I went with the HH, the hex fly and the overcover. I'll figure out what goes underneath next. I have a feeling I'll end up buying something like the Jack's R Better Nest or Winter Nest.

I like that it comes with free snake skins and the water catchment system (that I'll probably try but not actually use much). I saw that they suggest getting another set of snake skins for the fly because it's bigger. That better be a suggestion and not a necessity because I was planning on leaving it all together.
Click to expand...

Good luck with your new kit, hitting the "buy" button is half the battle!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
After driving all over creation, or at least to three stores within a few miles of each other, I got all the ingredients to make a PLUQ (poncho liner under quilt). I already had the poncho liner, I just had to come up with some shock cord, a few cordlocks and some small carabiners. Tomorrow I'll get to work on the "no-sew" version. If that works I might consider making a sew-up version, but the no-sew has the advantage of being able to add insulation between the layers when you need it. Anyway, I'll let y'alls know how it goes.

http://theultimatehang.com/2013/01/diy-poncho-liner-under-quilt-pluq-sew-and-no-sew/

and a video of someone making his own version based on the above design

 
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Well, I got my PLUQ built today. The directions called for 1/8" shock cord around the perimeter with 3/32" to cinch up the two ends and hold them snug against the hammock. I wasn't able to find 1/8" shock cord in my area but EMS had 3/32" in 20' hanks for $5.50, sold under the guise of tent pole repair cord. I figured that extra 1/32" wouldn't make a big difference so I used it everywhere, but it does sag a little more than I'd like. If I could have gotten it attached a little higher up it would also help, but the only place I had to attach it was at the ends of the hammock itself.

I just got home from a friend's house and figured it was cold enough that I should give it a try. It's about 45 degrees and I spent maybe 15 minutes out there in just my hoodie and cargo pants (and shoes). Once I got the PLUQ positioned well I was really amazed with how warm my back and the back of my legs were. If I wasn't 15 feet from the road I would have gone back out with a blanket to see if I could fall asleep. I'm really psyched to get my HH and do some proper hanging!
 
So I had my heart set on a JRB underquilt, but the old "It's down, what if it gets wet?" gnome kept nagging at me, so I'm looking at the KAQ quilts. The 3 season goes down to 25 degrees, which is a little high for late fall into winter. The 4 season goes down to 10 degrees, but then it seems a bit warm for other seasons. I tend to be a cold sleeper so I'd prefer to err on the side of being too warm. Being new to this whole thing, am I going to sweat my ass off in the warmer months? I know for the summer this will probably be too much, but I don't want it only useful when it's wicked cold out.
 
xtry51 said:
For setting up my Hennessey I use belay (rappel) rings. Just loop twice and pull. There's a YouTube video I'll dig up.
Click to expand...

This is the quickest easiest method I've used. Just make sure you put a simple overhand knot above the rap rings or it could slip out on you causing you to fall on your carry piece and/or bruise your heel. Or so I've heard.
 
xtry51 said:
The KAQ Potamac looks nice, but $230 for a quilt is pretty steep.
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It's less than the $340 for the JRB [wink]

Any suggestions? I'd like to be warm down into the teens. Last time I winter camped it was in the upper teens at night and I was warm the whole time except for when I wasn't. That was sleeping on a foam pad in a leanto with 2/3 of a military sleep system (there was no way I was lugging all three bags with me).

The DD stuff looks nice but it doesn't quite get down low enough and it isn't designed for the asym hammocks. If I'm feeling spendy one day I might order their top quilt. That thing looks awesome.
 
Depending on what type of sleeper you are (warm/cold), a three season may be enough with a really good winter bag. Add a sleeping pad with it and I think you would be just fine.
 
xtry51 said:
If I was sure I could sleep in a NH deep winter, I'd cough up $230 in a heart beat. Just a decent chunk to find out if that's true or not.
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The down side is if you can and you bought a lesser quilt, you have to cry twice. Worst case is I can't do it after all and I'm stuck with a bag that's too warm (and bulkier) and I'm $50 poorer. I'm still going to wait until I've had a chance to set up my HH and mess around with it a bit.

As an aside, I just tried to log into HammockForums because I could have sworn I had an account. Yup, I'm ToddDubya on there, too. My last log in was exactly 4 years ago!
 
xtry51 said:
For setting up my Hennessey I use belay (rappel) rings. Just loop twice and pull. There's a YouTube video I'll dig up.
Click to expand...

It turns out this isn't how I was doing it. I saw a video for this and I like it. It looks very simple and easy; I'd like to find a way to eliminate the carabiners.

ETA: I'm a dumbass and I can do it exactly the way I've been doing it, only with the webbing end short (close to the tree) and the hammock rope being the adjustment. D'oh.

The way I do it now I have a strap that goes around the tree. The tag end goes through a loop at one end, holding the strap to the tree, and then through the rap rings like an old school web belt. The rap rings are already attached to the hammock rope with a lark's head. Since it's not a continuous loop, I tie a slipknot with the tag end of that rope to keep it from slipping. Yes, it's slipped and getting out of a bottom entry HH when you're rolling sideways down a hill is not easy.

So kind of like this (I guess it's called a lark's head):

20070207RingBuckleSupports-08.JPG


Plus (the left side of):

BASEBALL-BELTS_PIC29__57308_zoom.jpg
 
Had to sleep in a snow trench at -38F in the Adirondacks once, in a -20F bag with all my warm gear on and handwarmers packed around me. Near to froze my ass off. Ever since, I just think of the insulating properties of 400 $1 bills wrapped around me, and figure the same spent for good insulation is well worth the trade-off.
 
Alright, I bit the bullet and bought the KAQ Potomac 4 season. Considering I'm almost always cold I think I did the right thing. I think next up is to build a hammock stand in the yard. Right now I'm hanging between a couple trees but it's kind of a shitty spot on the property line and difficult to maneuver around the hammock to adjust things. I'd like to build a stand like this one, but I've been on a spending bender lately and need to cool it for a little bit.

http://theultimatehang.com/2012/07/portable-hammock-pipe-stand/

In related news, I got my PLUQ rigged up on my new Hennessey yesterday and after a bunch of fiddling I was able to get it situated pretty well. I still had some drafts when the wind picked up, but overall it was pretty warm. The biggest problem I have with that hammock so far is that when I try to read a book I tend to doze off immediately.
 

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