[Axiom]

Warbonnet Blackbird
OES MacCat Deluxe
OES Standard
Jacks-R-Better No Sniveler quilt
Yeti 2/3rds under quilt.

[Slade N. Illinois]

Got a Clark myself! I love it for when I go tent camping.

[Cracker]

So have ya gone and slept in your bear buritto yet

I ahve been hanging in a HH Expedition for several years now. Originaly it was when I lived in the swamps of S.FL and got tired of getting drowned. Now that I live in the north Georgia mountains I like it even more! make for real good guerilla camping in any terrain up to and including hanging off the side of a rock face. The benifits are many as have been listed so I won't do it again. I have not found many "cons" that would be deal breakers for me and I have slept don to the high teens/low twenties and plan to do some extreem cold weather expermentation in the yard if it gets cold enughf.

I also highly recommend the Hammock Forums!

Dameon, slick fly is that digi? who made it, I am looking to put together a custom to replace my HH hex.

[oslodunc]

Been thinking about this for some time. Feel it's a good solution for my needs.
Hennessy has a special offer at the mo' A free scout with every order over $138.

[martinediver]

Hennessy hammocks are nice very light weight great for backpacking, lack of insulation is a problem, had to put on extra clothes to stay warm...i wonder how it handles in a downpour, anybody experienced a downpour in a Hennessy?? looks like it would allow water at the corners. another thing you feel kinda exposed when in the middle of the night you hear would could be a bear nearby.

[garyd]

I slept in a hammock in my first posting to an old destroyer in 1969. It was a pain in the back (and other places) but we learned a few tricks that helped to make it less so.

Our hammocks were heavy canvas and, to take as much of the curve out of them as possible, we used to stretch them really tight. We also made up wooden spreaders that were fitted to the strings at each end of the hammock so that it stayed flat rather than wrapping around your body.

My advise to any contemplating a hammock is to borrow one first and sleep in it a couple of times.

Gary

[crashdive123]

One great thing about many of the hammocks on the market today is that they are multi-use and can be used as a tarp shelter. I wouldn't advise using one of the mesh hammocks in that fashion though.

[Cracker]

garyd,
modern backpacking hammocks are not the same kind. The Hennessey is asimetrical, it hangs from two points(no spreader) and you lay diagonaly. They are actually very comfortable and you can even sleep on your side.

martindiver,
As far as cold weather goes they have undercovers and underquilts that as the name implies get tied up under the hammock and they insulate pretty good. Last year I spent a week in hunt camp with the lows between 35-40deg and was plenty comfy with the factory HH SuperShelter setup. I have some ideas for insulation improvement and incorperating a space blanket and I am going to hang in the yard this winter to see how low I can realey go.

I have been in several down pours and never gotten wet. As a matter of fact the same hunt trip last year, the night before the last day it rained so hard that anything that wasn't off the ground got washed down hill. Unlike with a tent you can have the fly as close or far away from the hammock as you like. If the weather is bad you can move the whole setup closer to the ground move the fly closer to the hammock and lower the corners of the fly to shunt the wind. Another upside is you can tie your boots together and hang them over the end of your setup and put them on/take them off with your feet never touching the ground.

Everyone gets paraniod about being a "bear burrito", here is some insight. There is nothing out there at night in your hammock that is not out there when you are in a tent. A HH has a bottom entry, to exit all you need to do is push your feet down and stand up(and run if necessary). In a tent you have to fumble with zippers and doors and anything else that maybe in there with you to trip you up or have piled in the entry. In a hammock you can see about 160deg on your right side and the same on your left, the only blind spot is directly behind your head(there is a tree there) and directly at your feet(there is a tree there too). In a tent you can't see ANYTHING if the door and puney windows are zippered shut, and you can't open them without alerting whatever you are wanting to look at. I sleep with a pistol and can access it and watch everything that is going on in camp without anyone/anything knowing I am even awake and take any action necessary either engage or egress the area. If you are carefull and whatever is looking the other way you can egress the area without them even knowing

Here is some more food for thought. With wild critters coons, bears or whatever what are they looking for? food. Everyone keeps there food cache out of camp up a tree right? Whether they smell it in your pack or on your cloths that stuff is in the tent with you, not so in you hammock. The only thing that you do in the hammock is sleep/rest, so whatever is in camp is not directly focused on you.

Just my take on the subject. I am admittedly biased but there are very few exceptions where I will sleep on the ground again.