Made the “Reader’s Choice” awards in SeaKayaker Mag. Sorry Coffee, no mention of army surplus jungle hammocks coming in a distant second.
Jim
sleeping like a baby
BTW
Do you use SnakeSkins and if so, do you recommend them?
I can answer that…
Buy the snake skins…AND a larger fly if you don’t get the free upgrade they occasionally offer…
I bought them after having the Hammock for over a year…I waited 364 days to long to do it.
…put the snake skins over the body of the hammock ONLY. (When it rains, put up the tarp first, then the hammock under it (Can’t do that if it’s raining and the tarp is inside the snakeskins).
Gives you a dry place to unload and unpack…cook, etc. When it’s time for bed, slide the snake skins back and rack out. When it’s time to pack back up, slide the snakeskins back over the hammock, keeping the hammock dry, then finish with the other gear, the tarp is last thing to come down in the rain, when you can strap the wet tarp on the top of your pack or stuff it in a corner of your boat until the next use.
The hammock will remain dry no matter what, (so will you and your gear), the tarp can be put up wet.
Good idea
about leaving the tarp out. I wonder why they don’t show that method on their website. They show rolling the hammock inside the tarp and THEN into the snakeskins. I just ordered a couple and they say the tarp is 30% larger. Think that will be adquate?
Super Troll
has a great idea. Most of the time I use the standard fly, with the whole works stored inside the SnakeSkins. But I have toyed with the idea of setting up the fly as a separate entity - better pitch tautness - and will probably go that way. 'Skins keep the hammock clean when pitching and striking, and keep water from saturating the suspension ropes.
BTW, I have tested the under cover and under pad, and both seem to work well.
Jim
All Hammocks Rock
That’s what I don’t like about them.
Wrong-O, Pahs.
At Raystown, I was vegging out one afternoon before dinner when we had some serious winds move through the area. Trees were whipping about, acorns showering down, the HH tarp billowing up and down, but I stayed virtually motionless in the hammock body.
Jim
Bungee cords…
I use light weight 36 inch bungee cords to tension the tarp, with the hooks facing UP through the grommets, the elastic guys on the hammock have loops tied in the ends, and are passed through the bottom of the grommet in the tarp and hooked over the bungee hook…
keeps the tarp tensioned as it rains or the wind blows, and allows me to pull down the edge of the hammock to view the campsite at night, when the critters come callng…
I agree
These are the best for camping but they are an even better piece of equipment for thoose long river trips. It beats a therma rest for sure. You can usually get them pretty cheap on ebay and amazon.
Cheers-
Daved
www.paddling.about.com
Just Having Fun
Boys, Boys, I was just having fun. The real reason I have no use for a hammock is they’re way to limiting for me. Can’t be used above or below tree line. Fact is I don’t like being around too many trees. Can’t see the vistas. Miles and miles of nothing but forest bores me to death.
Actually can use them…
… above the tree line, as evidenced on the HH website. Either with two walking sticks as posts (you will be about 2 inches off the ground, but still comfy), or with caribiner and climbing wedges in rocky outcroppings.
i’ve spent 35 nights
during the last year in a Hennessey Lite Racer, just this past weekend 3 more nights while on the AT in Shenandoah National Park…low temp 27F…
I dont use the SnakeSkins anymore, did, but now I’m using a LuxuryLite Backpack and put every thing into the large bottom cylinder, everything includes the Jacks R Better Nest (a down underquilt that suspends under the hammock so the down is not compressed), the top quilt (a Nunatak Arc Alpinist), an extra underquilt, and the fly. I just stuff the whole sleep kit into the bottom cylinder without taking the top quilt out of the bottom quilt off the hammock, makes take down quick and easy and can be done under the fly (fly and camp shoes go into the top smallest cylinder so if they are wet/damp they dont contact anything else)…
Some one mentioned subbing out the OEM tarp of the Hennessey, good idea…i’ve been using a regular McCat but switched recently to a McCat Deluxe for even more ‘real estate’ under the hammock (the McCats are catenary cut so no flopping in the wind).
I’ve go down to 17F in a hammock, have a hammock stand in a spare bedroom…they are like sleeping on a cloud! Can do a 17mile day on the AT and wake up like i didnt hike the day before…hey 40 million South Americans can be totally wrong 
must have subject!
**but they are an even better piece of equipment for thoose long river trips.
i disagree… ive been on many long river trips and most places it was not possible to erect a hammock anywhere near “camp”
McCat?
I found no matches when I Googled McCat+tarp.
Any hints?
Jim
Could be you are
just running the wrong rivers? Just kidding - from your profile I’d guess Alaska is your stomping ground. If you are in the tundra areas, you have a valid point.
As for me, I have never had a problem with suitable trees. Greenbrier, Allegheny, Clarion, Susquehanna all are sufficiently forrested for a good night’s sleep. Areas where I backpack offer the same opportunities. When I ran the DuMoine River in Quebec HH were not yet envisioned, but I could have used one there.
Jim
must have subject!
– Last Updated: Nov-04-05 10:23 AM EST –
LOL your prolly right about the wrong rivers... i was mostly thinkin of the entire Missouri and mid to lower Mississippi.. we camped at rivers edge alongside our canoes... would have too far to drag our gear out to the nearest trees YMMV plus on the huge rivers, we would tie the unused bow or stern line to the corner groment of our one man tents... so if the river came up over night, it would wake us up
i guess i need to update profile... havnt been able to get back to alaska in almost 2 years..
I love my Hennessy…
I use the undercover always…it’s a great place to stash clothing and other stuff…snakeskins are awesome! Here in NW Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan trees are often easier to find than flat, dry ground…
Crap, now I gotta buy more gear…
The hammock seems ideal for river camping because sandbars aren’t there during periods of high water. But I have to ask if you still use a sleeping pad. If you can leave that usually necessary piece of gear at home you’ve really shaved some weight. What about the supershelter for cold weather? Sleeping pad or not?
I’m about to order 2 of these with the supershelter 4 season system!
sleeping pads…
– Last Updated: Nov-13-05 10:23 AM EST –
Oh yeah, I always use my ancient, ultralight Thermarest pad..it's in the Hennessy with me...I like staying warm and I don't like the way a hammock closes up around my head. The Thermarest is the back support in my Golite Trek pack and I sit on it in my kayak..plus, it's my summertime float on lakes;) I am very good at keeping it under me in the hammock although it did take practice...it also is useful if, for some reason, I chose to sleep on the ground...
I bought a Hubba Hubba for camping on sandbars..the Hennessy packs small enough that I can easily pack both in my kayak...