hi all,
i received my first hammock / tarp late last week, and set up in my backyard to try to get the "hang" of things. i will add some pics at the bottom of this post so you all can critique or correct anything you see that i am doing wrong.
so here's a few first impressions of my warbonnet blackbird XLC and superfly tarp, as well as a 2nd-hand enlightened-equipment 20-degree top-quilt i purchased from an inmate, also last week.
the trees are 14' apart. i started with the webbing right at the level of the top of my head, and adjusted the buckles to get a 30-degree hang angle, using my hand as a guide (thumb straight up, palm facing sideways, as in the ultimate hang book). i also set it so the head end was lower than the foot end, just a bit.
then i made a continuous ridgeline and centered the tarp over the hammock. staked everything out as per the video on the warbonnet site, except the doors.
i sat sideways in the hammock and it was a bit low, so i raised the webbing a bit higher on the trees. got back in and laid down with my feet in the foot-box and my head off to the other side, diagonally. it was kind of weird. i found that i had to stick my left elbow out to the side in order to tighten the fabric so that my head was not dropping off to the left.
i also noticed that zipping up the bug-net tensed things up for the better, making the left-elbow jab less necessary. this is with the sides staked out, left and right, to keep the bug-net off my face and to also effect the "shelf" on the right-hand side.
with the sides staked out, the lines were in the way of me getting in and out of the hammock and out from under the tarp. i am going to replace the mitten hooks with something else, maybe dutch hooks. something where i can real quick un-clip the side stakeouts when i want to exit.
the double-layer arrangement is kind of loose and sloppy, maybe by design. i'd like it better if there were a small zipper or even velcro, to keep the inside layer attached to the outside layer just below the bug-net zipper. as it is now, the interface is gaping all along its length, except for a small, maybe 4" section in the middle, that is sewn shut. like i said, maybe it's supposed to be that way for ease of pad insertion.
since i haven't received my underquilt yet, i slipped a thermarest neo-air pad between the layers. i laid out there for a couple hours this afternoon in the mid-40's, and at first the breeze was annoying. then i replaced the bug-net with the top-cover i bought and man what a difference. with the EE top quilt i was really warm. i can't wait 'til i get the underquilt. with the pad i had cold spots where my shoulders or legs or feet moved out beyond the pad coverage.
as for the tarp, i am not sure if i really need to have it low to the ground since i have the top-cover on the hammock to resist the wind. i would like to raise it a bit higher because i have to stoop over to get under it the way i have it now. i'd really like to be able to stand up. maybe that defeats the whole winter-tarp thing though.... in order to get full coverage against the wind, i need to have the tarp extend as far down as possible and also keep the doors closed, which i haven't done yet. i imagine that in less-cold seasons, when i'll be doing the majority of my motorcycle camping, i will use the tarp way up high just to keep the rain off. maybe rig it in porch mode assuming there's suitable tree locations.
here's some pics so you all can see what i have done. please let me know if you have any suggestions or corrections.
thanks in advance,
-eric
tarp1a.jpg
tarp2a.jpg
hammock1.jpg
Bookmarks