Hi fellow hangers!
I've been reading posts on this forum for a very long time, but it's only recently that I decided to make the leap and officially join this dreamy community.
I'm in the phase of looking for an upgraded replacement for my hammock, and need some advice from some experienced folks!
It's probably going to be a long read, sorry about that; thanks if you get through it!
If you only have five minutes, I figured a TL-DR section at the end of the post would be useful.
Edit / I'm actually using this post to regroup all the stuff my head and browser tabs are full of these days. It makes it easier for me to track progress in the decision-making process, and will update it as my choices narrow (if they ever do).
Italics and ↪ are links to stuff!
BACKGROUND
I got my first and only hammock in the summer of 2012, a Hennessy Exp Asym Classic, originally for a 21 days bicycle trip in Québec (Canada) with my girlfriend.
We each had our hammock set separately, and we learned by experience the cold-butt syndrome that we were never able to avoid at that time.
On a side note, I love hammock camping (for reasons that are useless to mention on such a forum) but I haven't yet found a good way to justify it as a couple, as it's actually not the best thing to, well, cuddle and have tender moments. I will actually probably cover that in another post to leave this one on-topic!
Since then, I've hung now and then while backpacking in Ireland, France and Québec, and upgraded :
- Insulation :
. 3/4 blue foam pad (cheap, light, bulky) - worked pretty well so far, except for the sweaty back issue. Also tried a self-infl Thermarest once.
. top quilt (Burrow 20 short/wide from Hammock Gear) - awesome quality, colors, weight, pack-ability.
- Suspension : descender rings, which made the adjustment of the stock suspension much easier.
- Rigging : Use the 30° rule to prevent the stock tarp to sag
I have to say I have been pretty happy with the Hennessy system so far, but now I feel like I want something lighter, more modular,
while keeping a certain ease of setup and handy features to stash/hang stuff.
I currently live in Montreal, Canada, so the currency exchange rate is not really in my favor for US$ stuff. Luckily, I have the possibility to have the shipments made to a friend's US address.
CONCERNS
I plan on travelling and hiking a lot in the future, so I have a few criteria depending on this.
Here are the main expectations I'd have of the new system :
- Modular : Being able to use the hammock without bug netting, without RL, for easy carrying of a lounging hammock.
- Nice coverage : A reasonably sized, light, versatile tarp that could be used to accommodate a cooking/hanging-out area, protect gear, could face harsh rain conditions, and maybe provide shelter for 2 hammocks. The HH stock Asym tarp is only very light (10oz).
- Capacity : For funner moments, the ability to accept two lightweight people for lounging would be nice (size + max lb)
- Lightweight : Ideally, not more than my current hammock+suspension (2lb 12oz, 1244g ), but some of the gear I might get could make it heavier (bigger tarp)
- Go-ground : I would still like to sleep where there are no trees. I've got a groundcloth and a pad for these extremely sad days.
- Somewhat bugnet friendly : I'll likely be to travel to bug countries (I actually already live in one), so having an efficient bugnet is crucial.
- Somewhat budget friendly : I'd like to sell my HH, so not tripling its value would be awesome. Cuber fiber is probably out of the equation.
GEAR
Updated March 19
At that point, here is what my research through the infinity of the internet led me to :
Suspension
97.3g / $39.95
. Kevlar Tree Huggers ↪ : 5' / 39g / $13.20
. DIY Whoopie slings ↪ from 7/64 Amsteel ↪ + Whoopie hooks ↪ : 2-6' adjustability / 41.5g + 6.8g / $5.25 + $16
. Continuous amsteel loops ↪ if not already on the hammock : 0-5g / 0-5$
. Removable (& adjustable?) RidgeLine from Zing-it (or Whoopie Sling or UCR) ↪ If no fixed RL in the hammock. Extra length would become guylines & driplines. Larks head on one end, carabiner on the other. ~100" / ~10g / $5.50
Hammock & Bugnet
That's a real debate in my mind right now.
Integrated bugnet (++ease) or separate bugnet (--weight).
Double layer or not (++weight ++price ++capacity ++padsleeve). I'm gently leaning towards it, cause I'd use a pad most of the time and would like the extra capacity for supporting two people.
Integrated bugnet hammocks I'm considering:
.Trail Liar ↪ 10'x64" / 12-14oz (1.1 SL) / 99.95$ (141$ with options below)
_ Asym tie outs +5
_ Double Layer +20
_ 2 sides zipper +20
_ 10ft -4
. Grand Trunk Skeeter Beeter Pro ↪ 10'60" / 27oz (w stock suspension) / 90CAD(70$US) + 0$ ship.)
_ Pros : Cheap ; Big ; 400lb max ; Flipable
_ Cons : Heavy ; Needs Grizz's internal ridgeline mod for the bug net
Classic hammocks I'm considering:
. Grand Trunk Ultralight ↪ 9'x53" / 7oz / 22CAD(17$US) + 0$ ship
_ As an extra hammock / Or GT Nano (86CAD)
. Grand Trunk Double ↪ 10'5"x78" / 21oz (w stock suspension) / 55CAD(43$US) sale + 0$ ship.
_ Pros : Big ; Cheap ; 400lb max
_ Cons : Heavy, SL
. Dutch Hammock NylonD DL ↪ - 10'x58" / 12.28oz / 300lb / 60$
_ Pros : Cheap ; Lightweight ;
_ Cons : Grey
. Tree runner DL ↪ - 10'x64" / 14-15oz (1.1) ~16.5-17.5oz (1.3) / 250lb (1.1) ? (1.3) / 51.95$
_ Pros : Cheap ; Wide ; 5$ tie-out opt.
_ Cons : 250lb
. BIAS Hiker Lite ↪ 11'x55" / 18oz / 350lb / 63$
_ Pros : Cheap ; Included RL and CL ; Nice color options for DL
_ Cons : Fixed RL (removable?) ; Poly ; Extra shipping cost
. BIAS Weight Weenie ↪ 11'x62" / 8oz (SL) / 375lb / 90$
_ Pros : Included RL and CL ; Lightweight ; Nice color options for DL
_ Cons : Expensive ; Extra shipping cost
Bugnet, if needed:
. Dutch Fronkey Style Bugnet ↪ 10' / 6.5oz / 50$
_ Pros : Lightweight ; not too expensive
_ Cons : ?
. Helium Cocoon bugnet ↪ 10' / 7oz / 35$
_ Pros : Lightweight ; Inexpensive ;
_ Cons : Easy to get in/out?
Tarp
I liked the ease of setup of the Hennessy's tarp, directly on the suspension, but I understand that it might not be the best thing to do for several reasons. Hence I'm leaning towards a continuous ridge line tarp suspension.
. Choice of tarp not made yet, mostly focused my research on hammocks & suspension. Want it rather light and versatile. Thinking about a GT All-purpose, cheap & full of rigging possibilities, but it seems heavy. Maybe a MacCat standard ? Warbonnet Superfly, Mamajamba or Edge ?
. Continuous ridge line from Zing-it, set up with the 2 carabiners technique, but maybe replacing those with Dutch Hooks and 2 Zing-it loops on the Tarp's pull outs.
Insulation
I don't plan on getting an UQ for now, I'll stick to my blue foam pad!
Maybe I'll get a longer, self inflating pad someday. I think I like pads cause it allows me to go ground or share a tent easily.
THAT WAS A BIT TOO LONG, MAN
Wow, that was really a lot of . _ ↪ : ? ' $ " - /
I tried my best to sort all this so that it's easier to read & skim through.
Here are a few à-la-carte questions whose answers, added to your possible suggestions to what I wrote above, would help me a lot !
a) What do you think of my lightweight-oriented suspension plan?
b) What is your preference between an integrated and separate bugnet, and why?
c) What do you think about double layered hammocks? Are the durability & sleeve worth the price & weight?
d) What minimum size would you recommend to allow two <5'8" <150lb people to lounge quite comfortably?
e) How much does Grand Trunk's stock suspension weight?
f) Can Zing-it be spliced to make a whoopie/UCR for an adjustable hammock RL?
g) Is the RL removable on the BIAS Hiker Lite?
h) What is the weight of the BIAS Weight Weeny DL ?
i) What is the weight and max load capacity of the Simple Light Tree Runner DL with 1.3 fabric ?
I thank you so much for reading this 35627th post on the "looking for a hammock" theme!
Peace ♥
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