An epic adventure: And now it's time to upgrade my gear!

[Cliffy]

Last summer I had an epic adventure:

I took a 3 month sabbatical from work, bought my first ever motorcycle, bought my first ever hammock, and travelled 3,500 miles to remote locations, mountains, deserts, and festivals where I camped, backpacked, explored, slept really well, and basically had a fantastic time.

I've been an avid tent camper all my life, but now that I’ve been spoiled by the comfort of a hammock, I can’t envision that I’ll ever go back to ground sleeping.

I became so enamored with hammocking last summer that even when I camped in places without trees (e.g., above treeline, or in the desert), I improvised creative, die-hard ways to hang my hammock (see photos below...including from 8500’ elevation Wildhorse Lake, Steens Mountain, Oregon).

Now that I have gotten my feet wet and know that I’m committed to hammocking for life, I plan on upgrading my equipment. I hope to increase my comfort, lighten my load if possible, and improve my rain protection and cold weather capabilities.

I plan on investing some good money into my upgraded hammock setup, and have been researching what to buy. I would be grateful for any feedback from experienced hammockers if my equipment choices seem practical and sound:

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First, here’s a comparison of my old setup, versus my planned new setup:


MY OLD SETUP:

• Hammock: Hammock Bliss “Sky Bed,” 10.5’ x 53” (23 oz) (https://www.hammockbliss.com/sky-bed)
• Suspension: whoopie slings, nylon tree hugger straps or spider daisy chain webbing, carabiners (weight?)
• Sleeping pad: Therm-a-Rest “NeoAir” (about 12 oz?)
• Insulation: Western Mountaineering Alpinlite sleeping bag (31 oz)
• Tarp: Outdoor Vitals 20D 6-sided “Ultralight Hammock Tarp,” (16 oz)
• Accessories: Dyneema ridgeline, tieouts, stakes, etc. (weight?)

PROS: Way more comfortable than ground sleeping. Very long whoopie slings and straps allowed me to improvise setups in less-than-ideal conditions (e.g., attach to boulders that were very far apart). Also, because I relied on a sleeping pad, I could sleep on the ground if necessary (I had to do that once on a dry lake bed).

CONS: A little bulky and heavier than I prefer. I had some COLD nights on the underside because of inadequate insulation between my sleeping and the areas where my body would slip off the sleeping pad.

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MY PLANNED NEW SETUP (PENDING PURCHASE):

• Hammock: Dream Hammocks Darien (10’ or 11’, 1.2 oz Robic)
• Suspension: Dutchware UHMWPE straps with titanium dutch clips, whoopie slings
• Insulation: HG Incubator Econ 20; HG Burrow Econ 20
• Tarp: Should I splurge for a dyneema tarp? (Narrowed it down to one of these choices: HG Dyneema Fiber Standard Tarp with Doors or Dyneema Fiber Hex Tarp, MLD Hammock Cuben Asym Tarp or Hammock Hexagon Tarp, or Bear Paw http://www.bearpawwd.com/tarps/cat_tarps.php)

Have I made good gear choices? How much of an improvement will it be in terms of comfort, warmth, weight-savings, etc? (BTW, if I’m forced to ground sleep for the night, will it be uncomfortable as heck without a sleeping pad?)

Feedback and suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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PHOTOS:

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[Smckinney0031]

Love the pictures!!

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[Cliffy]

Love the pictures!!

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Thanks! You should have been there! One of my best adventures ever.

Eastern Oregon is truly a spectacular place, in a very remote and rugged kind of way....

[Smckinney0031]

I have not seen much of Oregon and what I have seen has been from the interstate just passing thru, but one day I will make it there. I have been in these mountains all my life...nothing like Kentucky!

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[ObdewlaX]

Great pics!! Thanks for posting.

[Cabmanhang]

That is some excellent photography. Thanks for the share.

[sloanie]

Caveat: I’m far from a seasoned veteran. I love gear but I’ve never tried to make weight my priority.

That said, overall I’d say you’re headed the right direction.

* I’d recommend doing 11’ on your hammock (rather than going shorter than what you currently use). Purely for the sake of comfort / not taking the chance of sleeping worse.

* I don’t have any experience with dynema fiber tarps (like I said... even what I’m using now is heavier than what you are, I think, in terms of tarp), but my instinct here is to compare the weight penalty for the HG Econ quilts (3+ oz per quilt vs the lighter, albeit more expensive non-Econ versions) vs how much weight you’re saving with the dynema fiber tarp. A quick glance suggests you might have this one right (that HG dynema fiber hex will save you 10oz over your current tarp, right?). Just a thought that occurred to me as you were going so light everywhere else but taking on a little extra weight with the HG Econ line.

* Yeah going to ground will suck without a pad, without really much padding or insulation. I would suggest some motorcycle-friendly solutions for hanging without trees, but they’d be heavier than you’d want for any backpacking. (If you’re less than 250 there’s this option, but you’d be out the same or more weight as having something like a thermarest xlite pad as a failsafe and I think it would cost more if you bought a complete system to take the place of both trees / anchors.)

As others mentioned... great photos Makes me miss having an ultrawide angle lens on a good camera. Might have to get back there one of these days...

[sidneyhornblower]

Love the photos, by the way.

Since you ask for advice, mine would be to get the under quilt first, followed by the top quilt. Those two purchases will immediately change your comfort and warmth as well as being less bulky than your current gear (which is pretty good stuff too).

Your current tarp is already fairly light at 16 ounces. Cuben can be lighter but it is pricey. I prefer my Quest tarp but my priorities are probably different. I'd buy the hammock first and then get a tarp with coverage to fit the hammock.

With that epic adventure trip done you certainly have the experience to make informed choices and I hope you have fun doing so.
Cheers.

[TallPaul]

I love Oregon. Never got over to the Steens and SE portion of the state but always wanted to. Love the pics. That must have been some trip.

In the gear, I like an 11’ hammock. But more of a sweet spot than 10’.
20 degree quilts sound right on.
I use a 3/4 length UQ to save on bulk/weight for backpacking-but many prefer a full length.

The cuben fiber tarps will have more bulk. Definitely less weight. So kind of depends how you plan to use the tarp. I like my tarp to have coverage because I like to camp in places that don’t always have protection from the wind.

Enjoy whatever you get. And let us know when the calendar will be available.

[Cliffy]

I have not seen much of Oregon and what I have seen has been from the interstate just passing thru, but one day I will make it there. I have been in these mountains all my life...nothing like Kentucky!

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Awesome...looks lush and beautiful!