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

[jdy98p]

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?)

Well, if you’re a motorcycle traveler, then you shouldn’t sleep on the ground and take a serious look at the commercial version of the Tensahedron collapsable stand (http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...sahedron-stand).

While others really like the cuben tarps, for me I like Silpoly. It’s not much heavier, but it’s more durable (if you get the 1.1) and much cheaper.

[jdy98p]

You can see the evolution of the Tensahedron here: https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...sahedron-Stand

It’s a LONG thread from last October, but you should at least watch the video in the first post.

[Shrewd]

Beautiful pics, I’m envious.

Like others have said the UQ is, I think, top priority.

Are you planning on doing a lot of backpacking as well? Or mostly motorcycle adventures?

If you’re sticking with the bike I’d actually suggest going even heavier with the tarp and getting something like the Warbonnet superfly just for the options it provides. A buddy I met on the trail last year used one and I was so envious of his space and comfort under that sucker during storms.
I used a hammock Gear cuben/dyneema hex tarp myself and loved the thing, but that extra coverage can give you peace of mind.

Your other stuff looks good; the Darien looks great, and you can’t really go wrong with Dutch.

I’m not sure how relevant it is, but if you’re curious, here’s an article I wrote about my hammock set up for the Appalachian Trail last year.

https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail...trail-hammock/

[RunNHang]

It sounds like you had a fabulous three months! The photos are great and show quite the variety of locations. Thanks for sharing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Recalc]

Cliffy, what camera did you use to shoot those photos? The pictures are incredible. What a journey!

[Cliffy]

Cliffy, what camera did you use to shoot those photos? The pictures are incredible. What a journey!

Thank you! Nikon D4 or iPhone 6S Plus.

I used to shoot professionally.

[Cliffy]

Thanks for all of the great advice and feedback, everyone! Can't wait to get my new gear and do some more hammocking this summer!

[Latherdome]

Great pics! I motorbike camped myself early March through the same area and up the coast, though road up Steens was closed for winter. https://www.tensaoutdoor.com/2018/03/17/on-the-road/ . Did set up hammock stand on the Alvord playa before lightning encouraged me to leave: headed to Willow Creek hot spring about an hour of gravel away, great soak:



When I arrived there was a camper van parked. They seemed surprised to see me, offered to loan me a sleeping pad. I told them I was going to pitch my hammock. Zero hang points. "A hammock" he said as if I were pulling his leg or I were high or crazy. "Yes, a hammock."

[Crazytown3]

Cliffy, what beautiful pics! That's a great adventure you had, I'm kind of envious of your sabbatical time.

I have done motorcycle camping off and on for the last several years, most recently with a hammock. In my experience, one of the main issues with motorcycle camping is space management, not necessarily weight management.

I think your gear choices are great, but I might substitute a good silpoly tarp for the dyneema. I think the silpoly would pack down smaller, and still give you great options for coverage.

Also, there is the more recent development of the tensahedron stand (see Latherdome's post for the link), which I am SERIOUSLY considering for inclusion in my motorcycle trip gear. I think it's a very viable option for exactly this kind of situation.

[SteelSkywalker]

Beautiful pictures!! Jelly.