Buying Chameleon - Asym or Sym bugnet?? Strapping questions

[Spiffyguy]

Working out a purchase for a chameleon. Lots of options. Trying to sort out the asym vs sym on the bugnet/top cover. From what I gather the hammock is a sym hammock and using the asym top just means it is cut a bit different to reduce some of the fabric compared to the sym? It would require you to arrange it in the proper orientation where a sym is a bit more fabric but if you switch directions there is less chance of tearing. For the most part I sleep head right, at least I do at home in my 12' Brazilian. If you get a asym does that mean you have to tie out every night? Still bit confused on that. Looking for some insight. Also options for whoopies or beetle buckle??? Is it more personal preference on this? Faster set up with the whoppies? My current set up is ENO doublenest with whoppies going out to DIY 2 inch straps with a marlin spike which works ok. But wanting to get something with integrated bugnet and is a bit lighter. Having moved to hammock full time as a bed replacement has been quite nice and now that the weather is becoming more tolerable for camping, I can't see myself sleeping on the ground lol.

[Peppy]

You can lie in a Chameleon without the tie outs. It can be nice at times, but most folks I know don't tie out that often. If you are a dedicated lay, head right feet left, or head left feet right, an ASYM can save a slight amount of weight that you don't need. Keep in mind the ASYM can be flipped to go either direction. Having said that, I know a few folks who genuinely flip flop both directions throughout the night, and a SYM works great for that with only a minor weight penalty.
As far as suspension, go with whatever speaks to you. I prefer cinch buckles, so the beetle buckle would be my choice, but lots of folks like whoopies.
A chameleon will be a nice upgrade from an ENO. Much longer, and one of the best netted hammocks out there.
Best of luck!

[FLTurtle]

Yeah, the hammocks are symmetric, it's the bugnet that set the lay. With a sym bugnet, you should be able to do left or right lay without having to reconfigure the bugnet. If it's an asym bugnet, then you're stuck with that one direction unless you unzip the bugnet, flip it over and zip it back on (if you can, some bugnets aren't detachable). For example, my Eldorado I can turn the bugnet inside out and reattach to change the lay. My HalfZipped, it's not removable and set to left lay but I can tie back the bugnet and get a right lay. However, I gotta have a bugnet pretty much year round here. I picked up the Eldorado on sale to try out WB plus have a bugnet for right lay. I think I prefer right lay, still testing it out just waiting for it to cool down.

For suspension, it's personal preference. I'm ok with buckles/straps and whoopies. Whoopies can be a problem if the trees are too close together (due to the bury length). I think for speed, setup for buckles vs whoopies is about the same. Some folks go with straps and knots only (j bends, becket hitch, others). I think this is just harder for fine tuning. Honestly, I spend more time fine tuning than the initial setup. If you get good at setting up right the first time, I bet the straps and knots would be just as quick.

[snowtrac]

The sym bugnets (and topcovers) have a little extra material that can get loose and flop around and hit your face. If that might bother you stick with an asym net. That doesn't bother me so I went with sym nets and tops.

I perfer dyneema tree traps with a becket hitch for suspe sion. The becket hitch doesn't chew up the CLs like some buckles do.

[cmc4free]

They're not the absolute lightest or least bulky option around, but the Spider/Poly straps with Beetle Buckles are about the quickest and simplest (simplest - not most minimalist) option you can imagine. Strap goes around tree, attach hammock continuous loops to Beetle Buckles, adjust length, and you're done. No MSH or Becket to tie, infinite adjustability, it's easy to readjust the length either longer or shorter, and you can cinch them so the the buckle is a mere inch from the tree, allowing for the shortest of spans. It's also a nice advantage compared to the Warbonnet straps & cinch buckles, for example, to be able to easily separate the straps from the hammock. With some other buckle systems, like the Warbonnet ones, you'd either have to store the straps with the hammock, unthread the straps from the buckles, or connect the loops on the buckles to a separate loop on the end of the hammock with a carabiner or something similar. The Beetle Buckles make it dead simple to separate the straps from the hammock.

[Oquirrh]

I got an asym bugnet w/ integrated side car, and I'm wishing I would have got a symmetrical bug net now... I often find myself switching lay positions in the middle of the night, and because of that + the sidecar being possibly overloaded at times, I've got a pretty dang big whole along the stitching of my left head end... So if you think you'll be shifting around at night, I would highly recommend the symmetrical net. Or at least, avoid the integrated sidecar and purchase a sidecar separately, as I think that had something to do with the hole.

[Argent]

I got an asym bugnet w/ integrated side car, and I'm wishing I would have got a symmetrical bug net now... I often find myself switching lay positions in the middle of the night, and because of that + the sidecar being possibly overloaded at times, I've got a pretty dang big whole along the stitching of my left head end... So if you think you'll be shifting around at night, I would highly recommend the symmetrical net. Or at least, avoid the integrated sidecar and purchase a sidecar separately, as I think that had something to do with the hole.

Thanks for the info! I had thought asym was the way to go in general, but I don't know what my lay position is yet (I figured I'd just flip it to match whichever direction it turns out to be), but I didn't consider the possibility I'd switch during the night. I had also been eying the integrated side car, thinking it would be a good place to air out damp clothes, but your warning to use a detachable one makes a lot of sense, especially if you stress it when you're moving at night.

Just when I thought I had narrowed down my order for a Chameleon, I'm back to the drawing board!

[Us5Camp]

I have a Chameleon - Asym. I sleep either head left on my back or on either side. The Asym net does not restrict my sleeping. For reference I'm 6'2" 195lbs.
I rarely use the tie-outs. They are nice, but not necessary and one more thing to step around.

I use the beetle buckle suspension. Quick and easy and allows for closer trees than my whoopie hook setup.

[Oquirrh]

Oh, I didn't read your entire post first so on the bit of suspensions... Dutch offers a ridiculous amount of cool suspension options. I have a lot of experience with the Beetle Buckles, picked those up pretty much as soon as they were released and that's the go-to recommended suspension system I tell most of my friends to use that are just getting into hammock camping. I have a set for my girlfriend as well, and since I'm usually the one setting up her system, it makes it very fast and easy to get it up and adjusted.

I think the pros of the Beetle Buckles is that they are extremely easy to adjust (even if the hammock is loaded up), very fast to go up, and serve as a great water break. The cons being that they are a bit on the bulky side, and aren't nearly as versatile as other systems.

I personally prefer a Marlin Spike Whoopie sling setup (detailed numerously by the great Shug) because it's super light, fun to set up, and has a lot of versatility compared to bulk / weight. They take quite a bit more practice than the Beetles, and aren't nearly as easily adjusted once the hammock is set up, but they are quite fun to use and I'm never worried about having enough webbing / whoopie to hang. Another key advantage marlin spike / beckit hitch has over some of the other Dutch bling is that most of the bling can't be used with ultralight webbing like Spider Web 1.5 or UHMWPE straps / huggers. Something to consider if you ever want to splurge on that kinda stuff, but if you're just using the Spider/Poly or standard poly straps, you'll be just fine.

[Spiffyguy]

I am worried about moving in the night. But I also worry about extra flappy fabric lol. I plan on getting a side car but will not get integrated just to keep things modular. Looking at the beetle buckle and that seems the way to go. Sewn in dutch clip probably just so things don't get lost. Is there any worry about the 8 foot strap not being long enough? My eno has whoopies so it is adjustable. the Chameleon comes with just the continuous loop. Been quite a while since I set up my hammock.