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  1. #11
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    Sep 2020
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    Saskatchewan, Canada
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    Quote Originally Posted by oldpappy View Post
    BillyBob58 covered it all. I'll just add that if you find your hammock has a 'ridge' / the fabric is tighter down the middle, just loosen the hang up a bit. The ridge line should be slightly snug but not 'banjo tight' when you are in the hammock. I've been warm at 15F/9.5C with adding 20 oz of synthetic insulation. +4C or a little lower is about the lower limits of my comfort zone with the SS right out of the box. Let us know how the Costco down works.
    Thanks for the tip on loosening up the hang - I haven't noticed a ridge yet, but knowing how to fix it will be huge if I do run into it. I tend to sleep pretty warm most of the time, so I am hoping with a baselayer I can push it close to 0 C, but I guess we will see how the trip goes. My plan is to try it out the first night completely stock, and then adjust as I go. I know that first night might be a bit cold, but I figure I should start simple before I add anything to the system. I will report back once the trip is over.

  2. #12
    New Member
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    Sep 2020
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    Saskatchewan, Canada
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    Trip Update!

    Figured I would reply to this post, vs posting a new Thread.

    So after 3 nights in Saskatchewan's northern boreal forest, I will say that I am happy with the Super Shelter system.

    The gear:

    Hennessy Explorer XL Hammock
    Hennessy Hex Tarp (upgraded from stock)
    Hennessy Super Shelter with OCF Foam and Space Blanket
    Marmot Radium 30 degree Dri Down Sleeping bag
    Black Diamond Down Quilt Throw


    The Trip:

    We departed Missinipe, SK for a looped canoe route through several lakes and a river chain in the area. (French Lake, Ducker Lake, Stewart River, Otter Lake, and Robertson Falls for those interested) - about 50 KM's of paddling through lakes and rivers. Quite beautiful to see the area this time of year.

    Anyways - back to the Super Shelter - Overall, very happy with the performance of the system, especially in windy conditions.
    We had 3 nights of temps in the single digits celsius, with 2 nights of high winds. Because of where the camps were located, we didn't have a ton of wind protection on 2 of 3 nights. Here's a quick recap of how it went.

    Night 1 - Shore of French Lake, Northern SK

    First night in the wilderness - this camp provided the best wind coverage of them all. I ran the stock SuperShelter system, with a SOL emergency blanket on top of the OCF pad, instead of the one provided by Hennessy, as the general consensus from reading the forums was that it was quieter. Temps this night dropped to about 3 degrees celsius on the thermometer I brought along, with a very light rain in the night. I slept in a Icebreaker merino 260 base layer top, and a North Face Flash Dry mid weight bottom base layer. Overall, I was warm. If anything, I think the base layer I slept in was too thick, which I tested later on the trip. My back was damp when I woke up, but not wet - It wasn't uncomfortable, just too heavy of a base layer that made it harder to regulate my temperature. The emergency blanket was damp in a couple of spots in the morning, but no beads of water, just a little bit damp in some spots. Slept with my Marmot Radium 30 degree down bag as a top quilt. Night 1 I considered a success.

    Night 2 - Camped on Otter Lake, about a km from Robertson Falls -

    Very windy spot - because of the wind direction, and the remoteness of the area, we were "stuck" in this spot for the night.
    Setup my hammock and tarp to take the wind on the sides - worked well enough, but the gusts were enough to keep the tarp rattling most of the night. Temps dipped to very close to 0 degrees, and with the wind - wasn't a fun night to be outside of the hammock. I experimented with the system a little this night, and added my down vest under my core area. I wasn't cold the night before, but with the down vest underneath, I switched to a lightweight SmartWool T shirt to sleep in, with Paradox (Costco) lighter weight bottoms. I slept pretty well - very warm, with little to no condensation on the space blanket. Still felt like my legs were too hot most of the night.

    Night 3 - Paul Island - Otter Lake - approx 8 km paddling from Missinipe.

    Lots of wind exposure because of the camp location, and the lack of leaves on the trees. It also rained all night - not a torrential downpour, but a soaker rain, that didn't let up until we were well on our way paddling back. For experiment purposes, I tested a Black Diamond Down quilt (Costco) underneath the OCF in the Super Shelter. In hindsight, I think it was too much insulation for the temperature, as I found I was too warm until the very early hours of the morning, where it cooled off to about 2 degrees celsius. I ended up sleeping in just my underwear, as I was too warm with the base layer and t shirt on. All things considered, it was an ok night - no rain made it past the fly, and once I adjusted my clothing, I was able to sleep. No real condensation on the space blanket this morning.


    After this trip, I am happy with my purchase - while I know that an under quilt is likely most peoples choice, and may be mine in the future, the versatility of this system has its benefits.

    I will be looking into methods to attach the emergency blanket to the OCF pad - either with snaps or another type of fastener - I think it will save the fiddling around ensuring its smooth on setup. I never experienced a problem rolling up the OCF pad in place and getting it back into the supplied bag from Hennessy - I just folded it into thirds inside the SuperShelter and rolled it up. The compression bag had lots of room for it. I do think the foam will degrade over time, and may get "crumbly", but I guess I will see how it goes.
    I may also look into a way to attach (not permanently) the down throw to the sides of the SuperShelter, just to keep it in place a little easier - even small plastic clips would probably suffice.
    I had no problems with the temps we experienced, and was glad to get a chance to experiment with my setup.

    I slept so much better than I would have on the ground - But I found out that when I sleep on my back I snore - so I may have to adjust for that on future trips. lol.

    Anyways, feel free to ask any questions, or offer advice - I'm still very new to hammock camping - but after this trip, I don't think I'm ever going back to the ground.

  3. #13
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Great report!

    And results not too shabby at all!

    First, that sounds like such a great, fun trip, makes me envious!

    Next, this is a great report for me to read, because it is so close to the temps that I have always said (based mostly on testing from years ago when I only used the HHSS) were about the limit for me in this system. Plus, you had plenty of wind and even some moisture in the mix. And even though you had a larger tarp than the stock asym one, you didn't have a huge tarp with doors. IOW, those were conditions where the wind could have still caused you some grief. Perfect.

    And, as far as I can tell, it could not have worked much better. You report a slight amount of damp on you back and the space blanket first night, but not enough to bother me and sounds like it didn't bother you. And the question I always ask, and I bet you feel about the same, is: would you rather have that moisture next to your skin on your back, or not be aware of it because it has been either wicked into, or condensed inside of, your down? I'm wondering if you didn't overheat a bit, maybe from too many layers- and actually sweat that one night you felt the most dampness? Hard to say, but I'd put my bet on that. But if you did sweat, at least it did not make into your primary insulation, i.e. whatever you had below your space blanket

    So you have 3 nights at or fairly close to freezing, with a good bit of wind and some moisture to deal with, using a sleeping bag as TQ that is rated for about freezing, and your comments seem to range from "warm" to "very warm, with little to no condensation on the space blanket. Still felt like my legs were too hot most of the night. " to "too much insulation for the temperature, as I found I was too warm.............I was too warm with the base layer and t shirt on. All things considered, it was an ok night - no rain made it past the fly, and once I adjusted my clothing, I was able to sleep. No real condensation on the space blanket this morning.". Again, IMO, not too shabby. In fact, especially for a first time user, had to beat. For sure, many have done worse on those first nights testing an insulation system.

    I don't see how you could have done any better with any system out there. Good for you! I don't know if you camp in much colder temps, but if you do it will be very interesting to see how you do as you continue to experiment by adding insulation down under the hammock and space blanket.

    One thing: did you find the system complicated or to have too much fiddle factor? I never have.

    Good for you, DG, your system worked for you. Now you are a solid member of the small in numbers HHSS club! Welcome!

  4. #14
    New Member
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    Sep 2020
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    Saskatchewan, Canada
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    Hi Billybob,

    I am planning to test it out in the 0 to minus 10 Celsius range at some point this winter. I would like to see if I can make the system work in those temps.
    As far as complicated - I didn't find it all that hard to get setup each day. I kept the OCF pad and Emergency blanket together, but put the tarp, the hammock, and the SS in the Snakeskins together. When we found camp, I'd string things up fairly quick (I'm currently using the Hennessy lashing - honestly, I didn't find it that time consuming to use) and then unpack the foam and clip it in. The only fussing was making sure the Emergency blanket was able to lay flat again - but that didn't take much more than 30 seconds or so. Just flip the hammock out of the SS, line things up and plop it back into place. If I can figure out a way to attach it to the pad, I think that bit of fussing goes away. Very impressed with how lightweight the OCF was too - and it compresses pretty good in the compression sack that Hennessy supplied. It even rolled up and fit back in the bag with no real fuss.

  5. #15
    Senior Member oldpappy's Avatar
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    Nov 2012
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    Northern Virginia
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    Great report. I love canoe trips (in calm weather). I mostly do down river trips - lots of rivers around here plus I'm lazy.
    I assume you weren't even aware of the dampness until you got up in the morning - that's been my experience anyway. I think that is because the space blanket is a vapor barrier and if you don't move much and there isn't a breeze some moisture just gets trapped and condenses there. Billybob58 has some good posts on using Vapor Barrier clothing. It might be something you would be interested in. I've been use a vapor barrier top/shirt when cold weather camping/fishing for several years now and find it a light weight method to extend your cold weather gear performance. It's not good for strenuous activity (like paddling) and it is not pleasant to remove in the morning if you plan to paddle. Read up on it and see if it interest you.
    https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ier+billybob58
    Enjoying the simple things in life -
    Own less, live more.

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