Here's where I'll ask all my silly noob questions

**assquatch20** · 01-09-2021, 17:54

So I just bought a previously owned (but seemingly never opened according to the previous owner) Hennessy setup but I'm having a hard time figuring it out. From the ad:

"Hennessy deluxe explorer zip
Upgraded hex rainfly
Supershelter 4 season insulation system on whoopieslings.com whoopie slings.
2 sets of snake skins"

So I think that's what I have but it's a bit confusing. I didn't think the Hennessy would already come with whoopie slings installed but they seem to be on the hammock already. From what I can tell it's the "all in one" system but I'm not sure. I don't understand how this all goes together just yet but here's my first and only question for now:

How do the snakeskins fit with the descending ring on the whoopie slings? It seems like I'd have to undo something to make it work. I can upload a picture if needed but I'd imagine some of you guys get what I'm talking about. The taper of the snakeskin means the ring only makes it so far. Doesn't seem to pass far enough to let the snake skin do its job, not to mention it seems like a haphazard way of doing it with the ring in there. What am I doing wrong?

**unshavenman** · 01-09-2021, 18:37

I don't have your setup but given the description, the after market descending rings would need to be removed and then reinstalled once the snake skins are placed.

**assquatch20** · 01-09-2021, 18:45

Originally Posted by unshavenman

I don't have your setup but given the description, the after market descending rings would need to be removed and then reinstalled once the snake skins are placed.

Seems like the only way. I'm just horrible with knots so I'll have to do a little homework. I got the little removable sheath off the end of the hammock to have a look but no idea how to replicate that yet. I'll try to figure out what I'm doing before I disconnect anything.

**cougarmeat** · 01-09-2021, 18:47

assquatch20, welcome to the forum and wonderful world of hammock camping. You have a good beginner setup. Though you may want to change things out after a season or two, there is plenty to learn from what you have. Many, including myself, started with Hennessy. And the previous owner did you a favor by upgrading from the standard rainfly to the Hex rainfly.

Snakeskins - you could use them to wrangle your hammock or your tarp. Most people use them on the tarp and I’d recommend you use them on that larger Hex tarp. I went for years just stuffing the tarp in a double ended bag. Works great as long as there isn’t any significant wind. In the wind, if the whole tarp is out, it’s … well, someday try to set your tarp up in a large gusting wind and you’ll understand.

Also - maybe you want some time looking at the stars - or have easier access to your hammock. You can string your tarp ridgeline up but keep the tarp in its snakeskins until you are ready to use it. Note that you’ll still have to put in guy line anchors for the edge of the tarp.

The Tarp setup - The original Hennessy had you connect the tarp to the same ridgeline as the hammock itself - I think there were some plastic “mitten hooks” on a prusik knot. But most people - and definately with the larger hex - prefer to suspend the tarp independently from the hammock. So that can be confusing because Hennessy videos might show people hooking their (standards size) tarp up to their hammock ridgeline.

Now the hammock itself - The original hammock just came with a line and webbing. The webbing (tree huggers) went around the tree (you always want to use webbing on the tree to protect the bark and keep camp officials happy) and Hennessy gave instructions for a knot to be tied with the line. Trouble is, you seldom get things right the first time you put the hammock up. Often there’s a little adjustment. Maybe a little tighter, or looser. Maybe a little higher or lower. So it’s good to have an easier suspension adjustment. Many people used two rings to capture that line. You could just pull the line to adjust in and the rings would pinch it and hold it when it had tension.

Some people completely replaced those lines with a whoopie sling setup. If there are rings at the end of the hammock, then maybe the person attaches one end of the whoopie to the ring and the other to a Merlin Spike at the tree. Is it clearer if you consider the snakeskins just for the tarp, completely separate from the hammock so there is not “rings vs snakeskin” question.

I don’t use whoopie slings - tried ‘em. I prefer daisy chain or webbing. Everyone has their preferences. No right vs wrong. But you do want to keep your hang angle about 30 degrees. That gives the lest Pull on your hammock/suspension.

Supershelter 4 - You know I can’t cover things in depth on one post. Well, I could try, but I’m trying to improve. So you loose heat from a hammock by convection - wind current. And a lot of it is lost by wind/breeze flowing under the hammock. The S. Shelter is another piece of nylon that hangs under your hammock and the pads go inside. Their purpose is to act as a wind block. They are sort of like the sleeping pad you used when you were on the ground.

At some point, if you like hammock camping/sleeping, you will probably replace that super shelter with an underquilt. Or you may get a double layer hammock and use a regular camp pad. The double layer allows you to put the pad in a sleeve so it doesn’t move around.

Good resources, besides this forum, are The Ultimate Hang book (there’s a second edition but I like the first just as much and it’s smaller - maybe real inexpensive on the used market). They are both informational. Also, there’s a Hammock Hang calculator online. It shows you how high to hang a hammock of an inputted ridgeline length and tree distance. Note that, when hung, the ends of the hammock are around 83-86 percent of the hammocks physical (stretched out) length. And last but not least, another contributor, Shug, has posted many helpful videos on YouTube.

I’m not giving you URL links because you can find them easily (google is your friend) with searches and reading other posts here. You will may be using Google searches a lot as you start out. Especially if you start making your own ridge lines and other Amsteel items - loops, dogbones, soft shackles, etc.

The most important point is to just start. As question come up - like the snakeskins - ask here and/or search for similar topics - both in the forum, on YouTube, Vimeo, etc.

**cougarmeat** · 01-09-2021, 18:52

Yeah - pictures would help - both of the ends of your hammock and tarp. It’s not clear to me where the rings are. Again, consider the tarp completely separate from the hammock. Put it in another room if you have to. Put the snakeskins in there too so they can talk to each other. Then you can focus on just the hammock or just the tarp and simplify the conversation.

You have a good setup - maybe not cold winter weather setup - good enough to start learning things when the sun comes out or at your dwelling if you have a place to hang there. Be careful of vertical pillars - often they are NOT designed for the sideways (shear force) pull of a hammock.

**Phantom Grappler** · 01-09-2021, 19:18

Watch a few brand specific hammock and tarp videos
Possibly go to a local hang and or find someone here on Hammock Forums that lives near you.
Maybe they can get you off to a flying start.
Resist the urge to take things apart, if not absolutely sure how to put it back together.

You will have fun along the way, getting your rig the way you want

**assquatch20** · 01-09-2021, 19:20

Thanks for the good info. I think, for now, I will just omit the set of snakeskins for the hammock itself and use the other set on the rainfly, at least until I get some Amsteel to redo the bit that goes from the hammock to the ring. When I made my purchase, I was under the impression that this was new and the slings weren't installed, but I'm figuring it out now.

Unsure if I can untie this knot or if I'll have to cut it but my guess is I gotta cut and start fresh if I wanna install the snakeskin. I definitely intend to figure out what the heck I'm doing before I proceed, though.

Regarding the insulation, I do need to figure out how that comes together as well. Looks simple enough though. I was hoping I could use an underquilt in conjunction with the Hennessy system but I guess not?

I know this isn't the right forum to mention it but I intend to get a cot at some point as well, for a tipi or tent. In the future, figuring out a pad and quilt setup that would work with either a cot or hammock would be great. Though I may just have two different rigs entirely. Just depends what works, I suppose.

**assquatch20** · 01-09-2021, 19:25

I guess it's not important now but here's a picture:

I think found a video showing how to tie the ring to the hammock. I just need to figure out whether I untie or have to cut this knot. Still looks like I'll need that Amsteel to redo it...

**Phantom Grappler** · 01-09-2021, 20:51

Before cutting knot, ask Two experienced hammock campers—get Three opinions
Lol

**assquatch20** · 01-09-2021, 21:32

Originally Posted by Phantom Grappler

Before cutting knot, ask Two experienced hammock campers—get Three opinions
Lol

That's what I need to do

. I don't entirely understand why the descending rings are on there in the first place but I guess I can study and figure out my alternatives and such. I still need to figure out how to tie from the hammock to the descending ring so I can get the snakeskins on there.

Also trying to understand my ridge line. I have one from whoopieslings.com. Maybe tomorrow I'll set up the fly and attempt to get it and the line rolled up in its snakeskin.