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  1. #31
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    knots are definitely useful. ‘Twere it me, I’d learn to do what I needed to do with knots, THEN move on to hardware if it saved significant hassle.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  2. #32
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    Well I had a few minutes to hang again today and put the Super Shelter cover on there. I didn't install the pad. I got it out of the bag and put it back in shortly after. Otherwise it was going to expand more than it already had, and I don't really have a good bag dedicated to that just yet. I think I'd rather just fool with a quilt and/or different pad when possible. The cover, though, may be useful as an underquilt protector.

    I partly got the pad out because it comes in a double-ended sack that I thought might be big enough for the hammock but no luck. Since the snakeskins aren't going to work on the hammock with its suspension right now, I figure a sack like that might be what I could use to make it easier to put away. I'll go do my homework on that.

    I checked my hammock ridgeline this time to see how tight it was and found it was a bit stiff. It would bend between my thumb and index finger but not sure I could bend it 90°. Maybe it was fine. I just can't tell yet. Perhaps I can get to a hang event this year sometime. Still waiting on The Ultimate Hang.

  3. #33
    LowTech's Avatar
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    Aug 2020
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    There are other skins/sleeves that would go over your hammock even w/ the rings installed.
    SLD has one that will hold the hammock w/ quilts on it,
    and Dream Hammocks has a slightly smaller one that I used w/ just my 20° underquilt on it.
    Those are just a couple that I know of and have.

  4. #34
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    Aug 2012
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    There are skins that go over a hammock but I’m guessing most people just use a double ended stuff sack for the hammock and the suspension is stored separately. That’s part of the “keep the wet things (and possibly sappy) away from the dry things.” idea.

    Do understand that - at least for some of us - we are still in winter and your setup is probably intended for late spring/summer/early fall.

    If you can bend that ridge line a bit - that’s okay; you are in the ballpark. It doesn’t have to be 90 degrees. You may be at the point where you just lengthen or tighten the suspension in smaller increments to dial-it-in a bit more. But if you can bend the line and are comfortable in the hammock, that’s probably good enough for now.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  5. #35
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    A sleeve or sack will definitely be good. Seems like it would make it easier to keep the hammock off the ground.

    A suspension that's easily detachable would also be nice in case it gets wet, that's a good point. I kinda like the whoopie slings for the size and weight, plus the adjustability is nice. However my setup is unorthodox I guess so there's maybe better ways to do a suspension. Mine is all kinda one piece from the hammock to the tree strap/carabiner.

    I'm curious what all it would take to have a good four season hammock setup from what I have now. A better tarp (more coverage?) and some quilts? Back when I originally researched hammocks I was interested in a 2-layer Hennessy. That might be better for the cold as well.

    Maybe this will give a better idea of what I'd like to be able to do: A big trip I'd like to take in the next few years is the Trans-America Trail. The TAT. It's a flexible route but it runs from East to West across the US, from the coast in NC to the coast in Oregon. It's largely comprised of gravel and dirt back roads. In about a month of travel the temperature will range from below freezing to around 100° Fahrenheit. Somewhere around July-August. In my mind, my potential shelter options are the hammock rig, a tent with a cot and/or pad, or a tipi/stove setup with a cot and/or pad. Oh, and the occasional motel.
    Last edited by assquatch20; 01-19-2021 at 22:54.

  6. #36
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    Some people's winters are just considered summer in Minnesota. If people in Seattle were around during the Big Flood (I mean that BIG one we read about in church), they’d probably think it was sprinkle. So it’s difficult to say, “Just do this …”. So it’s all, “Your mileage may vary."

    Now I’m not being sarcastic when I say the way to keep the hammock off the ground is not to drop it. Starting with a double ended stuff sack, normally you’d attach one of your hammock suspension lines to the hammock end sticking out of the bag. You hold the other end of the hammock (sticking out the other side of the bag) and walk back towards your hammock suspension on the other tree. As you walk, The hammock is slowing pulling out if the stuff sack. Remember to hold that other end so it doesn’t jump out as you approach the other tree. Once at the other suspension, you connect the hammock and slide the double ended stuff sack on to that suspension so it’s out of the way. You are holding the hammock off the ground the whole time.

    To take down, just reverse. Undo the hammock at the end that has the stuff sack - which has been pulled back to the end of the hammock. You hold the sack with one hand or hold it between your arm and your body and walking towards the other tree, you stuff it in the bag. No need for the hammock to touch the ground. Unless it slips. Which it does sometimes. Which is another reason I use an underquilt protector (UQP).

    But if you have your heart set on a snake skin for the hammock (with possibly a quilt still attached), you can use something like the Hammock Bliss Sun Shield.

    https://www.amazon.com/Hammock-Bliss.../dp/B003AWXBII

    I know you have a slightly unconventional system now - but it doesn’t have to be that way forever. You will find the Pro’s and Con’s of your system and change what doesn’t work for you.

    If you go four season you will want an underquilt, not a pad - unless your 4th season is in Arizona in the winter. People are different - maybe a 20 degree sleepiing bag or Top Quilt will work for you down to 10 degrees. Someone else might feel uncomfortable with the same gear at 30 degrees. The Better tarp is not for more coverage. It’s for doors - extra panels at the ends that can close. It's “more coverage” in that it covers the end openings, not “more coverage” in that it encloses more area. However, winter tarps are usually a little larger because you may be spending more time under them.

    Here’s the logistical issue - on your TAT trip, you mentioned temps from freezing to 100 degrees. But probably not switching every other day. Carrying everything at one time to handle a years worth of weather would be ... a challenge. If you want to maximize your hammock hanging opportunities, you’ll probably want to buy a TENSA4 stand.

    The bottom line is, from your questions, it sounds like you need more TIH - Time in Hammock. You’ll want to go out as often as you can - but not far. Just enough to set up a hammock camp and see what you missed - what you forgot back at the house - what you brought that you really don’t need. You need to learn how well the gear you have works in various weather conditions - to see if YOU are cold or the range in which you are comfortable. This isn't stuff you can get answers for in a forum; you can’t read the answer, “one size fits all” in a book. Those sources of information are good to get started - to be aware of issues that might come up. But the bottom line is - at some point you close the book (you can bring it with you ) and just go out an do it. Make mistakes, learn the things YOU need to learn.

    On your trip, not only will you be traveling through different seasons, you’ll also be traveling through different locations - two variable changing at the same time. That’ can require a lot of improvisation. It means you have your gear and your setup down solid. Maybe you can do a one or two week hike with your hammock and see what comes up as far as needs. None of the things I learned doing the PCT across Oregon were covered in books. Okay, maybe they didn’t have books back then - but I’m trying to emphasize that you need to start camping out with the knowledge that mistakes - no, call them leaning opportunities - will happen. So you learn and you adjust. When does it stop - Hopefully Never.

    Well, except for the very end. Which is why I never wanted to learn to be a phlebotomist. Because God would look down and she’d say, “Well, if cougarmeat can do that, he must be pretty much done; Time to come home.”
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 01-19-2021 at 23:59.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  7. #37
    LowTech's Avatar
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    one wind 12'
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    Cougarmeat- Lol, we are in AZ and its freezing most nights. At a friends place its been in the teens. Just because its the desert doesn't mean it's warm. 30°- 50° temp swings happen daily.

    That sack you linked to is like the Dream Hammock one I mentioned, but theirs wasn't waterproof. We do have bigger ones from SLD that are and we use those for when the hammocks are hung for extended periods of time (often). They will hold the hammocks w/ 20° quilts installed.
    When it comes time to pack them the quilts get packed separate. At that point I'm still deciding if I like just the hammock in skins or bishop bag, though I am leaning towards the skins so far. Just all part of the "going out and testing methods" you mentioned.

    I also agree that packing for the variety of weather conditions that would be experienced on a trans continental journey would be extremely difficult.

  8. #38
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    Definitely not the easiest trip to pack for but I'd be far from the first to do it. One option to lighten the load would be USPS but I don't think that'll be necessary.

    Altogether I should be good to carry about 90-100lbs of gear... more if I can start eating less, but I'd like to think I can keep the load in that neighborhood. That'd be shelter, tools, cookware/food, and personal items like clothes, toiletries, and some luxury items.

    With just bags I should have at least 105-115L of storage, if I don't use the trailer. The trailer is another 90L. Pulling a trailer cross-country on those roads would probably have varied results ranging from very comfortable to cumbersome. I'm not as worried about the weight as I am the handling penalty, but I just need more trail practice with the thing and I should be fine. I definitely like how I can get the weight as low as the engine and axles with the trailer. If I tried to carry that much weight with no trailer there would still be something of a handling penalty. A bit like having a small passenger.

    A less demanding trip that I might do while I've still got street tires is the Natchez Trace. I believe there would be plenty of good hammock spots along the way to Louisiana. In the south on the highways I can probably afford to carry a hammock and a secondary ground shelter should I need it. With the TAT I would almost certainly need the Tensa stand or just another shelter method as a backup. Weighing my options, figuratively and literally.

    I really am curious now though: What hammock shelter stuff would you carry if you were me and aiming to do it all with a hammock? 30-100°F with heat, rain, wind, sometimes no trees and a chance of snow. I figure I'd need the Tensa and maybe the tarp poles since I don't carry hiking poles and I have the hex tarp. I bet I'd need a different tarp altogether for Colorado though. I'd rather not carry multiples. Same goes for insulation but I can understand the advantage of having layers you can add or subtract. I think a stand, poles, the right tarp, underquilt, top quilt, and pad would do the job but I'm brand new at all this and there's finer details that I'm not taking into account.
    Last edited by assquatch20; 01-20-2021 at 01:41.

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