Blackbird XLC Comfort?

[rmcrow2]

I like a 10° slope. I find that easier to set than worrying about height differences in the woods. YMMV

Buy it.
You know you want to.

我宁愿在山上。

[nyrsimon]

What's waking you up? Are you cold? Calf ridge? Whippoorwills whippoorwilling all night?

And if you're still in Charlotte NC, you can look up for forum meetups nearby. Pretty sure someone will let you check out their setup.

I find I need to force the hammock with my feet to get a flat lay...and then I wake up not so flat...

And yes, great idea, I'm planning on heading to the Yates hang next month - so was hoping to see some setups....

Thanks

[nyrsimon]

Thanks for all the feedback folks. It certainly sounds like it would be a significant upgrade. I will check with the command module and seek permission for a purchase

[possum daddy]

Note that I can be uncomfortable in my XLC if I want to. Consider also distance between trees, height of strap on tree at each end, height of head and foot end of hammock. Then location of your body in the hammock and angle of lay.

Does take a little bit of trial and error to learn how to do it. But once you get it I know that you will love it.


Edit: try it out and report back, but I’ve found that starting with foot end of hammock (hammock, not strap end) 12-18” above head end, then small adjustments at either end of hammock until ridgeline tension is “just right” (*while* you are in hammock in the right spot, so a little bit of getting in and out of hammock at this step), then adjustments in height of strap on tree so that you are level hips to shoulders gets you real close to perfect. Your shoulders should be at about the level of where the zippers come together.

I spent a few afternoons trying every combination of the above to get the feel for it, now it’s intuitive and takes 2-3 min

[FLTurtle]

Note that I can be uncomfortable in my XLC if I want to. Consider also distance between trees, height of strap on tree at each end, height of head and foot end of hammock. Then location of your body in the hammock and angle of lay.

Does take a little bit of trial and error to learn how to do it. But once you get it I know that you will love it.


Edit: try it out and report back, but I’ve found that starting with foot end of hammock (hammock, not strap end) 12-18” above head end, then small adjustments at either end of hammock until ridgeline tension is “just right” (*while* you are in hammock in the right spot, so a little bit of getting in and out of hammock at this step), then adjustments in height of strap on tree so that you are level hips to shoulders gets you real close to perfect. Your shoulders should be at about the level of where the zippers come together.

I spent a few afternoons trying every combination of the above to get the feel for it, now it’s intuitive and takes 2-3 min

Yeah, I ran into this when I got my WB Eldorado after having a DW Half Zipped for several years. I would hang it like the DW and run into calf ridge issues. It wasn't until I read the setup instructions on the WB site along with reading posts here that I raised the foot end higher and found that sweet spot. I think the issue is that in the WB, you are higher up on the head end. In the DW, you're further down the body of the hammock.

[TominMN]

What's waking you up? ... Whippoorwills whippoorwilling all night?

...

Been there, done that! And more times than I care to remember. The first 100 or so vocalizations are kinda amusing. Not so much after that...

[tom-o]

In terms of comfort, is the Eldorado essentially the same as the XLC?

[Shug]

In terms of comfort, is the Eldorado essentially the same as the XLC?

Yessir. It is just the same as XLC except no shelf. Saves a tad of weight.
Shug

[dustin]

I upgraded to a regular Blackbird after trying several cheap hammocks. I can tell that it was worth the upgrade because I have no desire to buy another hammock.

Also, don't sell the shelf short. I love having a place to put stuff (jacket, gloves...) so it doesn't funnel down under me as I turn over.

[possum daddy]

Also, don't sell the shelf short. I love having a place to put stuff (jacket, gloves...) so it doesn't funnel down under me as I turn over.

Agree. The only reason why you’d choose eldorado over xlc is to save 2 oz weight. The people who care about 2 oz I’d think should also be considering other manufacturers for the even lighter fabrics, 1/2 zippers, 1/2 bug net etc

I have a DL lightweight XLC. The weight is no issue for the short backpacking I do and the shelf is v convenient. When I can convince someone else in my family to hang w me I will likely go with a SL eldorado for an 8 oz savings but keep the convenience of the Wooki which really works well, although I haven’t tried anything else…


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