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  1. #1

    Join Date
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    Dealing with unexpectedly windy conditions

    Our scouts camped at a farm near Gettysburg this past weekend. I was thankful to find two trees just the right distance apart to hang on Friday night. Well, right around midnight, it got windy. Like 30-40 MPH gusts and some less severe, but sustained winds. Unfortunately, I was hanging perpendicular to the wind, so it was a long, mostly sleepless night as my poor WB Edge kept slapping my head and flapping furiously on the leeward side. I gotta say, I was seriously impressed that it didn't get torn. On the corners, I've got line-loc Vs on a 3/32 shock cord loop and 6' of micro cord with 6" j stakes holding them down. I had the hammock as low as I could - the UQ was only inches off the ground with me in it - and the windward side of the tarp (without wind) was pulled down to about 8-12" off the ground.

    Knowing which direction the wind was consistently blowing, I scoured the site on Saturday for other trees, but they were all massively too far apart (30+ feet) or too close. I did have my turtledog stand, but even inline with the wind, I wasn't sure it wouldn't get toppled over with me in it. So, I grabbed one of my scout-proof loaner tarps (a 10x10 Unigear cheapie) and thought if I pitched that in a diamond with the point into the wind, and extra guylines on the mid-tieouts, that it would help. It didn't. In fact, the point (where I just drove a hook stake trough the grommet) came unhooked and proceeded to whip the underside of my UQ all night long.

    So, in situations where you can't pitch a tarp inline with the wind, what else CAN you do to get a little extra protection? In hindsight, I thought if I had pitched that 10x10 like a lean-to (one whole side staked down and the other corners tied off to the trees) that might have been better.

  2. #2
    FLTurtle's Avatar
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    Dec 2018
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    Site selection is a big one, but like you stated...sometimes you don't have that option. Side pullouts are really helpful with broadside winds. Does your tarp have them? If not, you can always improvise with the button method or get Dutch's clip on tarp pull outs. Some extra Zing it, and a branch (or trekking pole) and a stake...you can open that tarp up enough to keep it from blowing in on you. I've also used my trekking poles over the CRL to lift up on the side pullouts of my tarp.

    High winds always bother me when hammocking. It's a bumpy ride in the hammock with them trees swaying to and fro. Also, obvious widowmakers we can avoid, but sometimes the wind will make one for you. A couple of years back, we had gone to NC at the tail end of hurricane remnants passing through. That first night, was windy and raining. I heard a branch or tree fall. Sounded big and close, like all things do at night in the woods. Everybody checked in ok. Next morning, never found the tree...but we swore it has huge and nearby.

  3. #3
    Phantom Grappler's Avatar
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    Mar 2014
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    Denton NC
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    How I dealt with high winds, might not work for everyone.
    Also in extremely high winds, might be safest to bail to your car or home—if you can get there.
    High winds can increase chances of a killer tree or branch ending your lifelong party.

    My tarp ridgeline runs under my tarp. I tied same end corners together. And I tied the end edges together. Nothing was holding tarp up but tarp ridgeline. Both ends were sealed-more or less.

    Steady winds and wind gusts swung hammock and tarp back and forth in tandem.
    For the most part, my tarp did not beat against my hammock—they swung back and forth in unison

    The whole thing looked like an envelope with the open end closest to ground

    Another way I’ve used with lesser winds and rain:
    Tie end corners close to ground on tree hammock is hitched.
    Also stake and tie down low, middle of tarp edges—to keep tarp from ballooning or parachuting from wind gusts.

  4. #4
    Senior Member packman9000's Avatar
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    Feb 2019
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    My first hammock camp, I pitched about 20' from the shore of a lake in the ADK with my new square tarp pitched as a diamond...with the ridgeline into the wind. I thought doors were for overkill.

    First night we had one heck of a rainstorm, thunder, lightning, and driving wind off the lake and right up under the tarp and all over my new hammock, my new underquilt, and new quilt. I was out in the pouring rain with a flashlight trying to tie off an emergency blanket over enough of my setup to prevent it from being totally soaked...and I have 5 nights to go yet. I slept in the car. Or didn't sleep in the car. My tent-camping friend was kind enough not to laugh, which I thought was nice.

    I got home and bought a Superfly. I'll never camp without a tarp with doors. The big doors on the Superfly means I can now more or less ignore direction for all but the worst scenarios. I still try to be mindful of it, but it's not the big worry it used to be. Having a big enough square tarp gives you some options though if you need to go to ground here or there due to weather.

    Also, having tieouts on the sides makes a big difference keeping things stable in high winds.
    Last edited by packman9000; 03-21-2022 at 18:34.

  5. #5
    Senior Member WalksIn2Trees's Avatar
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    Apr 2013
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    dual inside pole mod keeps the tarp taut, and usually, the edge facing the wind will get pushed towards the ground, further protecting you, instead of lifting away and exposing you. there have been outlier cases where the opposite happened to me, usually in gusty conditions where the wind changes direction a lot, but this has been very rare for me

    Sent from my SM-T727V using Tapatalk

  6. #6

    Join Date
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    Thanks for the tips. In hindsight, I might have been better off stashing the tarp back in its mesh sleeve. It was almost perfectly clear, no chance of rain overnight and the wind pretty much dried any dew before it could set. I have a Trail Lair with the internal windshield which would have kept things bearable. But, that's hindsight.

    When we were checking out of the site, I asked the staff if it was always that windy. They said this weekend was actually pretty tame. So, next time we camp there (it's a nice place - Daniel Lady Farm - and literally right next to the Battlefield, so probably our go-to for the troop's bi-annual Gettysburg trip), I'll be taking my lowest and widest tent.

  7. #7
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CVKealey View Post
    Thanks for the tips. In hindsight, I might have been better off stashing the tarp back in its mesh sleeve. It was almost perfectly clear, no chance of rain overnight and the wind pretty much dried any dew before it could set. I have a Trail Lair with the internal windshield which would have kept things bearable. But, that's hindsight.

    When we were checking out of the site, I asked the staff if it was always that windy. They said this weekend was actually pretty tame. So, next time we camp there (it's a nice place - Daniel Lady Farm - and literally right next to the Battlefield, so probably our go-to for the troop's bi-annual Gettysburg trip), I'll be taking my lowest and widest tent.
    Sometimes that is the best option.

    I'm pretty gung-ho for hammocks but in certain conditions and places the old axiom "the right tool for the job" asserts itself, which is why I have resisted giving up a few key ground options.
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
    “If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton

  8. #8

    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmoulder View Post
    Sometimes that is the best option.

    I'm pretty gung-ho for hammocks but in certain conditions and places the old axiom "the right tool for the job" asserts itself, which is why I have resisted giving up a few key ground options.
    The kicker is that I always keep a bin in my truck with extra gear including an extremely windproof Eureka tent. I took that bin out when it went in to get some body work done back in January and forgot to put it back in before this trip.

  9. #9
    all secure in sector 7 Shug's Avatar
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    "Whan Zephyrus eek with his sweete breath, inspired hath in every holt and heath.."
    The wind doth what the wind will.
    Shug the Breeze

    All we are is Dust in the Wind.

    Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven

  10. #10
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CVKealey View Post
    The kicker is that I always keep a bin in my truck with extra gear including an extremely windproof Eureka tent. I took that bin out when it went in to get some body work done back in January and forgot to put it back in before this trip.
    LOL, yep, it is then that you remember very clearly why it is always kept in the vehicle!
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
    “If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton

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