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Thread: Haven XL?

  1. #31
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    I got in on the Safari kickstarter as well and am looking forward to it being a staple up at the RV for the wife and kids to lounge and sleep in. If i like it enough, i may buy an XL once they update it with the new zipper design and lounge strap.
    At $100 less than retail, it was a no brainer for me.

  2. #32
    New Member Stone Pine's Avatar
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    Well, I'm embarrassed to say that this is my first post on this fine forum since 2018. "Why" is a very long story -- I'll spare you since it's greatly OT -- but as some famous singer once said (was it John Lennon?), life is what actually happens when you're making plans for life ... or something.

    The other reason I haven't been here for a long time: after trying several different hammocks -- in order:

    • Warbonnet Blackbird (my first in 2015, after realizing that even though I've used tents all my life elsewhere, when I moved to Maine I learned there are no flat spots outside of manicured campgrounds because the ice sheets were not orderly and the ground here is VERY irregular, rocky, bumpy ... not to mention lots of undergrowth and wetlands)
    • Go Outfitters regular width --- double wides only for me now, thanks
    • MalloMe double wide (I own three of them and love them for day lounging; one is in my living room on a 2x4 frame, one in the woods near my apartment, and the third rides in/on my ATV everywhere I go in case I find a spot where I want to hang out for a few hours)
    • and recently, a Warbonnet Ridgerunner (that I sold on Ebay)

    ... I finally learned that sleeping in regular hammocks (for me) requires being a back sleeper, and I'm not. I'm a side sleeper only. (I snore on my back and as a light sleeper, it wakes me instantly. )

    I LOVE my GE hammocks for hanging in the woods in the morning and afternoon, but cannot sleep in them. So I thought I wouldn't fit into this hammock forum.

    But I recently purchased a Haven XL, and love it! I only just took it into the "wilds" for an overnight last weekend for a trial run. (I live in far eastern Maine now, just 20 miles from NB Canada and just a few miles north of Bay of Fundy). I have cleared a camp in moose and bear country on a few 10's of thousands of acres of timber company land (publicly accessible via ATV and snowmobile, closed to other vehicles except logging equipment and hunting guides). I used that camp (in a very rutted, 30 year old skidder track) last year trying a cot with a Whelen tent/tarp -- which didn't work well for me (the cot was terrible, and unlevel, and the Whelen was 20 lbs, a lot for a smaller older guy who solos).

    Last weekend, I put up the Haven. First night was a disaster because I pitched the head end too low and didn't sleep a wink all night -- again, I'm a light sleeper. At sun up, I adjusted the pitch and napped for hours. Second night was much better, but I realized I need a different pad. I'm an older (72) small man (140 lbs), and sleep cold, so even dressed in a Selk bag (I call it a Selk suit) under a Jacks R Better top quilt, I felt some cool temps from below. I camp mostly here in autumn -- August until snow flies -- and night temps will soon drop into the 40's F, then 30's, so ...

    On Friday (payday), I'm going to order a Thermarest MondoKing XXL. It'll cost me $195 delivered (street price), which will stress my fixed income budget for the month severely, but I live to camp so it'll be worth it, I predict. R7 with the foam, which I predict is going to work great with the Haven XL (same size as the Haven pad; I found a Youtube video about the MondoKing in an XL, too. The guy loves it.)

    Derek at Haven is going to allow me to exchange my XL pad for one of their rain flies -- which I didn't buy originally to save money, AND because I use a OneTigris Pavilion (octogon, 13.2' diameter, 3 lbs, SUPERB).

    Oh, by the way, when I hit 70, I gave up backpacking (after five decades of serious backpacking, mostly in the Rockies high country, but also in deserts and canyons of the SW US) and am now an ATV camper. We have literally thousands of miles of designated, mapped ATV/snowmobile trails in Maine, and I can easily carry 200 lbs of gear, so why not? I don't even own a car -- don't need one since I can get most places "in town" (pop: 2200) on my ATV -- and I can get to places on the ATV not accessible at all by car/truck. So weight is not an issue for me in the least.

    I'll re-introduce myself soon -- my camping season is here, so I'm pretty busy right now -- and post a video of my Haven XL once I get the MondoKing and try it out, and get the whole system dialed in.

    But I had searched the forum to see if any were discussing the Haven tent/hammocks (I call it a tenmock), found this thread, and had to say "hi". It's good to be back.

    Here's a photo of my camp from last weekend. It's on an old ATV trail (no longer mapped; known only to locals, hard to find) over to a 4 mile long "lake", which is actually a wide spot in a river -- common in Maine. I've cleared and leveled up the camp site with a hatchet, folding saw, small pick axe and shovel that ride in a locking tool box on my ATV. The Haven XL is under the OneTigris (which is suspended under a 32' static climbing rope using 'biners; here the outside edge is folded back over the rope ridge line for a good view of Polaris in the night sky), but the Haven has a tarp over its ridge line to help with the draft and thick fog at night (close to the ocean). The Haven rain fly will replace that.

    Haven XL w- Tigris & Pogo.JPG
    Last edited by Stone Pine; 08-30-2022 at 20:14.
    Winter is coming. But first, autumn, my favorite time to camp. Temps are cooler but snow's not flying yet. Nights are longer for extra sleep. The flying biters and touristas are dissipating. Life is good.

  3. #33
    Slugger's Avatar
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    Great post & welcome back! I had rotator cuff surgery early June & that immediately put my wandering in the woods on hold. I just purchased the Haven Safari...mainly because I'm not ashamed to admit I'm now a car camper due to health issues. So, I'm looking at sliding back into the woods in about 10 days or so and it will be a first sleep in the Safari. After reading comments and watching several University of YouTube videos I've already prepared a few things for the Safari.

    1. I already have a sleeping bag liner that the Safari's 30x80 pad will slip into nicely (to help keep the pad clean, add maybe 1 degree of warmth)

    2. Just picked up a roll of Reflectix and am piecing together a 30x80 to slip under the mattress. That should add some R-value.

    3. Just purchased a 10 degree Zenbivy bed that went on sale this week for 25% off. That should help keep me warm. Why 10 degree you ask of a man who lives in SC? Because I hammock at the aunt's house in northern NH quite often...including winter. Can't wait to see what limits I can push this set up to. If I start to get miserably cold I can trudge from the hammock to her log cabin in a matter of minutes!

    4. I purchased a couple sets of straps that Kernel Lee talked about in his video so I could add the center strap running from head-to-toe to add support to the pad inside. https://youtu.be/iwUHHH9sPyQ
    Retired US Navy, 10-year Stage IIIb colon cancer survivor. I believe my last words will be "Hold my beer..."



  4. #34
    New Member Stone Pine's Avatar
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    Hey Slugger,

    Thanks for your warm welcome.

    First, glad to hear you're healing after rotator cuff surgery. OUCH! I didn't have to have the surgery, but suffered for over six months after tearing both of mine during exercise on some dip bars that were too wide for me. Not the most intense pain I've experienced, but persistent and severely limiting. So good to know you're healing. And getting into the woods will help with that.

    I like your strategy for improving the stock pad with the XL. And I can say for sure that you and I have watched at least some of the same videos about the XL. The one you mentioned by Kernel Lee is one that made me jump for the XL. Seeing that trick with the cinch buckle strap running under the floor of the XL gave me confidence that I could get the XL -- even though my weight and height dictated the standard size -- and make it work.

    As it turns out, that middle creasing issue in the XL wasn't a problem for me at all since I'm a side sleeper, and the crease wasn't much any way. I predict that the stiffer Thermarest MondoKing pad will support it even more. I'll keep you posted.

    And I remember seeing the reference in one of his vids about using the Reflectix to increase R value. And I got the same brand of cinch buckle straps that he recommended, though I use them for Haven suspension rather than support under it. (Cinch buckle strap buckles are a PITA to get loose -- I much prefer daisy chains -- but the Haven demands to be tight, so I use them any way.

    Thanks for reminding me to add my Tyvek sleeping bag cover into my kit. Totally forgot about it for a while.

    And here's the Kernel Lee video that convinced me to go with the Thermarest Mondoking for the pad. As a long time (5 decades) backpacker/mountaineer, I owned at least four Thermarest mattresses in the past. Never any thing as big as the Mondoking XXL, but I trust their quality and customer service. So even though it's going to wreck my September budget, I'm ordering it tomorrow. Found one for $195 shipped from a camp supplier in PA that has a 60 day, no-questions return policy, and they'll help me with repair/warranty issues with Thermarest after that. Gonna be worth it, me thinks.

    We'll compare notes this autumn, eh?

    And New Hampshire. Man, the cold over there is more serious than what I'll deal with here in downeast Maine. I'm only 5 - 10 miles from Bay of Fundy at my camp, so I get marine influence temps. Winters are balmy here compared to where I was before: NW of Bangor. Up there, we usually had 2' - 4' snow base from January through March and bumping -20F numerous times per year. Down here, last year we had just a couple of dustings of snow, and it only got below zero F a couple of times, then not bad. Good strategy to have a cabin nearby just in case.
    Last edited by Stone Pine; 09-02-2022 at 12:19.
    Winter is coming. But first, autumn, my favorite time to camp. Temps are cooler but snow's not flying yet. Nights are longer for extra sleep. The flying biters and touristas are dissipating. Life is good.

  5. #35
    New Member Stone Pine's Avatar
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    Quick update on a holiday weekend, when most in here are out camping. (I tend to hide away on holidays when the roads and trails are so crowded, and head out the following week. AND my Thermarest MondoKing XXL will be here Wednesday, so I'll likely head back up to camp with it late week for a first try.)

    I realized that I was (perhaps) wrong about where I first saw reference to using Reflectix to up the R value of the Haven pads. I think it was in this video (instead of one of Kernel Lee's). I remember watching it before I ordered the Haven, so I'm reviewing those videos again now that I've got it and used it once.

    This one is very instructive with some upgrade hacks, especially for me the idea of repositioning the bug net UNDER the ridge line. It comes with the bug net OVER the ridge line (actually more of a strap). It's WAY too tight when lying in it. A PITA to get it zipped up in the middle of the night, especially. (I had to do a partial pull up on the ridge line with only my feet on the pad to take the tension off.) By putting the net inside the ridge strap, the tension is off. Then just string a ridge cord (for me, some 550), and bingo: no tension. Can't wait to try it.

    The company has also agreed to trade my pad (used only once, never touched the ground) for one of their flies. That's going to help with temp regulation under my main tarp, the OneTigris Pavilion. I'll keep you posted.
    Winter is coming. But first, autumn, my favorite time to camp. Temps are cooler but snow's not flying yet. Nights are longer for extra sleep. The flying biters and touristas are dissipating. Life is good.

  6. #36
    Slugger's Avatar
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    I'm taking my Haven Safari out this coming weekend for a 1-nighter. It will be the first time in it. So, plenty of pictures and my review on how it went will be posted here next week. It will be in coastal NC so I definitely will be shedding gear to try to stay cool at night.
    Retired US Navy, 10-year Stage IIIb colon cancer survivor. I believe my last words will be "Hold my beer..."



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