Pic-heavy post.
Have to say, I love this thing already. Just got it in yesterday and set it up today for the first time. I noticed right away that there were several new features/upgrades, and it seems they have been busy improving the design. There were several complaints people have mentioned in videos, and other reviews, that seem to have been addressed in the latest version of the XL. I'll go over some of these in this post, and mention some things I like and sort-of dislike.
First off, this is a layout of everything I ordered, which includes the XL, Tarp, Insulated pad, and all components, as well as add-ons such as the Ridge-Line Light strip, power pump and whoopie slings- all packed and unpacked:
Lots of components there; some Ill use, some I wont.
The Main stuff sack and Pad de-lashed from one another. I do like how they lash together using a built in flap, with buckles, on the main bag.
Next, is the pad alongside its included stuff sack, extended for use as a pump sack.
This is the main bag that contains the Hammock-Tent body, the spreader bars, stakes, etc. The good news is that they do give you a bigger bag than needed. This, to my understanding, was a complaint with earlier models. I do love when companies give you an over-sized stuff sack, because I can NEVER get the items back in their original bags like they came from the manufacturer. I also prefer to just stuff my, well, stuff back in rather than meticulously folding them the same way every time. I recently bought an inexpensive 14' tarp- that thing is NEVER going back in it's tiny bag. I couldn't even get it stuffed into a much larger bag. Im going to have to buy an even bigger bag for that one. So, kudos to Haven for the larger bag.
Contents of main bag: left to right are the hardware bag, the hammock body, and the tarp:
Contents of the hardware bag:
The whole kit & kaboodle:
So, on to the point of this post which are the changes/improvements/points of interest. The first thing I noticed after getting it hung up were these little "caps," for the lack of a better term, that are placed onto the suspension points.
These are obviously meant to help keep water out of the hammock by sliding them over the ends of the suspension as so:
These are a nice touch, although Id don't know how well they would work in reality, and so I will still be using some dedicated drip lines for the setup. Still, attention to detail.
The next addition shown below was previously only available on Haven's "Safari" model. I was excited to see this was now included on the XL as well. It is simply a strap that runs under the head-end of the hammock that can be used to cinch up the end, which raises the entire end of the hammock so you can sit in a "lounge" mode. I'd say that I wasn't really able to get a good pic of this in action without someone in the hammock, but Ill try again later. I wasn't really able to cinch it up very high, maybe I wasn't doing it right. What I DID like about it was that it could be used to raise my head up slightly, which was nice.
Onto the biggest improvement, one that was widely complained about in many reviews of earlier models: The zippers. or, rather, the lack thereof. The latest model sent to me has resolved that issue greatly and I was VERY pleased to see that the new XL now has 4, count 'em, 4 zippers for the bug-net, on both the outside AND inside. Now, each side of the net has what is essentially a double, two-way zipper. Fantastic! The zipper pulls are nice and they move very smoothly. They can still be a little tough to move at certain points of their travel when lying in the hammock, due to the tension on them, but from what I've seen from others, they have a MUCH better operation than before.
Now, I do have a minor gripe about the bug-net. Previous versions allowed you to completely remove the bug-net. However, in order to do this, the area where the zippers met had a tiny space where bugs could possibly get in. The solution for this was a small flap that snapped down and covered that portion. They have since done away with that, and made the junction/end-run of the zippers a solid junction. Essentially, all 4 zippers can travel about 358 degrees around the entire bug-net; But, the last little bit is blocked by this:
So, as you can see, you cannot completely remove the bug-net and leave it at home if you choose. It's not really a deal-breaker, as the bug-net does help keep some chilled winds off of you, and you can still pull it all the way to the end if you don't wish to deploy it:
Plenty of room:
My next gripe is the tarp itself. But, also a bit of praise on the tarp they included. The tarp, for me, is just too small. I plan to use a bigger tarp rather than the factory one. I had decided to use the whoopie slings, as my suspension points are pretty far apart, and the included tree straps simply were not long enough to use. In doing so, I ended up just larks-heading the whoopies to the hammock ends, rather than using the carabiners supplied. Because I did this, the tarp would not connect as designed, since it is meant to have the suspension carabiners looped though the tarp ends. So, I had to improvise using the tree straps. It worked, and if I planned to continue to use the whoopies, I'd detach them and use the 'biners next time. I plan to convert over to cinch buckles and webbing. I just like that setup better. Not a fan of whoopies. All that being said, what was nice is that the XL came with their new, lighter-weight 20d nylon tarp. Im am unsure if it comes this way default now, rather than the 70d that comes with the standard Haven, but it was a nice surprise. Unfortunately, it took me about 15 minutes of trying to pull the tarp apart, due to the factory PU coating sticking to itself. Not a fun task. I'd coat the tarp with some chalk powder, or something, to keep it from sticking to itself if I planned to use it. I do not.
You can see, there's not a lot of room in there:
Porch mode does help:
Im sure that if you don't mid the closeness of the tarp, or don't want/need a bigger one, this tarp will work fine for shade and keeping the rain out by buttoning it down into "storm mode," using the 4 corner tie outs.
All in all, I really do love the Haven XL. It definitely gives a flat lay. I was comfortable on my back, side, and stomach with zero issues. The pad does curl around you a little when on your side, but that also may be because I let a little bit of air out of it while toying with it. The pad is much warmer than I expected from a mere 4 R value, but I was less chilly lying on it than I was the last time I was in my hammock with my SnugPak under-quilt. I'd be lying if I said I'm not more comfortable in this than in my hammock, because I am. I LOVE my hammock, and will probably continue to use it for summer camping for that cooling airflow underneath; But for the way I sleep, this is much better for ME. Its all pretty easy to set up, and a bit less "fiddly." Ill still be making some changes to it, as I always do, and figure out some ways to lighten the load as it is pretty heavy- albeit less weight than my entire hammock set up. Both of which I only use for car camping, so the weight on either set up is not that big of a deal to me. All in all, I'd say that if you've ben considering getting a Haven but have been holding off, now might be a good time to take the plunge with all the improvements. I'd also say go ahead and move up to the XL over the standard. I am not a big dude at 5'5", and I have plenty of room, but I am definitely glad I exchanged my standard for the bigger XL. I am definitely happy with it and cant wait to get it out in some actual woods.
That's all I have to say, for now. Hope this helps someone. I am also in no way affiliated with Haven. My wife purchased the standard for my Birthday, which I honestly didn't think I'd ever use. I immediately sent it back for an exchange to the XL model. Now that I have it, I'm sold. Sorry I couldn't figure out how to make these images thumbnails.
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Originally Posted by robv60
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