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Thread: Clark 250

  1. #41
    Senior Member Jshep420's Avatar
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    Clark 250

    It will. that and a warm sleeping pad and top quilt u will be good. I really love the weather shield on the Clark. It's very good for venting in cold weather. Can't wait for winter hanging.
    Last edited by Jshep420; 08-16-2014 at 00:27. Reason: 凸^-^凸

  2. #42
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    Well then, this is my first post to the forum, and I had to make a decision where it belongs. In the end, though being quite general, it turns out to be a recommendation on the Clark TX-250 rather than an introduction of myself, so I thought it might be most useful right here. If that was wrong, please accept my apologies.

    Being a hammock newbie, maybe I should yet still write a few words on where I started from. I have been toying with the idea of hammock camping for quite a while until I finally made the move. I think it was mid 2010, when I first noted what I think was a DD hammock popping up in my Amazon recommendations, and it looked charming to me from the very start.

    Hammock camping has never been that popular over here in continental Europe, so it had an somewhat exotic appeal. I had some doubts about whether I would sleep well, banana style. I thought I should maybe first experiment with a cheap or even DIY solution to not burn my cash if it would not work for me.

    Well, in the end I did not. Inspired by this forum and a bunch of YouTube vids (e.g. "Frozen butt hang in the piney woods of northern Minnesota", hell yeah!) I finally did it, and after some internet research - btw, thank all of you for sharing your experiences - I ordered a Clark TX-250 this spring. It paid off for me. It's sturdy, it's roomy, the design reflects construction and craftsmanship experience en masse. The materials used and the build quality are fantastic. Everything seems to be exactly where it belongs. Yes, it is expensive, but *for me* it's well worth the price. I expect the TX-250 to be a reliable companion for many years to come.

    I'm a 6' 4" guy weighing in at 221 lbs - absolutely no fat, just massive bones, of course ;-) Though I consider myself being an experienced camper, ground sleeping regularly resulted in back-aches, almost no matter what sort of sleeping pad I used. Crawling out of a tent in the morning, soaking wet from condensation, always was a pain in the a** for me. I always felt more or less cramped in my tent. One can't sit in there other than a yogi or move around other than on one's knees. I always loved being outdoors, but after two days of rain in a row I usually felt like reaching for my bed at home.

    Though being objectively way smaller than the Big Agnes 1-2 person tent I used most of the time over the last 5 years, my TX-250 on the other hand provides a completely different sense of space. It's like sleeping in a cradle - with a dry place *around*. And if I really have to hop out, it's like rolling out of my bed at home. If the weather sucks, I can sit like in an armchair with a roof. I can cook like that. And once it is time to break camp, everything packs away clean and dry. I've spent some 25 nights in my hammock now (driving my wife mad every weekend), and after some tuning in, I always slept like a baby. No back ache yet. From what I have experienced, this is by far the most comfortable way of spending the night outdoors.

    Being a top hammock right out of the box, I decided to make a few mods on my TX-250 soon. I did not quite like the original cordage. It does work, it got me hanging safely, but it didn't feel as nifty as the rest of the hammock. It is nevertheless super sturdy, if not bulletproof, hence I think other users might be lucky with it. But geardo that I am, I had to splash out on a pair of whoopie slings and some Dutch buckles and biners as well as a pair of 'snake skins' to tuck away the tarp if not in use.

    Having had what otherwise would be called a sh***y summer over here in Germany, I found myself lucky to test my hammock in changing conditions. We've had some serious wind and some rain, and when it stopped raining, it started to RAIN. That gave me opportunity to test various tarp and ridgeline setups.

    I ended up tying both to my suspension lines with prusik slings on both ends, allowing me to dial in tension and height. The tarp (the original 'XL' sized Clark silnylon) now rests only a few inches above my hammock, and provides enough protection even in case of 'horizontal rain'. If I had a 'Vertex' or similar sized type of tarp or maybe even a cuben 'winter palace', I would most likely have opted for a seperate continuous ridgeline tree-to-tree at higher elevation, but I like the concept of setting up and breaking down the whole system to and from just two anchor points. It works for me.

    I first experimented with different sleeping pads (Therm-A-Rest 'NeoAir' and 'TrailPro' models as well as an Evazote pad) inside the hammock. The 'NeoAir' performed surprisingly well in terms of insulation and sleeping comfort, but in the end I decided to go all the way and buy an underquilt type of insulation.

    I did some market research and ended up with what I hope will prove to be a flexible 4-season solution: I ordered *two* underquilts, a (down) Hammock Gear 20F 'Incubator' with 2 oz. overfill and the original Clark Z-Liner 250 one piece liner that attaches with a circumferential velcro strip, allowing no air circulation (and therefor no butt cooling) between the hammock and the liner. Having not yet had the opportunity to extensively test them at their temperture ratings, I can tell that both underquilts are of superb build quality.

    The idea behind that was to use the HG or the Z-liner seperately in moderate dry or wet conditions respectively (the latter being a synthetic insulation that most likely will work better when getting wet), and to combine both when facing temperatures below, say 20F, having a down inner insulation (HG) and the dew point in the synthetic outer (Z-liner).

    Since it is late August now, I obviously can't tell yet if that fanciest of plans really works the way I want. Same goes for my upper insulation, for which I decided to go with my tried and trusted sleeping bags (a light down Yeti 'Passion Three', rated 20F, and the synthetic Carinthia 'Defence 4', rated 0F) instead of buying upper quilts. I could post an update on this, once the temperatures finally drop to that regions. And maybe add some photos.

    To cut a long story short: Since I don't have the comparison, I cannot contribute to the somewhat religious discussions on whether to buy a Clark rather than a Henessy (or any other brand) or vice versa. But from what I can tell, the Clark TX-250 is a highly recommendable product, and so are the HammockGear and Clark underquilts as well as the Dutch Gear accessories. I have the feeling of having bought the Mercedes Benz of hammocks, and from a German's mouth that can be regarded a compliment (even if he drives a Volvo ;-)

    Just in case there are other European readers around wondering how they can get their hands on a Clark hammock: There are no distributors or dealers over here, Clark sells directly from their own web shop only. Getting one nevertheless is a breeze. Delivery (with DHL Express premium service) in my case was fast as lightning: It took less than 3 days from pick up in Salt Lake City, UT to my door in Kassel, Germany. And Clark does provide a customs declaration that helps you save on import taxes.

    Last not least: Thank you forumers for helping me becoming a hanger!

  3. #43
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    Great review of your hammock. Makes me almost wish I still had mine.
    When I had the Clarks I always considered attaching my tarp ridge line to the hammock suspension as you are doing. It just seemed like a very practical way to go. But because I was using web straps I could not come up with a good way to make the connection. Glad to hear it works as well as I imagined.

    And...welcome to the forum
    "...With saddle and pack, by paddle and track, let's go to the land of beyond."

  4. #44
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    Thank you for that warm welcome, Passinthru.

    I'm using tree-straps, too, but I keep them as short as possible, and rather extend my whoopie slings to their max. Connection is made using the famous Dutch buckles. That gives me enough space on the suspension lines to dial in the ridge line/tarp with short prusik slings on both ends.

    I might not post to this forum too often, but at least one more time: I have the nifty plan to check the effectiveness of my insulation setup with 'scientific' help. Once it gets cold enough for that, I'll borrow myself a thermal imaging camera from a friend of mine who's designing housing insulation solutions. I expect to gather some serious information on how and where exactly to work on my hammock insulation scheme to prevent unwanted heat dissipation, and maybe even get a clou on how to effectively vent once it gets too warm in that cocoon of mine. I bet you can find out by trial and error, too, but I'm a professed freak and even worse, a german one. We like it like that, and that might explain why the rest of the world hates us for the same good reasons that they love our automobiles for ;-)

    Btw, I love that global warming thing - there has never been a month of August as cold as this one in my lifetime. Perfect for hammock camping.

  5. #45
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    Welcome to the forum HungRight. There's far and long between european clark users, so it's always a delight to see another Love your introduction post!

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