Hello everyone.

First: The background

I am 6'3", 200lbs.

I just started hammock camping early last month and slept in my new ENO setup for 3 weeks during July (in 5 different U.S. states - OR, CA, NV, UT, ID). I went all-out and bought/used the following gear:

  • ENO Double Nest Hammock
  • ENO Atlas Straps
  • ENO Under Belly gear hammock
  • ENO Spark Top Quilt
  • ENO Ember 2 Under Quilt
  • ENO Guardian Bug Net
  • ENO ProFly



I replaced the end loops with Amsteel continuous loops that I made and Whoopie slings that I bought from Dutch (as well as dutch biners). I also added an adjustable SRL and replaced the stock carabiners with climbing rated biners that I had laying around. (I used a carabiner from the Atlas Strap to the Whoopie sling, dutch biner the whoopie to the continuous loops)

All-in-all, the gear has worked very well for me (I have yet to do any hiking with any of it and only had to carry my gear from the car about 30'. I understand that people say it's heavy in relation to other options out there). I have yet to be cold (the desert is FREEZING at night!), but I realized, after much reading on this forum, that the leg/knee pain I frequently get is probably due to the fact that my hammock is probably too short (9'4")...

So... upon returning to the comfort of my own home I ordered a Wide Dutch 11' Netless hammock (with fixed SRL, dual knotty mod & cinch buckle suspension) and his bottom-entry bugnet (fronkey style). That was 2 days ago and I'm impatiently awaiting my goodies!

I'm super excited to spend some more time outdoors in my new hammock but now I have a couple of problems/questions. I hope you can help me out!


The Tarp

11' is much longer than the 9'4" that the ProFly is designed to provide cover for. I suspect that were it to rain much (I live in Oregon, so it's a no-brainer) I'd have water coming in from both directions. Given that I've just dropped a bunch of $ on my ENO setup and now my new Dutch goodies it's going to be difficult to justify to my wife that I need a new tarp ("But you just bought one last month!") - but I do!!!!!

I'd love to get into hiking and more backwoods/remote camping (I haven't hiked since getting out of the Corps), but right now weight is less of a concern for me (I've never hiked with less than an 80lb+ load anyway!) than money (see above comment about my wife).

The Kelty Noah 12 has come up on a lot of discussions due to it's coverage and price (around $60-ish). Is there something else in that price range that you would suggest considering? Priorities are:
  1. Coverage/durability
  2. Price
  3. Weight is tie-breaker



The Under Quilt

This may not be an issue, but I don't want any surprises - I'm actually pretty happy with my Ember 2 despite the frequent bashing here on the HF. I'm sure if I had tried some sweet down cottage vender UQ I would think the Ember2 was complete $h!t too, but alas, I'm not in that category. ;-) My question is actually pretty simple - will it work with the new (20" longer) hammock?

I knew that my ENO bug net wasn't going to fit an 11' model so I just ordered one with the hammock - a relatively inexpensive investment.



The good news with all of this is that I now have a complete spare hammock setup (minus top/under quilts). If only I could talk the wife and kids into getting out of the tent and joining me in the trees! I'm also eager to try out the cinch buckle suspension w/ 15' straps and Dutch Clips. This will be my 3rd suspension I've tried and am looking forward to being able to go shorter than the whoopie slings allow. I ran into the issue of not being able to wrap my 9' Atlas Straps around the trees in this area a couple of times.