Re: Hennessy hammocks...

In article <43C32F55.88E3942C@xxxxxxx>, kenp@xxxxxxx says...

> Has anyone used one of these hammocks? Any pro or con comments?
>
> Thanks.
> Ken
>
>


Hi Ken,
I started using a Hennessy Hammock this year, and let me tell you
about it. If given the choice I would never, ever, ever sleep in a tent
again. I've slept in thunderstorms, hot summer nights, and cool fall
nights, without too many issues.

PROS:
1. You'll never wake up with a sore back like you do from sleeping on
the ground

2. Works as well, if not better than a tent in the rain because you
don't have to worry about "floods"

3. On a summer night, you'll get more airflow than you would in a tent -
which means you're more comfortable.

4. You don't need flat ground beneath you to sleep - I've slept on the
side of a hill for a couple of nights... which also avoids the puddle
problem that can come with rain

5. As long as you've got two trees, you have somewhere to set up your
hammock

6. Takes up almost no space in your backpack / weighs very little

7. once you've done it a couple of times, at most it will take you five
minutes to set it up

CONS:
1. Can be kind of cool at night if you don't use a little extra
insulation beneath you. I found a polar fleece jacket beneath my torso,
and a blanket under my legs helped (while I was in a sleeping bag). You
just need something that can trap a little bit of air.

2. The straps that come with the hammock are about three feet long,
which means the tree can have a maximum circumfrence of about 1.5
feet... which is a relatively small tree. This isn't a problem weight-
wise, but some places, the trees just aren't that small. I made longer
straps myself (about 6 feet long) for $10... I would suggest doing the
same if you have large trees in your area.

3. Storing your boots for the night can be a hassle. You can hang them
from the string that runs along the top of the hammock, but if they're
wet from being in the rain, you end up with a muddy sleeping bag. I'm
still trying to think of a good solution for this one that leaves them
accessible, while still able to dry overnight.

4. getting dressed / undressed can be a bit of a pain... but that's to
be expected.

5. if you camp at a provincial / state / government park, you might not
always know if there are trees to set yourself up in


Personally, I've found the pros to far outweigh any of the cons. Pro #1
on my list makes it worth any of the problems that I've had in the con
list... I mean, you can be hiking with this thing, walk three feet off
the trail and set up for the night, and no one would ever know you were
there. It's really great!

If you've got any more questions, fire away!

Gord
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Archbishop criticizes Israel for "safrificing innocent civilians"
    ... but you never present anything pro or con to relevant points. ... who substitues his own "doctrinal statement" for the Nicene Creed. ... That only proves that you have a knack for picking bad seminaries for ...
    (soc.religion.christian)
  • Re: whats the best
    ... The latest version of BlackIce Defender is 3.5 and it does block phone home ... > PRO: Easy to use, ... > CON: If you allow an app to go through, you have to go to it and modify it ... Cookie control doesn't stop 3rd party cookie. ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)
  • Pros and Cons of the top 20 Dem Pres contenders
    ... Pro: Articulate; ... Con: L.A. Law was kind of overrated now that you think about it. ... Technically still running for president. ... Con: Potential attack ad: "Sometimes Optimus Prime is a robot, ...
    (rec.sport.football.college)
  • Re: Best way to copy whole content of HD into another
    ... Pro: Should be thoroughly tested already and allow restore of data ... Con: Copies a lot of cruft if the filesystem isn't very full. ... Usually does special and sparse files great. ...
    (comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc)