My 1st Hennessey

[Trebor66]

Last week I purchased my first HH. Set it up in the backyard and that night spent my first night in it. I love it. I wanted to get the snake skins but no stores near me sold them. I found them on the HH website but they wanted 15 dollars for shipping. I emailed to company and told them that was ridiculous. Without hesitation they reduced the shipping to 5 bucks. Great customer service!!

Now, does anybody have any advice or tricks I need to know about my HH?

[kayak karl]

which HH do you have?

[bigcranky]

I rigged mine so I can set up the tarp separately. That way I can hang the tarp if it's raining, and get under it before hanging the hammock, then reverse that in the morning. (I use an aftermarket Maccat tarp, but this can be done with the HH tarp.)

My wife modified my pack cover so I could use it as a mini-hammock, hung from my HH suspension; this is where I store my gear at night so it's off the ground and under my tarp.

[Trebor66]

Explorer deluxe asym zip

[DocMahns]

First thing I did was change out the suspension with AHE whoopie slings (thinner/lighter tree straps, continuous loop whoopie slings, and aluminum toggles). Super easy to hang and adjust to the right tension (no untying and retying). I also purchased separate cordage for the ridgeline, got some spectra cord; very durable and rigid (no stretch, which is what you want in a ridgeline so it reduces droop/sag).

http://www.arrowhead-equipment.com/h...uspension.html - first setup on the page - Marlin Spike Hitch Whoopie Sling Kit

[Glacier]

I also just bought a HH. I tried it out last week in the back yard and didn't make it through the night. It got down to 23F and I got pretty cold. No under quilt or sleeping pad...I was excited to try...rookie mistake. I'm going on a multi-day IAT trek with the HH AND a pad after trying again. Temps are in upper 30s at night next week so I should fair better. I did get some eno atlas straps which I really like. I was also reading about pea pods. Do you skip the sleeping bag when using one?

[Trebor66]

I haven't slept in cold temps yet. The lowest being about 50. I used my Therm A Rest pro light and a 32 degree bag opened like a quilt and I was just fine.

[CaptainCoupal]

If you've got the Hennessy, my one piece of advice is to consider under-insulation. Most folks in a hammock end up getting an underquilt at some point instead of using a pad. The Hennessy has a great solution for this, called the SuperShelter, which actually works very well down to around 32F (some have taken it farther with additional insulation). It's very cost effective and not a lot of extra weight to carry either.

[hamdinger]

I rigged mine so I can set up the tarp separately. That way I can hang the tarp if it's raining, and get under it before hanging the hammock, then reverse that in the morning. (I use an aftermarket Maccat tarp, but this can be done with the HH tarp.)

I also hang the rainfly separately, and it's great! I use it at home sometimes for very versatile shade.

[Theosus]

I rigged mine so I can set up the tarp separately. That way I can hang the tarp if it's raining, and get under it before hanging the hammock, then reverse that in the morning. (I use an aftermarket Maccat tarp, but this can be done with the HH tarp.)

I do the same thing with my tarp. I've got the hennessy hex tarp, which is well worth it if you are planning some rainy nights. I almost exclusively take the big one now, despite the weight penalty.

Of course now you'll start thinking about improvements... After the first two seasons I converted mine to whoopee slings. Nice, but not a deal breaker. Then I fiddled with the tarp until I finally worked out a good method for fast rigging. I can get the tarp up and rigged with very little trouble now, saving my hammock from wetness until the end. The little net bag inside the HH is okay, but I made a more rectangular version with two pockets (one for my phone and glasses, the other for all the crap I like to have inside at night, like eye drops and ear plugs and headphones and ibuprofen and my headlamp. It's a great hammock, but I do like my net-less eno in the winter because the two ridge lines let me hang almost everything right within reach - socks, pants, down vest, etc.

A trick I learned: If you have a smartphone with a rubbery shell (otter box, etc) - slip the shell off the phone on one side and put it around the ridge line, then back on the phone, so the phone hangs above you flat, where you can see it. In the dark if you can't sleep, you can watch your preloaded movies without having to hold the phone, just relax and look up.