Misc questions

[vaporjourney]

I'm close to ordering a Hyperlite, without ever having used a hammock at all, and definitely not a HH. There are a few things I'm wondering about that I know I can do in a tent.

-Mainly, can you sit upright in a hammock to read or whatever?

-and also...is there space inside the hammock to change into another shirt or thermal bottoms?

-Do you guys find that privacy really becomes an issue in a hammock?

-Is there enough room to keep a few extra layers of clothing inside without stealing too much sleeping space?

I may think of more questions to add here later.

[peanuts]

on an HH no, you will have the bugnetting in your way.
you change while standing between the slit of the HH, only legs will be seen. make sure the tarp is lower when you do that
nope.
yes.
hope this helps!

[Touch of Grey]

I'm close to ordering a Hyperlite, without ever having used a hammock at all, and definitely not a HH. There are a few things I'm wondering about that I know I can do in a tent.

-Mainly, can you sit upright in a hammock to read or whatever?

-and also...is there space inside the hammock to change into another shirt or thermal bottoms?

-Do you guys find that privacy really becomes an issue in a hammock?

-Is there enough room to keep a few extra layers of clothing inside without stealing too much sleeping space?

I may think of more questions to add here later.
I have a HH and am 6 foot 3 tall. Sitting on the outside, as shown on Shanes and some other sites, is very easy to do and other than being mildly uncomfortable due to the ridgeline cutting into the back of my neck, it's doable. Some have cut the ridgeline and use a carabiner to reattach the ridgeline when sleeping. Sitting inside is kind of hard to do comfortably but again doable.

The Speers hammocks and most any of the open top hammocks would more than likely be the better choice if sitting is an issue at anytime. The disadvantage to the HH is that you cannot just laydown to go to sleep for long periods of time. I have napped on the outside though (the disadvantage being that the sleeping area is cut in half because the hammock is folded over on itself.).

Changing can be an issue if you want it to be. I prefer to standup and hide if you will behind the tarp to change. I avoid changing in the hammock as if gets to be to gymnastic for me. But sitting down in the HH bottom opening and/or with your legs hanging over the side to pull your pants on two legs at a time is again doable.

Privacy is only an issue if you make it so. Most people will not bother you if you get out of the main path and out of sight. See Stealth Camping and LNT ideas.

Is there enough room? Well it all depends on how much extra clothing/gear you are talking about. Putting the extra clothes from your pack in a stuff sack and using it for a pillow means that your clothes are available and semi-warm as well as you are comfortable sleeping especially if you need a pillow. On cold nights when freezing is a concern, you will also want to bring your shoes in and plant them between your legs down near your feet. Use your water filter and water bottles up between your thighs and next to your crouch especially if you boil water before going to bed and place it in one or two of your Nalgenes.

Does that answer most if not all of your questions for now? If not then there are many other alternatives to storing gear. Just Jeff's Gear Hammock/Pack Cover which is also sold by Jacks R Better also is an option or hanging your pack at one or the other end of your ridgeline outside is another. A third is to lay it all on the ground under the hammock and tarp or hang it from a tree. Use your imagination, there are no right and wrong way to do things basically so long as you use some common sense. In the meantime you will learn what does and does not work for you.

TOG

[vaporjourney]

yes, the reply was more than i expected, thanks!

I was unaware of people clipping the ridgeline and using a carabiner to reattach before sleeping. do you have a link to this? I'm oh so close to getting a hyperlite, but want to make sure that I'm not giving up too much before doing so.

I imagine that using a hammock to wait out the rain could be a downfall vs tents? You can't comfortably sit up to read a book or do gear repairs inside. I guess if the rain wasnt too bad you could just hang out under the tarp, out of the hammock, but this might not happen if bugs were bad...

[vaporjourney]

ooh, another thing: are any of you guys cold sleepers? I probably won't use the HH in the winter since I won't have enough time to experiment before i start my thru, but using in the summer is my plan. I know that sometimes in the summer, I'm still pretty chilly under my JRB Shenandoah quilt on a thick pad on the ground. I assume it'd be even cooler in the air. Hammocks seem so perfect for summer time usage, but wondering if being cold on the underside is still an issue that time of the year?

[mmendell]

I would proceed cautiously when considering cutting the ridgeline on an HH, as I'm not certain how the bug netting fares when stretched that far.

Staying warm in a hammock is the biggest challenge, and there are many, many, many very helpful and informative folks on this forum. Do a search and you'll find a wealth of experience and knowledge. Underquilts, Supershelters, pads....lots of alternatives.

I use an JRB quilt setnderquilt, and find it works great down to 40 or so. Below that, some augmentation is necessary, such as a CCF pad.

[Touch of Grey]

You may want to go over to the Hammock Forums at www.hammockforums.net and read up there and ask more questions. It isn't that you won't get the answers eher as most of us frequent both forums anyhow. But being a Hammock Forum there is less to wade thru to find what you are looking for.

TOG


PS - I do not myself advocate cutting the ridgeline but quite a few have and with good results. See you on the Darkside...

[gila_dog]

Howdy all. I'm new here and this is my first post. I have camped with a hammock for some years. I used to use a crummy nylon net hammock with a thermarest pad under my sleeping bag, and a plastic tarp laid over a ridgelne and bungeed out to tree branches, rocks, and stakes. Worked ok, but was bulky and heavy. Bugs were an issue too. So a couple of years ago I bought a Hennessey Expedition Asym, with super shelter. I took it on a weeklong September elk bow hunting trip in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico. We were camped at about 8500 ft elevation. Temps were 40's nite, and 50's & 60's daytime. It rained some almost every afternoon. My bed was dry but it was a challenge keeping my pack and other stuff dry. I wound up laying my pack under the hammock, since that was the only dry place I could find. The rain fly that came with the hammock was just barely big enough. It worked, but only because there wasn't much wind. I guess they have a bigger rain fly available now. I wish I had one, but they are pretty expensive.

I had to spend a lot of time in the hammock during the afternoons waiting out the rain. I was a lot more comfortable than my buddy who was living in a tent. I found that laying in the hammock, reading for two or three hours was not a problem at all. Doing that scrunched up in a tent on the hard ground was miserable for him. He also sat around under the tarp we had strung up over our kitchen area, but that wasn't much better. One good thing about the rain was that it solved our drinking water problem. I just put my pot out at a spot along the edge of my rain fly where the rain was running off and filled 'er up. I filtered it anyway just to get rid of the leaves and pine needles.

We saw some elk, but never got a shot. Great trip tho! I've used the hammock several times since and really like it. It's a quality peice of gear.

[lvleph]

One can use a hammock as a chair. (http://hennessyhammock.com/use-as-a-chair.htm) So sitting up and reading shouldn't be that big of an issue.

[vaporjourney]

Another question: just noticed on the HH site that the Ultralite Backpacker and Hyperlite models are made for people that are 6 feet tall or less. Does anyone use it that is around 6'1"?