HH Set up Questions

[Ashman]

I have a HH Asym Expedition (just got it off of Ebay), I have a Termarest pad that is 20x72x1.5, I have an REI silk bag liner that is 82x30. Now the hard part. I have an LL Bean rectangular bag. It is 34x75x2.5, it is Synthetic filled (Polarguard) with a Nylon shell and a Poly/Cotton liner. I have NO idea what the bag rating is. (One helpful soul said sleep in it outside til you get cold, that how you tell what the rating is) Not a real good option for me (it just hasn't been that cold here lately.) If I had to guess I would say it is a 30 degree bag but that is a pure guess.

I set up my hammock in the back yard. I first tried to put the bag around the hammock and zip it up. I was able to do this but it only covered the top 2/3 of the hammock plus it was hard to get in the hammock. Once I got in it was toasty but the bottom 1/3 was a tad drafty. I put the pad in the hammock with the bag and bag liner and climbed in. It was very toasty, borderline hot, I was wearing Jeans, cotton hoodie sweatshirt and socks. We had a slight breeze going, the tarp was flapping a bit (stock tarp)

My questions. Given these parts, what is the best way to maximize what I have? I am doing a Backpacking trip this April going from Ashby Gap VA on the AT north to Harper's Ferry, am I going be ill-equipped for this trip with this as a sleep system? (I am going with some anti-hammockers [well ignorant to hammocking] so I want to really show em!) Although I am probably going to pick up some snake skins for the hammock, till then what is the best way to store the hammock, rolled or stuffed? What is the best way rig up the stock tarp in cold and windy conditions? Has anyone used those water funnell thingys that HH came up with? If so godsend or gimmick? Thanks for any advice or direction you can provide.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Lots of info at this site: Hammock Forums
(http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/index.php)

[Egads]

Ashman,

I believe that you will really enjoy the hammock much more with the proper gear. Please check out these sites for more help.

http://www.hammockforums.net/

http://www.tothewoods.net/

http://hikinghq.net/

http://www.jacksrbetter.com/

You are going to spend some money or will need to make your own gear before you sleep comfortably and your anti hammock friends leave you alone.

You need an underquilt and possibly a pad to keep your underside warm, and a quilt or bag on your topside. You will need to educate yourself and experiment with different gear / set ups to see what works for you.

Enjoy,

Egads

[FanaticFringer]

Egads is spot on. To really impress your friends you'd need better gear. To maximize what you have on hand I'd do the following. Stuff the hammock. Doesn't need to be rolled. Best way to use stock tarp is to tie it directly to the trees. When tied to the hammock as Hennessy suggests, it sags when you get in it. Those water funnell thingys seem like more of a gimmick to me. Never heard of anyone using them. Might work in a downpoor with no available water around. Hey Egads.......when we going camping again?

[BillyBob58]

Ashman,
If you want to blow your anti-hammock friends away, make or invest in some snake skins, one set for the tarp and maybe one set for the hammock depending on what kind of BOTTOM insulation you are using. Set up and take down will then be ultra fast. But you will have to decide if you want to remove your upper bag/quilt and underquilt or HH SS under pads into a separate stuff sack in order to use the snake skins on the hammock and/or the HH SS undercover, if you should end up with a SuperShelter. But at least get skins for the tarp, IMO.

Aparently, you have started by rigging a form of a Speer PeaPod with your sleeping bag around the hammock. See:
http://www.speerhammocks.com/Products/PeaPod.htm

I really like the PeaPod, and this is a great appoach for top loading hammocks. You seem to be getting surprisingly good results from it, even though a PeaPod style is not meant to be used with a Hennessy Hammock. Having to wrap the bag around the ridge line and netting results in a need for a gigantic bag and causes much trouble with the bottom entry, as you have already realized. I am amazed that you have been able to get into the hammock! Also, the ridge line and netting result in a very large air gap above you, which greatly reduces the efieciency of the pod total wrap approach. This is already a bit of a draw back(easily dealt with) to the PeaPod with a top loading hammock, but would become a much larger drawback with the HH's bugnet/ridge-line. Unless, of corse, you cut the net off of you HH, but I doubt you want to do that to your new toy! But some do just that.

You might want to search the archives and find a way to convert that sleeping bag to an Underquilt, if your wanting to avoid spending more money. Of course, you will then still need a sparate sleeping bag or quilt on top. Or, you can use pads, helped greatly with a Speer SPE.
http://www.speerhammocks.com/Products/SPE.htm
Some people(most?) hate pads, others do just fine with them. A lot of folks love these quilts:
http://www.jacksrbetter.com/ but of course they are not cheap. High quality goose and made in the USA down costs money, as it does with the PeaPod, but well worth it to many.

I have had very good results with Hennessy's SuperShelter, though a lot of folks don't seem to like it. It cost's and weighs more than closed cell foam (CCF) pads, but cost's less than down UQs or PeaPods. For me, the basic system is fine to at least the upper 30s, and it is easily augmented for much colder temps. You also get some additional protection from rain and wind from the undercover. But it requires a bit of practice to get full benefits from it, though mainly just making sure that it is adjusted so there are no air gaps under you, especially if you are adding clothing to it for extra insulation. Really, no big deal, just learn it's correct adjustment before you head out. But down quilts and PeaPods also have a bit of a learning curve so that the down will be close to your body with little or no gaps, but not too close thus compressing the down's loft.

Your simplest and most cost ( and weight) effective approach is simply a pad or pads and a Speer SPE with your bag on top, used as a bag or quilt. This will keep you plenty warm, though again, many ( not all ) people find pads uncomfortable in hammocks.

Search the archives at WB and hammockforums for SPE, JRB No Sniveler or Underquilts, SuperShelter, PeaPod, etc. You will find a ton of info, pros and cons. Good luck and happy, warm hanging!

[Undershaft]

Given these parts, what is the best way to maximize what I have? I am doing a Backpacking trip this April going from Ashby Gap VA on the AT north to Harper's Ferry, am I going be ill-equipped for this trip with this as a sleep system? (I am going with some anti-hammockers [well ignorant to hammocking] so I want to really show em!) Although I am probably going to pick up some snake skins for the hammock, till then what is the best way to store the hammock, rolled or stuffed? What is the best way rig up the stock tarp in cold and windy conditions? Has anyone used those water funnell thingys that HH came up with? If so godsend or gimmick? Thanks for any advice or direction you can provide.

No, you won't be ill equipped with the gear you already have. Your sleeping gear might not be ideal for a hammock, but it will work just fine. The Thermarest pad will provide good bottom insulation(as long as you stay on top of the pad). If you only inflate the pad halfway it will contour to the shape of the hammock and fit better/easier. The sleeping bag + silk liner + dry camp clothes will be more than enough to keep you warm at night. Just be patient because sometimes it takes a few minutes of concentrated effort to properly allign yourself, bag, liner, and pad inside the hammock. If your friends are ignorant of hammocks, you will impress them just by using it. Snake skins are great. Until you get some I would keep the hammock stuffed in the bottom of the stuff sack with the tarp on top. That way you can rig the tarp first if it's raining. I have the water funnels. They came with the hammock. I have never used them. That said, I think they are mostly gimmick. It's a good idea in theory, but you wouldn't want to drink the water that runs off the rain fly. Very dirty with all the dirt and debris falling from the trees and the bird crap that will inevitably get on your rain fly.

[Just Jeff]

Much easier to throw your sleeping bag on top of you like a quilt instead of trying to crawl inside. But yeah - that's enough to keep you pretty warm.

[River Runner]

Ashman,

After using the snakeskins for a couple of years, I found them more hassle than they are worth. Now I just roll the hammock up. That way if I do need to set up in the rain or where the ground is wet, I can easily find one end and attach it to a tree, and there is no extra stuff sack weight. I wrap the tree huggers around the rolled up hammock and secure them by looping the ends under the wrapped straps, which keeps everything more or less tidy.

I attach my tarp directly to the trees with a length of cord, so if it's raining, I can put that up first and work out of the rain with everything else.

Your setup with a thermarest & the sleeping bag you have will probably work, but as posted previously, the best thing to do is experiment. Especially if you want to impress others. It does take a bit of experimenting to get everything down pat, and you won't impress anyone if you are sliding off the pad, waking up cold, etc. When I first started hammocking with a Hennessey, I even woke up one night half out of the hammock!

[astrogirl]

I live very near where you're going, and I think you'll be OK with that setup. You could get a frost, but if you've got sufficient clothes, you should be warm enough.

It could also be 55 at night as April is hard to predict here. All the April snow I've seen here is wet, heavy and very short-lived.

[Ashman]

Thanks for the input.