Can you use a Hennessy Asym tarp as a ground tarp?

[jessearl]

I've got a Hennessy Expedition Asym hammock and absolutely love it. But lately I've been wanting to try sleeping using just a tarp and a bivy sack.

I've already had a bivy, I use a USMC surplus gore-tex bivy sack that I got off of eBay.

But would my Hennessy tarp do well over my bivy?

[Tinker]

With the HH tarp, you only have 4 tie down points, one of which will have to be propped up in front for an entrance. I think the wind would get under it, which happens with the hammock, but, using the hammock, the side tieouts can be lower than your hammock. Obviously that isn't possible with a bivy. I use a 9.5x5 poncho occasionally with a ul bivy (usually overnights in the White Mts.), and that only works because I have something like 16 tie outs and usually stake 4-6 of them, preventing the poncho from flapping too much.
A poncho isn't something you'd want to rely on to keep you dry in prolonged rains. You need cover that is large enough to give you room to get out of the rain, take off your wet clothes, and crawl into your bivy. I'd suggest an 8x10 tarp until you get the feel for tarping, then go smaller if you want to go lighter.

[River Runner]

I used my HH Hyperlite tarp on a trip last summer without problem, but only had some light sprinkles.

I did expect good weather, which is why I tried it. (I do not have a bivy, but took the hammock body along too, which I ended up sleeping in the second night due to terrain.)

[Seeker]

i'm confused... the only way your post makes sense is if you're saying you're sleeping on the ground. and as a hammocker, you would never do that, right? (i think it's in paragraph 2 of the hammocker's oath. something about being outcast forever should you revert to ground-dwelling.) :D

ok, now seriously... yes, i think you could make it work, but i don't think it will work well... the asym shape of the tarp will cause it to cover a funny footprint on the ground... but you won't know til you try it... i've got the slightly smaller HH ULB-A, not the Expedition... i'm assuming your tarp is a little bigger.

i just cut up a small piece of paper and folded it up at my desk... the shape would work to make a nice wind block, but it will be very narrow if you pin the 3 corners to the ground. the lack of a tie out in the middle of the central surface area is what kills it... with a big enough tarp of that shape, it would be fine... but i don't think the HH tarps are that big. i'd just try it in your backyard (if you can) at home to see if there's room.

you can also buy a cheap blue 8 x 10 tarp at walmart for about $7, if not less, and experiment with that. once you figure it out, then spend the $$ on an 8 x 10 silnylon one.

[Hooch]

i'm confused... the only way your post makes sense is if you're saying you're sleeping on the ground. and as a hammocker, you would never do that, right? (i think it's in paragraph 2 of the hammocker's oath.......Actually, it's the first of the Hammocker's Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not return to sleeping on the ground. :D

[Seeker]

Actually, it's the first of the Hammocker's Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not return to sleeping on the ground. :D

hmm... yours must be from a different sect of hammockism... my sect's first commandment is 'thou shalt always rub thy comfort level into the faces of the non-hammockers in thine party'. :D

that's funny... thanks...

(this thread could become seriously derailed...ok...someone smarter than me start a new thread called 'suggestions for a hammocker's 10 commandments'.)

[Rifleman]

I've got a Hennessy Expedition Asym hammock and absolutely love it. But lately I've been wanting to try sleeping using just a tarp and a bivy sack.

I've already had a bivy, I use a USMC surplus gore-tex bivy sack that I got off of eBay.

But would my Hennessy tarp do well over my bivy?

Yes. Try it in the backyard first.
R.

[StubbleJumper]

The OEM HH tarp is relatively small, and I've often thought it would be ill-suited to the task. However, I've noticed that some hikers have made reference to replacing the stock HH tarp with something a little larger (Mac-cat??). Does this make the system more flexible and enable you to more easily go to ground?

[Cannibal]

The OEM HH tarp is relatively small, and I've often thought it would be ill-suited to the task. However, I've noticed that some hikers have made reference to replacing the stock HH tarp with something a little larger (Mac-cat??). Does this make the system more flexible and enable you to more easily go to ground?

Yep! Unless you want to try to use an HH in bivy mode; which is just silly.

[Seeker]

The OEM HH tarp is relatively small, and I've often thought it would be ill-suited to the task. However, I've noticed that some hikers have made reference to replacing the stock HH tarp with something a little larger (Mac-cat??). Does this make the system more flexible and enable you to more easily go to ground?

i think most people who switch don't use it to "go to ground" but so they have a larger safety margin when it storms. the MacCat is larger in all directions, and when you button things down, it covers the edges, so to speak, better than the stock tarp. also, when spread open, it covers a larger footprint that enables you to do more underneath, like cook, visit with a friend, or sort gear, without worrying about getting wet.

[Rifleman]

Yep! Unless you want to try to use an HH in bivy mode; which is just silly.

Not necessarily silly above tree line or on a beach w/o trees.
R.

[Hammock Hanger]

I used my HH tarp as a ground tarp when I had to go to the ground in So FL (no trees on the levees.) It kept me from getting covered in condensation but not sure I would have been totally dry if a good rain had come by.

[Cannibal]

Not necessarily silly above tree line or on a beach w/o trees.
R.

Good point. :o
But, I bet those sand fleas would get in the entry slit on the beach. :D