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Switchback SL Maiden Voyage
I took my new Switchback SL for its maiden voyage this weekend to Mt. San Jacinto. (See my trip report posted today.) I thought I’d share a few thoughts on this hammock. Not a review, per se—just some thoughts.
First, I’d like to praise Dale out in NC. He’s been inundated lately (no pun intended, considering Hurricane Irene) and balancing his company’s success with the increase with demand has been challenging. Dale actually mailed my hammock the day the hurricane hit his area. I had been waiting, impatiently of course, for my new hammock but he could have waited a couple of days to get it out to me. After all, an act of nature like a hurricane is grounds for a delay. Nevertheless, Dale got it delivered.
Second, Dale was gracious enough to provide longer straps when I requested them. He did this for free. He now charges for additional strap length, but he threw them in because I had been waiting for a while. I think this is fair and good customer service. I applaud him for that and wanted to let HF know that I had good customer service from Tree to Tree Gear.
I have found set up to be very easy and can get the initial set up in just a few minutes. Minor tweaks here and there are easy and fast, too.
The dual entry/exit is very nice. It makes the fine-tuning of my set up quite easy as I can easily get in and out on either side. But what I really liked about the dual entry/ exit was being able to slide my UQ or pull it from either side. I toss and turn when I sleep and I occasionally had to pull my Phoenix UQ up for better coverage. This was absolutely no problem as I could unzip on either side to make the necessary adjustment.
Visibility is great. I did not use any kind of spreaders but my vision was not obscured in any way. I was fortunate enough to spot a deer from my hammock about 50 yards from our campsite early Sunday morning. I wonder if I would have been so fortunate in another hammock. Maybe, maybe not. But I was very pleased that I could see out of it so easily.
In other words, I’m a very happy camper and look forward to many more adventures in my new SB.
SoCal Mike
