First All Nighter in a HH Del. Asym

I took my HH hunting tuesday so I could camp and hunt again on Wednesday. This would be my first all nighter with the hammock as my previous hangs have all been for testing and such.

I was well prepared (so I thought) for cold temps (read 30's) and wind. We had the wind, but not the cold as it turned out. I think the low may have been 50 - maybe. It was quite warm and I was actually too warm which I think contributed to my not sleeping well. So I could not really test my cold weather set up which is a walmart blue pad with wings and a wool blanket on top of it. I ended up being way too hot with that set up including a Kelty light year 25* bag as an OQ. Lots of venting went on. All in all it was a success, but I do have some observations I would like to share and it may help others, and some of you may help me.

1.The wool blanket on top of the blue CCF pad slides too easy. This makes for an uncomfortable sleep as the wrinkles form and you move around.
2.Wings and a small extension on the blue CCF are key, but make the whole unit very large. Hikers would not like this, car campers will. I will be making a DIY AHE UQ in the near future. The CCF pad worked, but it is not ideal.
3. We had solid 20 knot gusts on the lake and the fly would blow onto the hammock. If I pitched it far enough off the hammock, wind blew through the mosquito net. My opinion is if it were raining I would have been soaked. I have concluded the stock HH fly is too small for nasty weather. There is not enough coverage from wind and rain. (somebody correct me on this one if I'm wrong).
4. I had the head of the hammock lashed closer to the tree than the foot end. This caused my to sleep "sitting up" a bit which proved to be very uncomfortable by morning. I would have been better laying flatter.

All in all, it was a good hang. I enjoyed the hammock and learned alot staying in it. I will say I like it better than a tent, but I have alot of adjustments to make with my gear. Thanks everyone!

Nice shot at a first hang! Those temps were my least favorite when I was using pads. Not really cold enough to need them, but way too cool to go without. For me, the result was a sweating nightmare. Underquilt went on the shopping list very quickly. :D

1. Nylon works pretty good here. It slips, but doesn't fold like wool does. Make yourself a nylon pillowcase to go around the pad. It will also help wick moisture away from underneath you.

2. Plenty of hikers carry something called a SPE (Segmented Pad Extender). Speer Hammocks used to sell them, but they are very easy to make yourself. Holds pad 'wings' in place and keeps your shoulders from ever touching the cold hammock fabric. A must-have for pad users IMO.

3. This would take a whole thread. Those tarps are small, but still effective when pitched correctly over a hammock; especially if the landscape is being used to your advantage. I learned my tarp skills anew when I got into hammocking and the HH stock fly was what I had. I learned the little tricks and made it through some terribly nasty storms in south and central Florida. Only time I ever really got wet was when I got cocky and tried to use that tarp over a different hammock. My feet got wet before I got up and reset the tarp. It wasn't ideal, but it still worked. In high winds, you pretty much need to find some windbreaks with the HH stock fly. Tie the tarp end lines to the tree below your hammock suspension an inch or two. This will help keep the tarp tight to the hammock even once you load it. Play with that tarp when you see dark skies coming. I promise you it can take you through some rough stuff!

4. I always tie the foot end of the hammock a couple of inches higher than the head. Since the torso is your heaviest part, it will slide down if your feet are lower or even with the head. In a HH bottom entry, this puts you on top of the entry/exit slit. I laughed several times along the AT when I'd walk past a sleeping hanger in a HH and see one leg hanging out of the slit. I think I saw that on 3 occasions. I was always tempted to go tie something to their toes, but I figured payback is a [bad word] on the Trail. :scared:

Keep on keeping on. You'll figure it out quickly and besides, practicing hammocking is actually fun! :cool:

Your're right about the fun part. I told dan wife that I was looking forward to playing with the hammock as much as I was hunting. I really did enjoy it and learned alot from it.

You have made some great points about the fly. I think I'll get better with it the more I use it. I actually just finished pitching it again in the back yard to see what I might have done wrong. I pitched it in the dark tuesday night which may have been part of my problem. I tried what you said about securing the tarp below the hammock ridge and it is much better. The wind is still pushing the upwind side of the fly into the hammock however. I think with only one anchor point (and without a windbreak) it cannot be prevented. There is just too much give in this set up.

A complete ridgeline under or over the tarp probably wouldn't help would it? I do not have the tarp cliped onto the hammock like the directions say either. I have it rigged seperate but without a ridgeline.

I'm not going to give up on the HH fly just yet, although I have been eyeballing some of the newer cat cut tarps.

Yeah, ignore those directions on the bag. As far as I know, only one person on here has been able to make the directions work as advertised and I don't think even he was totally sold on it. A ridgeline actually would help, I suspect. The biggest problem with that tarp is the lack of a crisp ridge. No matter what you do, the ridge is floppy. By using a ridgeline you'd be able to get it pretty taut and you'd probably cut down a big chunk of the push-in from the wind.

Setting your tarp up in the dark is an art form. I've been doing it for years and there are mornings that I wake-up, get out of the hammock, look back at my tarp in the morning light, and just shake my head in shame. Luckily, I'm usually camped where others don't see it to document it. As they say, pictures or it didn't happen. Therefore, it never happened, so never mind. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cannibal

A ridgeline actually would help, I suspect. The biggest problem with that tarp is the lack of a crisp ridge. No matter what you do, the ridge is floppy. By using a ridgeline you'd be able to get it pretty taut and you'd probably cut down a big chunk of the push-in from the wind.

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===> Yep, use a separate ridgeline for the tarp! I learned that on my first hang. Makes the whole system more adjustable for weather, as well. here is a pic from the initial set-up (although I had the HH HEX Tarp at the time), but the separate ridgeline REALLY helped!

Attachment 16845

I'll try a ridgeline next time. I have to come up with some extra rope anyway for tieouts. I'm useing nylon trot line stuff from walmart and I don't like it. It's too thin to work with having cold hands and will pick apart when you are untying knots. I'm going to check on some mason line or something similar.

Thanks for all the tips.

I use the standard tarp and I don't mind it. I wish it had a more defined ridge. The way it is constructed its a bit of a challenge to get a good pitch. I really think two things were the most helpful in my case.
1. Full ridge line under the tarp. I have heard a lot of hype of getting a tighter pitch with it over but with this tarp it NEEDS to be under.
2. Tarp tensioner seem to help some. (plus they are just dang cool)

I am looking at going with a different tarp mainly because of the lack of structure in the tarp.I don't know about yours but mine seems to be cut so there is a grate deal of slack in the center of the tarp (could be how I pitch it). Ridge line under solves this problem for now.

If you go with Mason's Line go with the braided NEVER the twisted. YMMV

I think no matter what with the HH tarp you will get that divet in the ridge due to the side tie outs. But, if you have a good tight ridge part between the trees it should be fine, unless its windy. That's when I get the sides pushing in to the hammock. I think some more trial and error is in store for me.

Good advice on the braided. I hate twisted nylon cords with a passion. Miserable to deal with.

I have had the sides of 11x10 hammocks hit my hammock when the wind was blowing real hard. Especially a problem when using a spreader bar/bridge. If you have a "sail" ( big wide hammock side) with the wind blowing in from the side, combined with a steep pitch, and it's going to happen. Extra side pull outs might help, maybe even with the HH diamond tarp?

Extra tie outs may help, but you would have to have something that clipped to the tarp. There may be a piece of equipment out there that does that. Kinda like a spring loaded clothes pin, but better. :D

I could have pitched farther into the woods, or "created" a wind break with fallen branches too. Something to break the wind would be the most effective method here. Although I would have messed up my view of the lake in the morning. Which was awesome btw.