I'm a hammock beginner, I once made a Speer-ish model with a bug net and tarp but nothing about my setup worked well and I'm now planning to invest in my first ready-made solution!
Where I live in Sweden temperatures are already in the low 40s at night since August. I want to be able to sleep comfortably down to 10F. I expect it to be 20-40F at night most of the time. I'm 6'2.5" and weigh < 150 lbs.
I would like the gear to be as lightweight as possible for these circumstances.
At the moment I own no gear except clothes, not even a sleeping bag. I will probably want to order everything from the same place, because of the expensive international shipping costs.
I've been reading up on what's available for a few weeks, lurking around on this forum until I finally registered yesterday. I am considering HH and Speer at the moment, until someone suggests something else I guess.
With HH I would get a HHULEXP with SS and overcover, and add a space blanket.
Pros, from an almost totally inexperienced person's point of view:
* HH ship from within Europe. $60 shipping and no taxes.
* After trying a "square" hammock a few times, I think the A-sym design *might* be more comfortable.
* Great customer service, fast support on a Sunday and they agree to add/replace things for free
Cons:
* Can't watch the stars because of permanent bug net.
* The UP of the SS just seems too weak for 10-20F, even if I use two and add a SB, which is also troublesome and gives a bulky pack with more loose parts.
* I would still have to buy a really warm down sleeping bag to use inside, and getting into a sleeping bag inside a hammock was quite hard last time I tried.
As for Speer hammocks, the PeaPod looks really awesome.
Pros:
* Seems like a much more reliable source of warmth.
* No need of sleeping bag, only a quilt when it's really cold. (?)
* Convenient to sleep directly on the hammock inside!
* Removable bug net.
* Included tarp seems more useful than the HH rainfly.
Cons:
* $105 in shipping to Sweden, and according to some guy in a local forum I should expect to pay $85 more in taxes.
Can someone please suggest more cons for the PeaPod, because I couldn't really think of any... -_-v
I don't think it would be any more claustrophobic than a HH with overcover.
Both HH and Speer on sale right now. I mailed HH and they said the Deep Jungle (Deep Winter?) will be out within a few weeks, and will be lighter with UP than ULEXP+SS. I wonder how much better it will be. With a decent sleeping bag, it should weigh about the same as a Speer hammock + PeaPod (2.2 kg or 77 oz). As it gets colder I will need to add something inside the PeaPod, or to the UP in the SS, making both heavier.
The PeaPod seems more solid to me right now. It would total at $700, so it'd better be **** good and durable.
Also, I guess I wouldn't have to spend so much on a high quality down sleeping bag but could do with lighter quilts or something. (?)
Please comment and/or guide me! Or add arguments! These are all mere speculations, as I don't really know anything yet, so it's not worth much. Haven't even seen a commercial hammock yet.
Thanks for all information I've leeched from the forum so far!
Bookmarks