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  1. #1
    New Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Freeland, MI
    Hammock
    Clark North American
    Tarp
    Clark XL
    Posts
    5

    Clark North American New User Comments

    I used to think hammocks were just for taking naps until I met a backpacker last year who used one instead of a tent. What an improvement! I camp mostly from a kayak around the upper Great Lakes or Quetico park, so there are a lot more trees than there are flat spots big enough for a tent. No more wet and dirty ground cloths to pack, no foam pads to stow, better ventilation, easier to clean sand out of, more space left in the kayak, rain fly can be used to cook under, etc. Why would I ever want to go back to a tent? After looking through this forum last year, I got a Clark North American with the XL fly. I just wanted to list some new user comments about the North American while everything is well, new to me.
    1. Cave Diver 2's videos were a huge help and probably were the #1 reason I got the North American versus other models.
    2. I've slept in temperatures down to the 50's and even one night in the 40's and did not get cold. I did fill the under-pockets with clothes and / or blown up ziplock bags. On the 40 degree night, I had to close the weather shield most of the way because of the cold draft above my sleeping bag. I think the upper 40's are probably the limit, though. I'll probably use the space blanket wrapped under the hammock like Leaping Lizzards showed in his post if it's going to be in the mid 40's or lower again. I'm also thinking about getting a second, smaller space blanket to lay over the sleeping bag for colder nights.
    3. I've found that getting the sag set right is the most important thing for comfort. I had to use more sag than I would have originally thought. The key is to keep adding more sag until the bug netting is just taught and forms a complete open triangle above you without the sides touching each other. This has to be checked when you lay in the hammock. When the sag is too tight, the sides of the bug netting touch each other and there isn't enough tension in the screens to ventilate and it gets hot. My shoulders also felt scrunched when I didn't have enough sag. Get the sag right, and there is much nicer air flow through the screens than my tents ever had.
    4. I'm most comfortable when my feet are almost as far as they can go towards the foot end to the hammock. I'm 5'11', so this leaves a lot of room behind my head, but it puts my shoulders in a wider part of the hammock and it keeps the pockets in better position to insulate under my back and hips.
    5. The XL fly is plenty wide and worth getting, but the head end of the hammock seems too exposed if rain gets blown from that direction. Wind and rain can change direction during the night, so I bought a small backpacker's nylon tarp and made my own tarp extender to cover about 2 more feet towards the tree. (See attached photo.)
    6. Using the drip rings and half hitches to adjust sag worked easiest for me just like whoever posted it said it would. When they were adjusted like the post showed, they stayed adjusted without slipping.
    7. My old cheap net nap hammock is now my gear hammock that I tie under the Clark to hold things that are too dirty or bulky to put into the pockets. (See photo.)
    8. Thank you to everyone who took the time to post what they've learned with their Clark's. It has all helped me immensely.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Senior Member Kankujoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Missouri, or on my motorcycle, bicycle or in my kayak somewhere...
    Hammock
    Clark NX-250
    Tarp
    Clark RX-250
    Insulation
    Clark Z-Liner
    Suspension
    Clark ropes/straps
    Posts
    158
    Great post!! Thanks for posting the photos... & for describing how you use your old net hammock for your gear... I have an old cheapo nylon net hammock and i'll give this a try for some my bulky gear & my muddy boots...
    KJ

  3. #3
    Senior Member TinaLouise's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    wilmington, nc
    Hammock
    BB1.0 double
    Tarp
    Hybrid Cuben F.
    Insulation
    Down & IX
    Suspension
    BB straps,whoopies
    Posts
    1,367
    question about the tarp that you're using to extend the length of your rain fly...
    is it permanately attached to your rain fly? Only reason I ask is because I've too thought about trying to extend the length of my rain fly but I've found when camping that sometimes the trees that I end up with are rather close together. I've even had the straps going around the tree to end on the side rather than in the middle of the tree, just so I'd have more "room" for my ropes coming from my hammock. For really bad weather, I like my foot end to be the end that the rain seems to be blowing from. I can velcro that end completely closed and I have guy-lines off that end that I'll stake in an "X" pattern from the fly. That will keep that end closed, no matter how hard the wind blows. I've tried closeing down the head end but it really causes the "taco effect" and is hard to get under the fly. Still, if it's raining that hard, I will close it down too.
    I like your "under hammock storage". Wish I was taller so I could hang my hammock higher in order to have some space under my hammock for one of those!!!

  4. #4
    New Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Freeland, MI
    Hammock
    Clark North American
    Tarp
    Clark XL
    Posts
    5

    Tarp Extender

    The tarp extender is separate from the fly. Hopefully, the attached photos are easier to see. It's a lightweight nylon backpackers tarp that I ordered from Campor and it's only about the size of a sleeping pad. I picked up a grommet kit at the hardware store and put matching grommets about every foot in both the end of the XL tarp and the little tarp. After the hammock and XL fly are set up, I run a continuous length of cord through the grommets in both the big tarp and the little tarp. The rope that runs out of the grommets at the back of the little tarp and around the tree is just the tag end of the main hammock rope that was hanging loose from the knots at the drip ring. It didn't rain on this camping trip, so it hasn't been properly tested yet. Velcro attachment to the fly would be a lot nicer, but I don't have a sewing machine. I'm sure it can be improved upon. I'm really suprised that Clark doesn't already have something like this.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  5. #5
    New Member Powerbird's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Louisiana
    Hammock
    Clark NA
    Tarp
    Standard Fly
    Insulation
    Pad if needed
    Posts
    17
    The "taco effect" doesn't work the best with the standard tarp on the NA. I love the tarp extender (looks effective) I thought of doing something like that but didn't get to figuring it out. need to see if i can do that with my poncho (it would be nice if clark tarps were like a foot longer on the head end)
    "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    -Benjamin Franklin

  6. #6
    New Member Sabot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Austin, TX
    Posts
    16
    Used my NA for the first time this past weekend. Great night sleep and overall very comfy in 70 degree nights.

  7. #7
    New Member Tuniq's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Thunder Bay, ON
    Hammock
    Clark NA
    Tarp
    MEC Scout
    Insulation
    DIY UQ.
    Suspension
    Clark Webbing
    Posts
    11
    Images
    3
    i just ordered the NA. Im very excited to try it out. Im also 5'11 and was thinking about the sag issue. I will heed your advice. Thanks!

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