New products at Trail Days...?

[NCPatrick]

Hmmm... waiting, waiting waiting for news about the new products released at Trail Days. I wonder who will be reporting back with what they've seen and how it all went.

Anyone?

...Buehler...?

...Buehler...?

[slowhike]

it was a great week end. i couldn't believe we didn't get any rain.
the only negative for me was that i misplaced my camera sat morn & didn't find it until i got home. it was in a deep out side pack pocket under rain gear were i'm sure i looked 3 or 4 times but thank the Lord, i found it
i'm pretty sure some of the others took pictures of the new speer under quilt & the new JRB hammock.
if not... well... you may just have to come to hot springs in june...
just kidding. i'm sure they got pictures.

the speer "snug fit" under quilt is great. the only regret ed has is that it's so labor intensive to make (it coutures the hammock), he had to price it higher than expected. but it's a fool proof, no hassle, & very effective under quilt.

the jacks are still fine tuning the new hammock. it really does allow you to lay flat. my only concern was that there's still a little more shoulder squeeze than i would like. but it's still a work in progress at this time & i believe they may try a wider spread which would help that concern, but i'll let them talk about that.
it's a great idea & i hope can get it just the way they want it. if so, i believe it'll go places.
i hate i didn't get to see the other hammockers more, but i did see get to see some people i had already met & some others that i met for the first time.
i even met attroll! hey,he's not a troll... he's a nice guy

[Just Jeff]

Just got back into DC...spent Friday night and Saturday at TD, then had to head home Saturday night to take care of some stuff. But I got to meet Rock and Dixie, Ewker, Troll, Lone Wolf, Pentacost, and several other folks, and I got to see lots of other folks again, like Doctari, Hammock Engineer, FD and husband, etc. I even saw Michele in the hiker parade!

New Products:

- The new Warbonnet hammocks are very cool. Pretty close to a Hennessy, and Tom went over to talk to him about the patent...curious to see how that turns out. It's a pretty close knockoff, but without a ridgeline, with a side-entry zipper, and a slightly different asym shape. I really liked how he did the pocket, too - you can reach through from the inside but can't get at it from the outside, and it doubles as a stuff sack. I really liked the design. He also has a cat cut tarp...looks very similar to Brian's, but he says he came to that design before he saw the MacCat.
- Same kid had synthetic underquilts made from silnylon. He has a 15" zipper in there so you can flip it inside out to dry in case water gets in side.
- He also has a half-length underquilt. Great idea, since some folks already carry sit pads or torso pads for backpack frames, so why carry the extra weight of a full underquilt? Great idea, and he hasn't had any problems with condensation using the sil.
- His website should be up in two weeks.

- The Speer underquilt is AWESOME!! Great fit, easy installation, lots of loft. Wish I didn't already have so much stuff or I'd be tempted to buy one!! Pricey pricey, though.
- Speer also has little strips of felt with his name printed on there. Comes with a safety pin...wrap it around the strap and pin it on - no more drip problems. And good advertisement.

- The JRB hammock is easily the flattest hammock I've ever laid in. I could sleep fully extended on my side, and laid for a while on my belly - very comfortable. I also felt the shoulder squeeze when I laid on my back, though...maybe if it were a bit wider that would go away. And it's still a bit heavy at ~2 lbs, but a lighter fabric would reduce that a bit.

- Also bought two pair of Sport Eyz from Gossamer Gear - sunglasses that roll up to fit into a cannister just shorter and wider than a film cannister. At $10 each, and very comfortable, it's much better than bringing my expensive sunglasses along and stuffing them into my pack.

- Seeing all the packs from Gossamer Gear and MLD really tested my discipline...almost dropped a hundred bucks more than once that day! Didn't see anything that wasn't already on their website, though.

And Friday night, I asked a cop about getting a permit for parking. He said, "The parking ticket is the same price as the permit. You could take your chances if you want..." Haha...pretty laid back. I did get the $15 ticket, though.

No pics b/c I didn't have a camera with me.

[ShakeyLeggs]

I'm really interested in learning more about the JrB Hammock. I hope they can get the weight down though as as Jeff said 2#, is about the same weight as my HHULBA with it's stock tarp. I hope they get it up on their site pretty quick. I like the fact that both reports here say that it lays flat which suits me fine as I am a belly sleeper. But don't get me wrong I LOVE my Hennessy

[Just Jeff]

Hrm...I stood around the Hennessy area for about 10 minutes, really showing an interest in the gear and generally looking like I was interested in buying something. I was actually considering the Hyperlight...even told my wife before TD that I was gonna spend $200 on a hammock while I was there. So there's Tom, Rosaline, and two guys (I think Tom's son and brother) standing around, ignoring me...for 10 MINUTES!! Tom was talking to Rosaline the whole time, but the other two were helping other customers. Not a word. Not even any eye contact. Maybe they didn't like my Hammock Forums t-shirt?

So Tom lost a sale. A simple "Can I help you?" would have sufficed.

[ShakeyLeggs]

Hrm...I stood around the Hennessy area for about 10 minutes, really showing an interest in the gear and generally looking like I was interested in buying something. I was actually considering the Hyperlight...even told my wife before TD that I was gonna spend $200 on a hammock while I was there. So there's Tom, Rosaline, and two guys (I think Tom's son and brother) standing around, ignoring me...for 10 MINUTES!! Tom was talking to Rosaline the whole time, but the other two were helping other customers. Not a word. Not even any eye contact. Maybe they didn't like my Hammock Forums t-shirt?

So Tom lost a sale. A simple "Can I help you?" would have sufficed.

Hmmmm now that is totally weird to me. I don't know Tom personally but from my dealings with the company that seems out of character. I just hope he was having a bad day and it is not a sign of things to come.

[headchange4u]

I think the thing that I may end up spending money on is one of the JRB tarp tents. Did you guys see them there? Price?

I would really like to get one of the Speer under quilts but they are just to pricey. Plus I have 19+ oz of down waiting to be put inside some Momentum90 for my first under quilt.

The Warbonnet hammocks sound very interesting.

But what I wanna know are WHERE ARE THE PICS OF THE FRIKKIN' JRB HAMMOCK ALREADY????? I feel better now....

[headchange4u]

Hrm...I stood around the Hennessy area for about 10 minutes, really showing an interest in the gear and generally looking like I was interested in buying something. I was actually considering the Hyperlight...even told my wife before TD that I was gonna spend $200 on a hammock while I was there. So there's Tom, Rosaline, and two guys (I think Tom's son and brother) standing around, ignoring me...for 10 MINUTES!! Tom was talking to Rosaline the whole time, but the other two were helping other customers. Not a word. Not even any eye contact. Maybe they didn't like my Hammock Forums t-shirt?

So Tom lost a sale. A simple "Can I help you?" would have sufficed.

That is surprising. I certainly hope that Tom doesn't hold any animosity toward this forum. I do love my Hennessy, but there is no call for that kind of attitude.

[Just Jeff]

Hmmmm now that is totally weird to me. I don't know Tom personally but from my dealings with the company that seems out of character. I just hope he was having a bad day and it is not a sign of things to come.

Yeah, that's what I thought too - but I can only report my experience.

I also saw a prototype of the MLD Trinity hammock...looked about like a Speer-type with a different gather/whip method, and he said it was wider at the head end to give more shoulder room. It was made from yellow Epic, just like BlackDiamond uses on their tents, so it's waterproof/breathable. No bug net on the model I saw, but he has one designed.

He's waffling on whether or not to bring them to market...didn't even have it displayed in his booth, but when we started talking he went to get it from his car. Since Hennessy came out with the Hyperlight, he's not sure it's worth the effort. I said that if he can match the Hyperlight's weight on a simple top entry-hammock, I think they'd sell. Kinda hoping it'll be a success!

[ShakeyLeggs]

That is surprising. I certainly hope that Tom doesn't hold any animosity toward this forum. I do love my Hennessy, but there is no call for that kind of attitude.

I hope so as well. But this is a great resource he could use to his advantage as there are a number of us here that us and swear by his hammocks. I have never seen any slamming of his hammocks here so I don't know why he would be dissing us. Only thing I can think of is all the home made gear talk here but that is part of the allure here. This is getting off topic so to put it back on topic I just took a look at the Speer site and I see they offer the Snug fit under quilt in 2 versions. One that fits their hammocks and a universal one. How does it work with a Hennessy does anyone know? I like my JrB Nest and am not in the market for a new one but as a gear head you never know hehe. Also at $339 it is a bit pricey.