Trial by fire. Or, more likely, rain

[Rob3E]

Not how I meant to do this.

Got my XLC on Friday, set it up for the first time yesterday, but only for about 10 minutes. I also received a bunch of stakes, a Superfly, a pair of carabiners, and some line for the ridgeline and tie outs.

The Superfly has not been out of the stuff sack.

Problem is that my camping gear was taken down to nothing recently, and I'm trying to figure out what I need to stay warm and dry on a camping trip starting Thursday. Normally I'd set stuff up a couple of times, squirt on some permethrin, seam seal the tarp, make sure I had all the pieces. But I don't see a dry day in the forecast between now and when I shove off, so I'm sharing my gear list to see if there are any obvious omissions. Once I get to camp, I'm not in a position to get any new gear unless it can be found at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store.

• XLC -- webbing suspension
• Superfly
• carabiners (2) -- thinking these will work with the webbing suspension
• 10 stakes -- 4 corners + 4 for doors + 4 for tarp pull outs + 2 for hammock pull outs, but I can probably skip the tarp side pull outs, since I seem to be 4 stakes short, maybe 1 stake for 2 doors? Never had to deal with doors
• 100' dyneema -- plan on making a ridge line, some prusik loops, and some tie outs.
• 6 figure 9s with extra line
• Sinylon seam sealer
• Gossamer Gear thinlight hammock pad for underneath
• 40 degree mummy bag for top insulation
• 2 space blankets, just in case
• half a dozen S-biners in various sizes
• I might grab a bottle of permethrin to treat the hammock when I set it up.

Forecast for the weekend is dry, but that could change easily. Overnight temps between 47 and 61.

Now that I have it all written down, I feel better about it because it looks like a lot of gear, but another set of eyes (or 20) would be welcome. Especially seasoned XLC and/or Superfly users, because this will be a first run for me with this gear.

[bobbycobbler]

You have buckles for the webbing suspension? Your backside might get cold. I'd bring or pick up a cheap blue pad for a backup

[Kallorne]

I've been good with the GG Thinlight down to around 40, should be fine aside from a bit of condensation. The space blankets work a good wind break under the hammock if needed, just leave a little sag in it so it can breath. Being fully in the sleeping bag rather than TQ style will help with moisture as well.
With warbonnet tarps it takes me several days of rain before the ridgeline leaks without seam sealing. The pullouts will leak however.
I'd bring a small pillow and some fleece layers and make sure I have something to put under my knees in an unproven(for me) hammock.

[Rob3E]

You have buckles for the webbing suspension? Your backside might get cold. I'd bring or pick up a cheap blue pad for a backup

Yep. Buckles come with the hammock. I'd like to swap in some Dutch clips in place of the carabiners, but that can happen at a later date.

I might consider a 2nd pad if there was a real advantage to stacking them up. I was hoping to get by with one, though, and rely on a space blanket if it gets too cold. Carrying pads is a pain (it's a bike trip), and I had said I wasn't going to do it again, but with time/money constraints, it was the quickest route to a (hopefully) warm night's sleep. It's also a double layer hammock, so in my experience with the Hennessy Supershelter, I found an extra layer is good for a couple of degrees even with no insulation it between. But, it looks like there is a Walmart within biking distance of camp, just not where I usually go to resupply. Nothing like a frozen backside to motivate you to try out a new route, so I'll keep that 2nd pad idea in mind.

[Rob3E]

With warbonnet tarps it takes me several days of rain before the ridgeline leaks without seam sealing. The pullouts will leak however.

Good to know. My hope is to at least set it up dry or, failing that, get a dry day in there somewhere to seal it. But, in a pinch, if the only leak is at the tie outs, I might be able to strategically drape my poncho over the hammock and shield the hammock from some drips.

I'd bring a small pillow and some fleece layers and make sure I have something to put under my knees in an unproven(for me) hammock.

Pillow is a good idea, but it won't happen in time, but I should have some clothes that can pull double duty as a pillow and/or knee brace. I've hung in my Hennessy with and without a pillow. I prefer the pillow, but I'm fine without it. I'm sure I'll replace mine eventually. Sad thing is that my other pillow had been missing for so long, I finally ordered another one just about a week before all my gear was destroyed. Then, the morning before, I found my original pillow. Then, a few hours later, I was back to no pillows. It's been a pillow roller-coaster over here.

[Rob3E]

Good times. Love this hammock and this tarp.

Superfly:
There was some leaking at the tarp pull outs, or at least at one of them, which was too bad because I had to set up in the rain and didn't get to seam seal it until two days later when we had a dry day. However the leak was not quite over my hammock. I could feel a splash every now and then, so I put my poncho over the netting in that spot. Problem solved. Then I was finally able seam seal it, so hopefully it'll be good.

The ridge on the Superfly is very nice, too. That's a feature I didn't expect. I assumed I'd want a full ridge line, like with my other tarps, but, seeing how the ridge was constructed, I felt fine using the Warbonnet recommended method of just tying up the ends. Still might want a full ridge line eventually to use with the pole mod. Bonus is that my full ridge line became a clothes line underneath the tarp.

Doors. I looked at them mainly as weather protection, but in a crowded campground, they were great for privacy, too. The tarp is so large, I wouldn't want it any bigger, but one issue I did notice that if I hung the tarp high enough to stand under, I could just see out under it (and anyone could see in) when I was in the hammock. Probably could have just moved the hammock up a little, though, or pitched the tarp at a sharper angle. But I kept my bike under the tarp most of the weekend, too, so I can hardly complain about the size of the tarp. It's enormous, provides great coverage, and packs small.

Porch mode. I didn't expect to use this. Seems to usually involve poles, but when I set up the tarp, I found that two, slender trees were perfectly located as tie outs. Tied one end of the line down low, and the other up high. Attached them with figure nines clipped to the corners, and I could pop into porch mode in the daytime, sit under the tarp and look around, and easily drop the side down at night for extra privacy and rain protection. Very nice.

Blackbird XLC:
Definitely feeling the ridge some people talked about in the calf area. I think some fiddling with hang might help, but it honestly wasn't a big deal. I could feel it, but it wasn't bad. On the other hand, I climbed into that thing ready to fall asleep every night. Otherwise it might have bothered me more.

Shelf is a great feature. In my old hammock, stuff had to hang on the ridge line or else it just rolled around the hammock all night. Now I can just toss stuff on to the shelf.

Pad in the double layer was great, too. If the pad weren't such a PITA to carry around, I might be happy with this as under insulation. I probably need to play with the positioning some, but for the most part in worked great. The first night was the coldest, and I woke up to find that part of my upper torso had moved off the pad, and I had to readjust. A little re-positioning of the pad the next day, and the following night I slept great. The other two nights it was not that cold, so I don't think it mattered as much where the pad was. It did stick out near the zipper, and got in the way of zipping up the netting. I probably could have positioned it differently or even trimmed down that corner of the pad, but it wasn't that much of a hassle. Still, there's an underquilt in my future, I think.

The first couple of nights I didn't stake out the sides. But I was also sliding towards the center of the hammock. Then I raised the foot up to a better level, and I found my face to be right near the netting. Staking out the side attached to the netting helped.

All-in-all, a very successful first outing with my new gear. Thanks for the tips, y'all. Next up, quilts and a pillow.
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[FourRingCircus]

Nice! I can see you having some converts just based on being able to shelter the bike... can't do that with a tent unless it's huge!

[Rob3E]

Nice! I can see you having some converts just based on being able to shelter the bike... can't do that with a tent unless it's huge!

Yes. Actually, until recently, I also had a Gear Guide tarp that could shelter both me and the bike, but it was heavy with inconveniently-placed tie-outs. I don't know how it actually compares to the Superfly in terms of size. When I saw the stuff sack with the Supefly in it, I thought it was not going to compare well, size-wise, to the Gear Guide, but it turned out to be plenty big. I just have never had a tarp made out of that material and didn't realize it folded up so small.

And yes, being able to shelter the bike is a big plus. I ride it in all weather, but that's no reason to let it sit in rain if it doesn't have to. Plus it's good to know the bike can't easily "walk off" when it's tucked away behind your hammock.