Hammock Newbie's First Post Here...

[Sabrosa]

Hi all. I've been lurking here for a while and because of the information I've gathered here I am now a hammock camper. Very informative site and seems like a great community!

I just purchased my first hammock. I got a Hennessy Explorer Deluxe A Sym. I don't trust my knot tying skills so I wanted to keep the set up as knot free as possible. I bought some tree straps and Ulta Lite Cinch Buckle With Long Chain Link from Arrowhead Equipment.

I was able to get my hammock hung up pretty quickly and easily using that set up but now I don't know how to attach my rain fly. The Hennessy system was pretty slick and easy for adjustments. Can someone please explain to me how I should attach the rainfly to the webbing suspension system.

The other question I have is regarding the snake skins. Because of the size of the cinch buckles I had to attach the Snake Skins beneath where I believe the rainfly will be attached. This makes it impossible to use the snake skins to roll up the rainfly and hammock in one shot. Is that an issue, or is there an alternative?

Should I have bought Whoopee Slings? Despite Shug's great videos I didn't really understand the concept until I started playing hands on with my new hammock. Whoopee Slings now seem like an easier way to make adjustments.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Just Jeff]

Welcome to HF!!

You don't want to attach the tarp to the hammock support. When you get in, the hammock sags a bit so the points where the tarp is connected to the supports gets closer together...and the tarp sags. Tarps are supposed to be tight...if they sag, they'll flap in the wind and splash water around when it's raining.

So tie your tarp directly to the tree. If it's gonna storm, where the tarp is tied to the tree should be lower than where the hammock is tied to the tree. This is pretty easy with a HH b/c the tarp can actually be laying on the ridgeline...bottom entry makes getting in easy, and the hammock will sag down a bit once you're inside so the tarp is no longer touching the hammock.

Check here for some pics:
http://www.tothewoods.net/HammockCampingDry.html

[Trout]

Welcome to the forum.

[titanium_hiker]

you probably want to keep your hammock separate from your tarp anyway, I'd hate to pack my wet tarp right next to my hammock, getting my bed wet!

TH

[Sabrosa]

Thanks for the link Just Jeff. There's a lot of great ideas for me there.

[Just Jeff]

There have been a lot of advancements since I've updated that page, so just get the basic ideas from it and then search here for the new details. This place is full of brainiacs much smarter than me!

[pgibson]

Hey Sabrosa, Welcome to the Forum If you don't think the buckles will work for you and want to switch out to another system send me a PM and we can work out something.

[Sabrosa]

Thanks for the offer pgibson. I'm new to this and I have no idea what I want or what will work for me so I think I'll stick with this set up for a while.

I'm packing up my kayak right now for an overnighter out in the Gulf tomorrow night. This will be my first night ever in a hammock. I'm leaving my tent and sleeping pad at home leaving no room for error. I hope this goes well!

[pgibson]

Take something for under insulation Even with the nice warm gulf weather it is easy to get a chill. And let me know if you have any suspension questions at all. Have Fun!

[Cranky Bear]

Best thing to do is what Jeff suggested, the suspension you got from Paul at AHE is great stuff, good choice! What you can do is use your snake skins for just your tarp, thats what most here do, then you can use just a stuff sack for your hammock, "OR" you can get one of Paul's hammock bags, Adia and myself have his first version and they are great, real easy to use, and very well made, you can check out Shugs videos it's all in the 10 or so of them! Oh yea, Welcome to HF!