Questions for Clark Owners

[TinaLouise]

something you need to watch is temp ratings by all of us... Look at where we live and camp at. I may say it's not hot till you get over 95 degrees and someone else that lives further up north will say it's hot when it gets to 75 degrees. The same goes for the other direction, cold!! Someone up north will still think it's fairly warm temps when I'm thinking it's down right cold.
Someone saying the NA is comfortable at 80, you need to look at what kind of temps they are used to and compair it with what YOU will be camping in and are used to. I too would say the NA is comfortable at 80 but take someone from up north and ask them and you're liable to get a different answer.

[Jsaults]

I can sleep in my HH reasonably comfortably without under insulation in temps dipping down to the mid 60s. Reasonably.

But I am equipped with "extra insulation" and I can understand how a thinner person would sleep colder in the same environment. And you are right about a person's conditioning due to how far north or south they live. Last time I was in SC I was floored by the heat & humidity, but the locals thought it was fine weather.

Jim

[Cocksy_86]

The universal Molly Mac UQ is good with my Tropical Clark Hammock.

[molawns]

NX-250 Owners

Have you slept in a Clark "standard hammock" and what are the differences you have noticed when sleeping in the NX-250? How close to my height/weight are you? Again, more information to help me decide should I chose to buy the NX-150/250.

How is the airflow inside the NX-250? Any problems keeping cool in warmer, more humid temperatures?

I used to own a Clark North American, and sold it to "upgrade" to the NX-250. To me, the 250 is much roomier than the NA, and the weight difference and packed size is not much different. I'm 5' 11" and around 275-280.

The airflow is fine most of the time (with the Weathershield open), and so is keeping cool in warmer and more humid temps... but truthfully, much of this depends more on site selection and set-up, rather than hammock features. The noseeum netting lets in plenty of breezes, if they're available.


The #1 recommendation I will make, regardless of what Clark you end up with, is to order the hammock without a Clark tarp! The Clark tarps are garbage, IMO. The hammock can be ordered without a tarp, and you can purchase an "aftermarket" tarp from somewhere else. I prefer a 12X12 or a 10X10 pitched like an A-frame. The 10X10 barely covers the ends of the 250 set up A-frame style, but is more than adequate when pitched on a diagonal.

That's my $0.02...Hope it helps!

[Granted]

NX-250 Owners

Have you slept in a Clark "standard hammock" and what are the differences you have noticed when sleeping in the NX-250? How close to my height/weight are you? Again, more information to help me decide should I chose to buy the NX-150/250.

How is the airflow inside the NX-250? Any problems keeping cool in warmer, more humid temperatures?

I'm a little taller than you and slightly lighter at 6'1" 207. I have not slept in the standard Clark, but I did spend time in a Hennesey. I have to say, I like both hammocks. I'm finding the Clark, with mostly, all original rig, easier to set up. I just spent a week in the Clark at Scout camp. Temperatures went from 80 overnight to 50 overnight (gotta love New England) and I was comfy the entire time. The airflow was nice on hot nights but I had the tarp up fairly high too. I think that's one thing I like better and that I'll change if I use the Hennesey again, seperating the tarp makes a huge difference.

Tarp Selection

I have read a lot of post from owners that say the standard tarp is not the optimal selection and that the XL should be considered the minimum. Do you agree with this? Do you think that the Vertex is more optimal than the XL? What size tarp and what model Clark do you own (if not included in your profile)?

What are the benefits from having an attached tarp versus a detached or vise versa?

If you have any additional information that you think is beneficial, please chime in. Thanks in advance for all your help and taking the time to answer my questions.

-George

The 250 came with the largest tarp from Clark, so... that's the one I've used. It's good. As I said before, seperating it from the hammock is how I'm going to do stuff from now on.

I've only been using a hammock for a little over a year, so others are going to have more to say. I sleep almost exclusively on my side in the bed, but in both hammocks I find I'm comfortable enough on my back that I spend most of my time there. And, I don't wake up with a sore back, unlike bed or ground.

[third_string_waterboy]

First off, I wanted to say a sincere "Thank You!" to all of you that chimed in and gave very valuable feedback that aided in my decision. It made it much easier down the stretch.

Secondly, for all of you that want to know, as of about 3.2 minutes ago I pulled the trigger and ordered my first hammock from Clark. My decision:

Camo NX-200

Clark gave me some information that some of you may find valuable as they have changed the suspension on there standard models and the NX/TX-200 line. Below is a quote:

"... two major upgrades to the North American, NX-200, TX-200, Tropical, and UltraLight models. First, we upgraded the rain fly to be more protective and to have catenary curves to shed wind better. Second, we started using a new system for hanging the hammock that makes it much easier to deploy. The new hanging system allows you to tie only two ropes to hang the hammock (instead of four). The new system also allows you to tie the hammock with the perfect curve every time."

Hope that information helps someone and that I can start giving back to this forum like you all have given help to me. Again, A BIG THANK YOU!!

Lastly, as soon as I get my hammock and some time I will post pictures of the new suspension (as well as pictures of my hammock ). Might be a little while as I have a trip planned at the end of the month.

Regards,

TSW

[photomankc]

I have an older Clark NA and I can say that for me I can get pretty warm in it past 75 with no breeze. With some clothes I can hang in the early fall / late spring without much other than a very light UQ and a top sheet or also some careful packing of the pockets before I had an UQ. My body is a royal pain. I have a very narrow comfort zone, can't sleep at all with a bead of sweat anywhere, but let my feet get just a tad cold and I'm cramping so I carry an UQ in almost all my camping trips and I never really camp in the heat of summer.

In the daytime the tarp will provide shade but heat seems to come right through and be held in by the tarp. Since I camp a lot without leaves on the trees it can be interesting to see how it goes from chilly to too hot to nap. That said, there is nothing better than to lay down and take an afternoon nap in the woods with a cool breeze and a sunny day. My tents were never comfortable to be in during the day where the Clark can be.

I have been using the JRB quilts and find that they are alright but probably not optimal. I have trouble getting them to really snug up to the body and that becomes a growing issue past 50 degrees as my arms can turn to ice from contact with the sides. I have successfully used the hammock in the mountains at 9,000 - 11,000ft in Colorado though with those quilts. It was an easy 35* up there at night even in June.

I'm 5'10" and 210-230# and I would have gotten the larger hammock were it available at the time. The NA for me can be quite comfortable but only when hung at exactly the right sag angle. Even then it's a touch small I think. My Daughter is begging to have a hammock on our camping trips and so I may well get a larger one and hand down the NA to her.

I keep my rain fly separate. The XL is the minimum I would take. It offers better end coverage and is less sensitive to perfect position when hanging. I would hand with it attached first and then look for ways to detach it so that it can be hung higher or lower as needed. I rigged it so I generally hang the tarp first, then attach the hammock by the netting and then set the main ropes so that the netting stays standing up just like it was hanging loose and find that is pretty close to ideal. I can then adjust things from there.

Good luck. If you are camping in any of my common haunts around Missouri this fall maybe we can meet up and I can take a look at the new stuff out there from Clark first-hand.