First time in a Speers IIIA

[Oms]

Here are some of my initial thoughts of the Speers IIIA hammock. I only spent one night in it. I had to set up the tarp at 1:00 AM because it started raining (was a 10% chance of rain on what was a beautiful weekend). I used two cc pads because my son was using the underquilt with the HH. Temps were down in the 30's. These are notes I jotted down after returning home.

Hammock report:

Speers hammock and tarp

The hammock has a shoulder squeeze feeling. I never understood what that was because I also have a HHUL A-sym which does not have that problem. The upper part of material closes in on you which could be warm in the summer. On the flip side, if you wanted to close the hammock completely, the Velcro does not mate. The straps are nicer to tie then the HH cords, but was concerned if a tree was too large it may be a problem. Sitting up sideways in the chair position is pretty comfortable and stable. The removable bug netting and being a top loader is very nice.

The tarp tie-outs are not as well made as the MacCat. Do not believe the tarp could make it through a severe wind storm. In order to hang with the tarp higher above the hammock you would have to use a separate ridgeline cord. The ridgeline tie-outs appear to be made to attach only to the ridgeline. If you tie them to the tree (sideways) it pulls the tabs in such a way that it stresses the seams. The tie-off loop hangs down not out.

The hammock and tarp pack up very small and light which is a plus.


Does anyone else have these same problems or concerns? It's possible I did a few things wrong. At this point the tarp bothers me the most.

[lyleb]

Not sure what tarp you're talking about. I have the Cat cut tarp that came with my IIIA and have none of those concerns. The ridgeline is plenty long to attach to any trees that the hammock itself attaches to. As far as not lasting through a wind. I had mine set up in Duluth for a week straight during some moderately windy weather and only had to tighten the pitch on one or two occasions when the stakes worked loose a little. The tarp shows absolutely no signs of stress and was completely waterproof during some heavy, prolonged rain. From my perspective, the Speer tarp looks every bit as well made as my Golite Cave which has served me well for about 3 years now.

Will agree to a degree about the shoulder squeeze, but that was solved by pitching with more sag, then lying on the diagonal, as suggested by Ed.

This is my $0.02 worth.

[Oms]

Assuming that I had the tarp the correct way (seam perpendicular to hammock) the ridgeline tie-outs loop down the way it's been sewn. When pulled out on the sides you can see the fist seams being pulled back on. The tarp is the 8x10 CatTarp. I will try and hang it with more sag to see if it feels better.
Thanks

[Just Jeff]

Pitch the hammock with more sag and it'll relieve the shoulder squeeze. See here for pics of sag if you're not clear.

[BillyBob58]

Yep, I have to put a good bit of sag in my Speer to avoid shoulder squeeze. With enough sag, it's about as comfy as my HH, though the HH always feels roomier.

[Cannibal]

Survey says...ding!: sag

I got an opportunity to try a Speer recently and didn't have any squeeze issues, but it was set with quite a bit of sag.