Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 23
  1. #1
    New Member forgueam's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Cincinnati, OH (West Chester)
    Hammock
    Hennessy Explorer Deluxe
    Tarp
    HH Hex Tarp
    Insulation
    GG w/ homemade SPE
    Suspension
    Ring buckles
    Posts
    34
    Images
    7

    My First Hammock Camping Trip: Lessons Learned

    This past weekend I went on my first backpacking trip with a hammock. We went out for three days and two nights and completed the 22 mile Mischa Mokwa trail grouping in Cumberland Gap National Park. It was a great time and fun was had by all (pictures here: http://forgue.smugmug.com/Vacation/C...14251734_VuR98). Since this was my first time out with my hammock, I learned quite a bit and wanted to share some of my new found knowledge with every one. Perhaps some of these tips will come in handy for others who are just getting started with hammock camping... Enjoy!

    Lesson One: It's Just the Wind, Stupid.
    It was quite windy the first night. With every strong wind that came through, the trees would sway and their branches would bump into each other sending small "tremors" down into the hammock. As a first time hammock camper this was unexpected and felt a lot like some one (or some thing) shaking my hammock. After pooping my pants, I finally realized what was going on and breathed a sigh of relief.

    Lesson Two: Your Memory Ain't That Great
    When breaking camp after the first night, I made the mistake of removing all my lines from the ground stakes first, then going back later to retrieve the stakes. This was a silly mistake to make in October when there are fallen leaves covering everything. I spent 15 minutes sifting through the leaves trying to find all six stakes that I had used. The next morning I made sure to pull out the stakes and put them in my pocket as I was removing the lines. Simple solution.

    Lesson Three: I'm No Gumby
    While lying on my back during the second night, I kept having a problem with my knees slightly hyper-extending due to the upward curvature of the hammock. I'm not really sure why this didn't affect me the first night, but I was able to remedy the problem by placing my neck pillow under my knees. This made a huge difference in my comfort level and I slept nicely after the fix.

    Lesson Four: Vapor Barriers - Those HammockForums Guys Weren't Kidding!
    On the first night, my feet got a little chilly - not terribly cold, but enough to annoy me throughout the night. On the second night I decided to wrap the bottom of my sleeping bag with a space blanket to retain some heat. This idea worked great: my feet were warm and toasty all night long, however, the bottom of my sleeping bag was soaked in the morning because the space blanket acted as a vapor barrier. Luckily I was using a synthetic bag, so it wasn't a big issue. I'll need to do a little more research to figure out the solution to this moisture problem, but I suspect that moving the space blanket *inside* the sleeping bag might have helped.

    Lesson Five: The Segmented Pad Extender (SPE) is Brilliant
    In the days leading up to the trip, I constructed a homemade, modular SPE (pictures here: http://forgue.smugmug.com/Hobbies/Ho...14269335_2kxVu). There are two parts: a sleeve that basically just slips around my pad(s) (for this trip I put a self-inflating pad and a 1/4" Gossamer Gear ThinLight pad inside the sleeve) and a second (smaller) sleeve that has the wings attached to it. This modularity allows me to scrap the wings if I don't feel I need them. The wings are made with four pieces of a WalMart blue CCF pad. This worked out great and kept the chill off my shoulders and sides. My only complaint is that carrying the four wing pads was a bit annoying. I might try just using the ThinLight horizontally next time to see if I can achieve the same warmth without the extra bulk.

    Bonus Lesson: Relief Without the Hassle
    On a previous trip a fellow brought along an empty drink bottle to use at night when he had to pee. This idea was even more epic for me at the time because we were backpacking in 4-5 inches of snow. Relieving myself at night meant getting out of my warm sleeping bag, pulling on my boots, stumbling out of the tent and into the snow, trekking out a few dozen feet away and exposing my little buddy to the freezing temps. It was at that moment that I decided to give the bottle idea a try on my next trip. I used a bottle on this past trip in my hammock and it was life-changing. I didn't even have to unzip my sleeping bag - I simply stored the bottle in my ridgeline organizer before and after use. Just make sure you are careful and accurate though!


    One final thought: I couldn't have had as enjoyable and successful of a trip as I did without the helpful advice from every one here at Hammock Forums. Thank you all so much for the great information you provide - it is truly invaluable!

    Aaron

  2. #2
    canoebie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Edwardsburg, MI
    Hammock
    Blackbird XL
    Tarp
    UGQ Winter Dream
    Insulation
    HG UQ and TQ
    Suspension
    straps and buckles
    Posts
    2,823
    Great trip report, it is so much fun to learn and expand horizons. Keeps the grey matter alive and the spirit refreshed. Many more to come!!!
    “Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
    ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

  3. #3
    Senior Member Highbinder's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    A Scot in Spain
    Hammock
    DIY + whoopie SLR
    Tarp
    Golite poncho tarp
    Insulation
    Down UQ / Down bag
    Suspension
    Amsteel whoopies
    Posts
    243
    Images
    5
    Very well put I hope you don't mind me mentioning one of mine as I haven't been swinging in the trees for too long. A lesson I learnt 2 weekends back was to always take spare cordage and for the cordage you take to be appropriate to what you're using it for. I hung between two trees right on the loch's beach and had used rocks to hold down my tarp - one of them had a sharp edge and gnawed through a guyline in the middle of the night. I had used some old twine tent lines, obviously not very abrasion-resistant. Doh!

  4. #4
    Senior Member bigbamaguy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    NE Alabama
    Hammock
    Clark NX-200
    Tarp
    Clark XL-Fly
    Insulation
    KAQ NR UQ/AHE KAQ
    Suspension
    Strap/cinch buckle
    Posts
    1,693
    Great report and glad that you were able to enjoy the hammock in the woods. It is fun seeing all of the things discussed here on the forum actually work for you when your in the woods!!!!!!!
    Par Si Vis Pace Para Bellum

  5. #5
    Senior Member Pro Vagabond's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Conshohocken, Pa
    Hammock
    RidgeRunner
    Tarp
    9X11 DIY Syl
    Insulation
    DIY UQ + TQ
    Suspension
    Whoopies + huggers
    Posts
    310
    Nice!!

    I love hearing from other noobies experiences. Now you have to get into DIYing your own gear. Then, the lessons come quick. I would suggest starting with easy projects like sacks or even a hammock (it is just a rectangle).

    continue to share because there are always people lurking!

  6. #6
    Senior Member E.A.Y.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Rescue, CA
    Hammock
    Warbonnet BlackBird
    Tarp
    MacCat Deluxe
    Insulation
    Down top & bottom
    Suspension
    Strap and buckle
    Posts
    934
    Images
    69
    Hurrah! for a great trip.

    Quote Originally Posted by forgueam View Post
    Lesson Two: Your Memory Ain't That Great
    When breaking camp after the first night, I made the mistake of removing all my lines from the ground stakes first, then going back later to retrieve the stakes.
    Somewhere in a campsite off of Folsom Lake there is still a nice MSR groundhog waiting for some lucky person to find it.
    -Liz -

  7. #7
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Tupelo, MS
    Posts
    11,108
    Images
    489
    Quote Originally Posted by forgueam View Post
    ....................................
    Lesson Four: Vapor Barriers - Those HammockForums Guys Weren't Kidding!
    On the first night, my feet got a little chilly - not terribly cold, but enough to annoy me throughout the night. On the second night I decided to wrap the bottom of my sleeping bag with a space blanket to retain some heat. This idea worked great: my feet were warm and toasty all night long, however, the bottom of my sleeping bag was soaked in the morning because the space blanket acted as a vapor barrier. Luckily I was using a synthetic bag, so it wasn't a big issue. I'll need to do a little more research to figure out the solution to this moisture problem, but I suspect that moving the space blanket *inside* the sleeping bag might have helped.

    Lesson Five: The Segmented Pad Extender (SPE) is Brilliant......

    Aaron
    I agree, and just posted in another thread that Youngblood's design of Speer's SPE ( no longer available?) was greatly under appreciated. Mainly I suppose because of the popularity of UQs. I guess since most folks were trying to get away from pads in hammocks, they didn't see a need to buy and carry an SPE, so not many got sold, I guess. But I think it might actually work better ( or certainly just as good, but better for stacking pads) than a dbl layer hammock with a wide pad( with the notable exception of the JRB BMBH), and possibly at a lower weight. (nothing works as good with a pad as a BMBH, not even the SPE, IMO)

    Quote Originally Posted by E.A.Y. View Post
    ................Somewhere in a campsite off of Folsom Lake there is still a nice MSR groundhog waiting for some lucky person to find it.
    There is also one in the Olympic Hoh Rain Forest. I found it all right, but could not get it out of the ground! It was stuck in a root or something, but went in under hand pressure with a rock in my palm.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Denver, CO
    Hammock
    Warbonnet ON!
    Tarp
    SuperFly or MacCat
    Insulation
    Yetis & Mambas
    Suspension
    Webbing and rings
    Posts
    13,605
    Images
    136
    Quote Originally Posted by forgueam View Post
    Lesson One: It's Just the Wind, Stupid.
    It was quite windy the first night. With every strong wind that came through, the trees would sway and their branches would bump into each other sending small "tremors" down into the hammock. As a first time hammock camper this was unexpected and felt a lot like some one (or some thing) shaking my hammock. After pooping my pants, I finally realized what was going on and breathed a sigh of relief.

    I remember learning that lesson! Mine was learned one night in Florida when a sudden wind came up and I was hanging from one tall and thick pine. The other one was smallish and leafy. When the wind kicked-up, I think you could have measured the distance between butt and hammock by using inches. Worst part is I was kind of creeped out when I went to sleep. Being tossed around in the hammock during the wee hours, almost made me wee. Pretty sure I screamed a little before I started laughing.
    Trust nobody!

  9. #9
    Senior Member TinaLouise's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    wilmington, nc
    Hammock
    BB1.0 double
    Tarp
    Hybrid Cuben F.
    Insulation
    Down & IX
    Suspension
    BB straps,whoopies
    Posts
    1,367
    I too learned the hard way about lesson #2, finding tent stakes. Two of my sheperd's hooks were left in Uwharrie. I now like to use the stakes that have a piece of cord on the ends. I've exchanged the reg. cord for reflective cord!!

    Very GOOD post! Great report on lessons learned!!!

  10. #10
    Senior Member Lonely Raven's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Bolingbrook, IL
    Hammock
    WarbonnetBlackbird
    Tarp
    Olive Superfly
    Insulation
    Incubat Dempsey TQ
    Suspension
    Stock Webbing
    Posts
    1,487
    Great post! I know I've done some of the same things as well. In fact, I did the tent stake thing just last weekend.

  • + New Posts
  • Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

    Similar Threads

    1. Replies: 19
      Last Post: 07-23-2013, 16:47
    2. A failed DIY tarp -Lessons Learned from a trip
      By GaHammockGuy in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 8
      Last Post: 03-21-2012, 20:26
    3. First DIY Hammock - Lessons Learned
      By Avenger in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 7
      Last Post: 09-26-2011, 00:13
    4. First Trip: Lessons Learned
      By stefprez in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 27
      Last Post: 07-03-2011, 11:14

    Tags for this Thread

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •