Hi --
I own the Big Mamajamba, the Hennessy Hex rain fly, and the mosquitohammock diamond rain fly. The diamond rain fly is long but when strong wind with rain blows my hammock tends to get wet on the ends. I had to add some tie downs on the sides to help keep that tarp from billowing up and down. The mamajamba and Hennessy hex are very similar in size and design except for material. If weight is not a concern, the Hennessy hex is well designed and well priced. One can save 5 to 8oz with the mamajamba. When I backpack or bicycle tour I tend to rotate between these two tarps. I like both.
The big rain fly I would not recommend. While it may seem that a longer tarp would be advantageous, I have found the opposite to be true. If one has to hang a hammock between two trees that are 15 feet or longer apart, I have found that it is difficult to get longer tarps close to the hammock body. This is important in strong storms because the closer the tarp to the top of the hammock, the more rain protection offered. If the hammock ridgeline is 1.5 or 2+ feet below the tarp, then it is possible for the tarp to billow in wind thus allowing rain underneath. If the tarp is long enough to create doors on the end, then that would be helpful, but a long ridgeline on the tarp may make this difficult.
In short, if you buy a tarp without doors, I recommend a tarp that is about 2 to 3 feet longer than the hammock (1 to 1.5 feet on each end). If you buy a tarp with doors, it can be longer, although better fitting tarps will still provide more protection.
The new Hennessy monsoon and typhoons may also be worth considering. This fellow has posted three videos of the typhoon tarp with a warbonnet blackbird:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Justaguyinnc
Bookmarks