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  1. #1
    New Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
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    Canada
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    31

    Clark North American

    Hey Everyone

    I am new to the whole hammock camping. I just ordered a switchback but I was always curious about the Clark hammocks. For the most part on the forum people love their WBBB, switchbacks, bridges and Diy hammocks. I have not seen a lot of talk about the hammocks made by clark.

    I am just interested in anyones experience with them and how they compare to the WBBB and the switchback.

    I went with the switchback because I sleep on my side and move around a fair bit so I thought I that be the best option for myself. How is the Clark NA, or TX 150 for sleeping on your side? Do those pockets really work on the NA.

    Thanks. I am just interested. I like the look of them. They look nice and cozy when your in and have the hoods up. like your own little hanging fort haha. So I am just curious of how people like their clarks.

  2. #2
    Member pdcollins6092's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Leesburg, Fl.
    Hammock
    Clark NX-250/NX-270/NA/NX-200
    Tarp
    HG 8x10 cuben
    Insulation
    Hammock Gear
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    Whoopies & straps
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    93
    I just got my North American in on Monday. I havent had a chance to get out there and try it out yet because we have had rain every day. I'm going to try and set it up this weekend and try it out. I will be taking pics of it set up and also plan on doing a video of it too because it looks like they have made a couple of changes from all the other videos that I have seen. Hopefully by the middle of next week I will be able to give a review on it.

  3. #3
    Member ScottH61's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Southeast Idaho
    Hammock
    Clark NX-250,Original Hennessy,WBBB
    Tarp
    HammockGear Cuben
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    54
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    2
    I just bought a used Clark NX-250, and I really like it a lot so far! It is VERY confortable. I don't think you'd be sorry if you got one. The only thing I miss in it is a ridgeline (for hanging things on - glasses, books, socks...), but I think I can add one of those in easy enough. I also wish they'd added a pull tab on the velcro'd inside pocket to make it easier to open, but again, I think I can add that as well without a lot of work. So there you go. 2 very minor, easily corrected "complaints", but that's it.

  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
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    Strap/cinch buckle
    Posts
    1,693
    I have the NX-200 and will never part with it. It was my first hammock and you can see my review of it on the Clarks Website......look for the testimonial from Alabama. I have slept in all conditions....southern summer heat to snow in the hills in my CJH and can say it was a very comfortable experience no matter the condition. I found that side sleeping was doable but not all night, of course I toss and turn most of the night anyway!!!!

    A ridgline can be installed in the CJH, not structural but a ridgeline can be installed. I took a piece of 1/8 shockcord and ran it between the two D-rings at the apex of the head and foot end zipper section. This way as you load the hammock with the stock tarp installed, you will not stress the connections to the hammock or the bugnetting/stormshield.

    I have since become a gear junkie and own a WBBB 1.7 DL and use it as my go to hammock. The CJH is now my loaner hammock and will be going into the BOB kit once it returns from its World Tour!!!!!!!!!
    Par Si Vis Pace Para Bellum

  5. #5
    Senior Member brushybill's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    murrells inlet ,sc
    Hammock
    switchback, wbbb, clark ul
    Tarp
    oes standard/ultra
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    jrb uq/ leighlo tq
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    diy whoopiesling
    Posts
    199
    i started with a clark ultralite and used it for almost ten years, slept great and never got wet even with the small rainfly that it came with, the construction was exceptional and the pockets are a great feature, the only reason i switched was that the old style clark was a bit small for me at 6', so i went to a blackbird and loved it, till i tried a switchback,which for me is the most comfortable [camping] hammock i have tried

  6. #6
    Senior Member Bradley's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    West Kootenay, BC
    Hammock
    NX-150 TX-150
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    Vertex-Camo
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    Clark
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    1,557
    I researched for a couple of months + before making a decision . . .

    . . . I had in my younger days had done much in the wilderness . . .

    This time round I wanted mega comfort and be best products available . . .

    I felt for me that the Clark NX-150 was the Hammock Hilton . . .

    For years I have slept in a easy-boy recliner for a # of reasons . . .

    I have owned my CJH for a year or so . . . but for the last month or so . . .
    I have slept in it every night . . . it has become my bed.

    I sleep on my back, and it would seem, shortly after I close my eyes . . . I open them . . .

    = a full nights sleep.

    Bradley SaintJohn
    Flat Bottom Canoe
    Start A Biz

    The Transition from Ground Sleeping to Hammocks
    is the Conversion from Agony To Ecstasy,
    and Curing Ground-In-somnia.

    "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show you great and mighty things . . ." Jeremiah 33:3
    ΙΧΘΥΣ

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Elmira, NY
    Hammock
    WB Ridgerunner, Dangerbird
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    Quote Originally Posted by brushybill View Post
    i started with a clark ultralite and used it for almost ten years, slept great and never got wet even with the small rainfly that it came with, the construction was exceptional and the pockets are a great feature, the only reason i switched was that the old style clark was a bit small for me at 6', so i went to a blackbird and loved it, till i tried a switchback,which for me is the most comfortable [camping] hammock i have tried
    I pretty much went through the same progression except my Clark is an NX 250 and I had a Claytor Jungle prior to that. I have also come to the same conclusion as Bill...the Switchback is the most comfortable hammock to date.

    The Claytor is now a loaner, the NX 250 is strictly for winter and the WBBB was given to my wife. I've already seen her eyeballing my Switchback so it won't surprise me if a Switchback Lite Hiker is in her future.

    I've been playing around with my Switchback quite a bit in my backyard and each time I'm more impressed. I was amazed at how much stuff I could cram into the interior pockets. The interior Clark pockets are a joke and the bottom pockets are way overkill.

    I also weight tested the non structural ridge-line by hanging a huge wad of keys and a full sized knife from it. I'd say it sagged around an inch or so. It would be more than adequate to hang a light and some smaller articles of clothing such as socks etc.

    I did replace the netting tie down ribbons with a very small diameter cord attached to a #1 Nite Ize biner....way easier than tying the ribbon.

    With all my other hammocks there was always SOMETHING that annoyed me with them. So far I haven't found one thing I don't like about the Switchback.

    Are you listening Shug???

    Miguel

  8. #8
    Senior Member DemostiX's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Like Lewis & Clark: Wintrin' o/t Columbia again: PDX
    Hammock
    Clark w 2QZQ mod,Tropical, NX;Nano
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    Quote Originally Posted by jlink View Post
    Hey Everyone

    I am new to the whole hammock camping. I just ordered a switchback but I was always curious about the Clark hammocks. For the most part on the forum people love their WBBB, switchbacks, bridges and Diy hammocks. I have not seen a lot of talk about the hammocks made by clark.

    I am just interested in anyones experience with them and how they compare to the WBBB and the switchback.

    I went with the switchback because I sleep on my side and move around a fair bit so I thought I that be the best option for myself. How is the Clark NA, or TX 150 for sleeping on your side? Do those pockets really work on the NA.

    Thanks. I am just interested. I like the look of them. They look nice and cozy when your in and have the hoods up. like your own little hanging fort haha. So I am just curious of how people like their clarks.
    The weather shield is under-appreciated. Covers for a lot of user's "incomplete planning" if weather may change while you are asleep or from the time you packed. It is NOT independent of the bug-screen, though, and Clark must have decided to use and repeat those serious-duty zippers for it, despite the added weight. Not enough experience in winter to know whether it will be, as some say of insect screens, a frost-collector, especially with the weather shield in place.

    Big roomy pockets for gear? Well, that depends on how well you manage lots of big, roomy pockets on your jacket, panniers, or backpack. What about as the partial second layer for insulation, the DL of some hammocks doing double duty? Well, resentment and Clark pricing of their under-quilt last-step seems to keep the insulation system from being critiqued and evaluated as completely as are underquilts. For example, there's no cottage company making up right-sized down-filled bags for the pockets of the NA

    I suspect the tarps are also undervalued, as they seem to be cat-cut. Chatter in the record on size is just that. It is always weight vs coverage with tarps. Same with Hennessy. Cut away excess material for ordinary rain on a tarp to save weight, so you can buy another one, big enough to create doors against a storm with. And so on, and so on.

    Clark's inclusion of velcro for optional closure of the end costs little but a few grams, and I'd think should be on every hammock tarp for cost / benefit.

    The bigger the hammock and the smaller the fraction of it occupied by the owner, the more comfortable for more people, it seems. There are a lot of big guys contributing to Hammockforums.

  9. #9
    New Member blueblaze's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Wattsburg, PA
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.1 double
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    45
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    I've progressed from a Skeeter Beeter, to a Clark, to a HH Ultra Light Backpacker to now a WBBB 1.1 double. They are all great hammocks, but the main reason I switched from the Clark was to save a bit of weight.
    'Most people have a few skelotons in their closet, I have a few tents.' ~ d Allen

  10. #10
    Senior Member DemostiX's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    Like Lewis & Clark: Wintrin' o/t Columbia again: PDX
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    Clark w 2QZQ mod,Tropical, NX;Nano
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    Quote Originally Posted by blueblaze View Post
    I've progressed from a Skeeter Beeter, to a Clark, to a HH Ultra Light Backpacker to now a WBBB 1.1 double. They are all great hammocks, but the main reason I switched from the Clark was to save a bit of weight.
    Maybe, in the last step, to the WBBB, weight was dropped from the Clark. But, you did go for a double layer.

    I suspect you went for the comfort most owners say they get from the WBBB. I don't think that comes just from the size; it can be attributed to Warbonnet guy doing lots of thinking and experimenting with genuine tailoring, not just seamstressing. Yes, there's the footbox and shelf, nice features, just as the Clark weathershield is a nice feature. But, the WBBB is fundamentally, structurally different from other gathered end hammocks in the bed shape and orientation. Now, it may be that some other hammocks in interfacing with the human body achieve the kind of comfort WBBB owners love, but the how seems to be cloaked in technical mystery.

    I'm going on about this, having just viewed some video including a Claytor fly / tarp. It was the tailoring that impressed me so much; as it was evident that there Claytor got designers who understood cost-effective use of fabric and also knowledge of fabric properties in sewing the several pieces of it together. More to that tarp than just using hi-tec ultra-lighweight unobtainium.

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