My First Hang

**rbinhood** · 07-18-2011, 21:38

A friend and I did our first hang at Star Lake, WI on Saturday night. We had two hammocks, a Eureka Chrysalis and a Hamaka hammock with a Hammock Bliss bug net and a SportsmansGuide tarp. It was oppressively hot, with daytime temps in the low 90s with very high humidity, and nighttime temps in the low 70s. We slept without any insulation, top or bottom, and were comfortable.

First, the Chrysalis had a problem that I believe has been referenced elsewhere on this site in that the doors would not fully close in the middle, so my partner had an awful lot of mosquitos visit him during the night. He woke in the morning to see the inside of the roof of the hammock covered with mosquitos, which thankfully for the most part left him alone. Otherwise, the Chrysalis was comfortable and worked satisfactorily. Ventilation was good with the top closed and side doors open.

The Hamaka worked good with the Hammock Bliss mosquito net and SportsmansGuide tarp. I set the tarp in diamond form, and it was huge. I have another SG tarp that I have modified with extra center pullouts that I will use on another trip.

I learned that I need a pillow to sleep comfortably. I got up and rolled up a jacket for a pillow which allowed me to fall fast asleep until morning.

Aside from the heat and some very noisy tenters who shared our site, it was a very good first experience. I will not use the Chrysalis where bugs will be a problem until I come up with a better way to close the doors.

**SinisterMinister** · 07-18-2011, 22:37

Thanks for the report. It's interesting hearing other people's insights on what they're learning on their first outings.

**dragon360** · 07-19-2011, 09:58

First times are always interesting. Glad you had a good time.

**redhawktx** · 07-19-2011, 13:42

I too need a pillow when camping. I had a Walmart cheapo hammock that worked fine for me as long as I used a small cylindrical pillow. I moved to an ENO doublenest and found the pillow was no longer comfortable. I'm discovering what kind of pillow will work for me with the ENO.

Glad to hear you enjoyed your experience. In hot weather I sleep the same: no UQ or TQ and find it very comfortable.