First off - big thanks to everyone here on the forums with the help switching from a ground dweller to a completely addicted hanger. I have been pretty obsessed with backpacking and ultralight principles the past few years, and have been making that transition into the hammock scene.
So after lots and lots of reading here on the forums, and researching across the internet I finally have my first complete hanging setup. I have setup the hammock in the backyard numerous times, but finally had the opportunity yesterday to head out and setup everything in the woods. Dropped my Son off at camp yesterday midday and headed out to SNP to take a short hike up the AT and find somewhere to put everything up and see how it will perform. I have a 5 day trip in SNP planned the first week in Sept, so I need to get everything dialed in before then.
The gear...
Hammock: Nano 7
Hammock Suspension: Tree straps, Whoopie slings and Dynaglide ASR from Arrowhead. x2 Camp USA Nano 23 Carabiners.
Hammock Accessories: PapaSmurf BugSock, DIY gear loft on ridgeline.
Tarp: OES MadCat Standard
Tarp Suspension: 30ft 1.5mm Z-Line Ridgeline, Dutch Hook and Dutch Fly on ridgeline. Prussic Soft Shackles connecting tarp to ridgeline. DIY x4 shockcord/reflective line guylines and x2 shockcord guylines. x6 Ti shephards hook stakes.
So here is the hammock setup without the tarp:
Closeup of BugSock:
Hammock Suspension Closeup:
MadCat Tarp:
Soft Shackle on ridgeline:
View to inside:
BugSock clearance issues (More about this below):
DIY Guylines:
So overall impressions are that it is comfortable, and that I like the idea of the setup but it did not go as smoothly as I thought it might. I have a few concerns that I want to clear up before I am relying on this out in the wild.
1) Does my slack on my hammock suspension, distance between trees, and slack in the hammock ridgeline all look good? I am short, 5'6" - and I felt like I was having to put the tree straps as far up on the tree as I could to keep the hammock from touching ground. Is that just how its gonna be for me?
2) The Bugsock is all up in my grill. When I am laying in the hammock the sides of the bugsock fall into my face and I can't have that. My short term idea is to use some clips I have to clip onto the outside of the bugnet and then run shockcord to the tieouts on the tarp to pull it out away from me. If this works (have not tested yet), I am thinking a simple mod to add a D-Ring patch to the sides of the bugnet will be a great longterm fix. I will test this soon and see how it goes. If anyone has any other good ideas, please let me know. I HAVE to have the bugsock, I hate bugs - but I need some space inside it to feel comfortable.
3) The prussic soft shackles were a pain to use. They were hard to milk and get open when I needed to, and I was having a real hard time getting them to snag tight on the Z-Line. Is the Z-Line too slick? I had to triple prussic them. I am thinking a regular prussic loop (or something else entirely) with an S-Biner might just be overall easier. I am all about being as light as I can, but I can't screw with these little things too much and I can only see it being more frustrating when cold, wet, dark, etc. Any tips or ideas?
4) The Ti stakes are great and all, but I was in somewhat rocky ground and had a really hard time getting them more then 1/3rd into the ground. I felt like they were going to bend if I tried any harder. This made tieing out my guylines rough, atleast on this terrain.
5) It took me a good 20 minutes to get everything setup. How long should I expect it to take me in reality as I get more comfortable with it? Sub 10 minutes?
I am debating between a te-wa UQ or a DIY insultex UQ - that will be the last piece of the puzzle.
Any and all guidance, advice, criticism welcome!
Thanks!
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