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Thread: Hi everybody

  1. #1
    Senior Member shhQuiet's Avatar
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    Hi everybody

    Hey everyone, I am not new to the forum, but haven't been here much. I did finally buy a Hennessy, (ultralite backpacker) but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. Just ordered the insulation kit as well.

    Looking forward to trying it out. It seems like the insulation kit will be needed pretty much season-round. Does anyone have advice about the insulation kit and do you just keep it all hooked to the hammock all the time?

  2. #2
    Senior Member Joey's Avatar
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    If you are talking the super shelter, you may be able to keep the bottom part on the hammock as you pack it, but will more than likely need to remove and pack the pad separately. It gets a bit bulky to wrap it all together.

    The SS has mixed reviews, and takes some thought to use it properly. There are many threads of discussion on it you can find by doing a search.

    You will find you'll need something under you in temps 70F and below. Some have taken the SS down to 30F and been very warm, using the space blanket as shown in Hennessey's videos on the system.

    Enjoy your new hammock!

  3. #3
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    I can't imagine needing the Supershelter year-round. It cuts air flow and traps heat. The original poster lives in AL. I'm too hot up her in MA to consider using the Supershelter in for summer hanging. I keep a "space blanket" slung below my Hennessy with elastic cord and take it off or unhook one side and move it all the way to one edge on hot nights. The space blanket blocks wind and bounces enough heat back that I can sleep INSIDE my sleeping bag to about 55 F or so. (I don't usually have a thermometer in my hammock at niight. I would also need a light and reading glasses to see what it says, anyway.) More likely for insulation, I will use the space blanket with my Gossamer Gear Thinlight laid on top of it until the weather gets cold.

    Tom Hennessy tells people that when he uses his Supershelter, he leaves it and the hammock intact. With the fly up separately, he stuffs the hammock, Supershelter and all into the bottom of his pack, then layers the rest of his gear on top. The fly can stay deployed while he packs up this way, and quickly stuffs into Snakeskins and be added on top or into a side pocket of the pack. (Or worn as a poncho, if he is using a poncho-fly.)

    If you pack the foam pad and fly separately, PROBABLY the hammock and Undercover would fit into #4 Snakeskins. The problem is removing and reapplying the foam pad leads to more wear and tear on it than leaving it in place.

    I'm most likely to use my Supershelter if car-camping or in a stationary camp that I've accessed by dragging in a sled in the winter. I pretty much gave that up when I stopped volunteering for the BSA.

    Why don't I use my Supershelter more? My backpacking gear HAS to have multiple uses. Hammock=bed, chair, lounger. Sleeping bag=sleeping warmth and camp wrap. Pack=gear carrier and might be leg pillow. Gossamer Gear Thinlight+ pack backpad and hammock bottom insulation. And so on... Tom and I have had many discussions about this. He tends to shake his head and smile...
    Last edited by Rosaleen; 09-04-2011 at 09:50. Reason: additional info
    Rosaleen

    Hennessy Hammock afficionado and supporter.

  4. #4
    Senior Member shhQuiet's Avatar
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    Thanks Joey and Rosaleen for your reply

    Joey- yes, it is the SS.

    Rosaleen- you're right about the weather down here in Alabama. Nighttime temps in the 90s will make you quickly strip down to as little as possible and try to catch any breeze. I don't tend to do a lot of camping during the dog days in Alabama.

    As a seasonal thing, it doesn't sound like there is a benefit to attaching and removing the SS constantly and you could leave it in place for a trip.

    The other thing is the packing. Something bothers me about layering gear on top of the hammock in the pack. I'm thinking of maybe a larger stuff sack that can hold the hammock/SS with the fly in the snakeskins.

    Well, I'm sure after my first night, I'll have lots of opinions of my own. Thanks again for your advice.

  5. #5
    Senior Member DaleW's Avatar
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    You can add Garlington Insulators below the SS foam pad and a space blanket between the pad and the hammock to get more range out of the SS system. You can use thinner underquilts too-- you just want to avoid compressing them. A poncho liner UQ would be a good candidate.

    I use a SS clone that is also a poncho and the stock Hennessy foam pad with a space blanket. It works well, and is less expensive, light, and gives more protection from wind and rain. If you are into sub-freezing weather a lot, then I think the thicker down UQ's come into their own.

  6. #6
    Senior Member bodhran4me's Avatar
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    Howdy,
    New hanger here as well. I just started hanging in my HH Backpacker UltraLight with bottom entry I purchased from a fellow HF Member.

    I slept in 22deg.Celsius with just a wool blanket under me was plenty warm.

    I have also slept down to around the 14 deg Celsius mark with a thin CCF and found the sweating to be uncomfortable so used the wool blanket between it and me the next two nights and was perfect. In fact the first night in that particular set up (with the wool in between) I went nekkid and didn't need to cover up 'til about 5 AM When I went for a pee break. The last night I covered up with the wool a bit earlier but it was damp and windy due to the thunderstorm.

    I also found the wool underneath was nice to prevent the 'cold shoulder syndrome. I could definetly feel the difference where the shoulders weren't cover

    I have included a great link that shows how to 'Wrap' yourself in a wool blanket for maximizing the warmth.

    Having the undercover for the SS would be nice , as i did find the pad shifted around on me. Anywho, I hope it works out for you, but let us know either way!

    Cheers!

    P.S. I also found sitting/laying in the hammock as shown in the Hennesy website (w/o using the bugnet) VERY comfortable, in fact I hardly got to use it except for sleeping 'cuz the young lad was always in it.

  7. #7
    Senior Member bodhran4me's Avatar
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    Ooops, just noticed that I didn't post the link for wrapping in a wool blanket. Although, it appears nobody else has noticed either.

    Anywho, here it is:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx38g...r-S-Q&index=14

  8. #8
    Senior Member shhQuiet's Avatar
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    Bodhran4me that's an interesting video but I flop around too much for that procedure. I'd start out fine but I'd wake up with the blanket twisted around my feet. :/
    Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
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    Quote Originally Posted by shhQuiet View Post
    It seems like the insulation kit will be needed pretty much season-round. Does anyone have advice about the insulation kit and do you just keep it all hooked to the hammock all the time?
    Probably not year round. I have a double layer hammock and have been using the HH reflectix insert that came with mine. During the summer I had to ditch the reflectix so I wouldn't get too hot with my sleeping bag. (I could have probably been without the bag instead, but it's just more comfy for me having a bag to put over myself.)
    Learning how to tie a couple knots never killed nobody. First ones I ever learned were pretty hard but they've kept my shoes on me for the better part of 45 years.
    -MrClean417

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