Rain Test

**CanadaEast** · 04-22-2008, 17:07

Time for my 1st rain test...a bit daunting as they're calling for near freezing temps (hopefully no freezing rain). Everything is stock hh so I hope I don't have problems others have mentionned with the tarp. I will try a sleeping bag as a quilt as many have suggested. Will advise if I'm dry in the morning....

**Shug** · 04-22-2008, 17:18

Yeah CE! Go for it and sleep soundly whilst swaying. Gonna hang outside myself tonight .... rain last night, dry tonight.
Hope you awaken dry and rested.
Shug

**CanadaEast** · 04-22-2008, 19:51

thanks Shug...good to see there are other midweek hangers...I'll be going out as soon as the Hockey game is done...Philly vs Washington...game 7....I know I know..its weird...a Canadian who's a Philly fan.

**Grinder** · 04-22-2008, 19:58

I had a good rain myself while hanging in south east Tennessee (Tellico Plains) last Friday night.

Rain was expected, so I hung my homemade near the ground and rigged my Sportsman's Guide tarp in close, staking one tie off back from the corner (like a McCat tarp)

When the storm came through, the tarp flapped around a LOT, but stayed in place.

After things settled down to a quiet steady rain, it was great. No leaks, no misting inside.

miles of smiles
Tom

**Shug** · 04-22-2008, 20:03

After things settled down to a quiet steady rain, it was great. No leaks, no misting inside.

miles of smiles
Tom

Yeah, nothing like a night out dozing in the rain. I really enjoy that, especially when you are dry and warm.

**BillyBob58** · 04-22-2008, 20:40

Originally Posted by CanadaEast

Time for my 1st rain test...a bit daunting as they're calling for near freezing temps (hopefully no freezing rain). Everything is stock hh so I hope I don't have problems others have mentionned with the tarp. I will try a sleeping bag as a quilt as many have suggested. Will advise if I'm dry in the morning....

Are you going to hang that small tarp from the trees? If so, hang your hammock high with as much angle on the ropes as you can manage, as opposed to pulling your ridge line super tight and straight. I think you will get less sag that way, and minimal sag is the name of the game if you are tied to the trees with that mini-tarp! That can be a challenge with any tarp, but with this tiny tarp it is critical that, after you are in the hammock, you are near the tarp ridge line- that is, the tarp and hammock RL are within a couple of inches of each other AFTER you are in. If you find yourself a foot or more below the tarp, you will probably get wet, IMO. Unless the rain only falls gently straight down.

If you use it exactly as directed by HH, you are ( IMO ) more likely to stay dry, BUT you may have trouble with the tarp flapping in the wind. Search for recent directions here on how to hang that HH tarp correctly, with some pre-sag ( down ward pressure on the HH RL by the tarp) added before tightening up the prussicks, and preferably some bungees stretched tight.

Good luck and have fun! More than a few have stayed dry thru a deluge with the stock set up, but it is a bit tricky.

**slowhike** · 04-22-2008, 20:48

yep, i hope you've read BB's post before heading out for the night & tied the tarp to the trees instead of clipping it to the HH.

**CanadaEast** · 04-22-2008, 21:36

Woohoooooo...Flyers win in overtime 3-2.....time to go hang..

Originally Posted by BillyBob58

Are you going to hang that small tarp from the trees? If so, hang your hammock high with as much angle on the ropes as you can manage, as opposed to pulling your ridge line super tight and straight. I think you will get less sag that way, and minimal sag is the name of the game if you are tied to the trees with that mini-tarp! That can be a challenge wi-th any tarp, but with this tiny tarp it is critical that, after you are in the hammock, you are near the tarp ridge line- that is, the tarp and hammock RL are within a couple of inches of each other AFTER you are in. If you find yourself a foot or more below the tarp, you will probably get wet, IMO. Unless the rain only falls gently straight down.

If you use it exactly as directed by HH, you are ( IMO ) more likely to stay dry, BUT you may have trouble with the tarp flapping in the wind. Search for recent directions here on how to hang that HH tarp correctly, with some pre-sag ( down ward pressure on the HH RL by the tarp) added before tightening up the prussicks, and preferably some bungees stretched tight.

Good luck and have fun! More than a few have stayed dry thru a deluge with the stock set up, but it is a bit tricky.

Crap...wish I had read this earlier....too late to change the setup now...I don't think that it'll rain too hard...plus the house is just a couple of hundred feet away. My biggest worry is that one of my neighbours spots me walking out of the wood at 4:00am and freaks out... no telling how they'd react...I do live in the country.

**Iafte** · 04-23-2008, 06:21

Originally Posted by CanadaEast

Woohoooooo...Flyers win in overtime 3-2.....time to go hang..

Woohoo is right. I was listening the game while I was working on the tarp I need to make for this weekend, I got the cuts done but didn't want to sew during overtime so I have to sew it tonight.

I hope you had a nice hang last night.