Hi all:
I finally got around to my first hang in my Claytor over the weekend. Having read all of the posts re: the stock straps, I thought I had come up with the perfect solution: since I am also a kayaker, I decided that my Yakima kayak straps would be an ideal (read: cheap) replacement for the stock Claytor straps. I simply threaded the tag ends through the hammock, wrapped the buckle around the tree, tightened everything up, and tied the tag ends around everything to create a drip loop. The weatherman was calling for scattered showers all weekend, and it was looking like rain as I was setting up, so I was moving fast and didn't have much of a chance for tweaking. Anyway, the "scattered showers" soon turned into a pretty strong thunderstorm with lots of wind, which I rode out in relative comfort inside the hammock. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before I started to get some water wicking into the ends--while the kayak straps might have been better than the stock straps, my system did not completely eliminate the wicking/stretching problem, so I think I will try the short strap in the hammock with the biner/ring setup that others have recommended.
Beyond the water troubles, I seem to have not had the hammock centered, as I was sliding toward the foot end and could not quite manage to find the sweet spot. Again, not having much time to tweak my setup, I think I did not have enought sag.
All in all, I slept okay, and found that, with care, I could actually change clothes inside, and it was very enjoyable to watch the mosquitoes get frustrated for a change!
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