New JH: Any adjustments?

[Kshatriya]

I've got my first hammock, a Claytor JH, and I've been playing around to get used to it. I'm inexperienced with hammocks, and camping in general, but I'm about to take a month-long trip and this hammock is going to be my main source of shelter.

I see that a lot of people substitute different suspension systems and other things. I barely even understand the stock setup, but I want to know if there are any improvements I should make before my trip. If there are, could they be explained in layman's terms for a beginner?

[ame]

It's pretty simple really. You need a rope at each end of the hammock which is strong enough to take the load. The rest is just gravy.

Picture yourself arriving at the site, and imagine what you must do to set up the hammock. Then think about how it could be done quicker or easier. Even a simple idea such as stowing the hammock and tarp in two separate bags might be enough to make things easier for you (the two bags means the tarp won't get tangled with the hammock, and a wet tarp won't make the hammock wet).

There are three immediate disadvantages of the stock straps I can think of, but they do work and they are adequate.

* They are fiddly to tie and adjust
* They stretch overnight
* You need to add a drip string to reduce the amount of water that comes into the hammock ends if it rains

Just Jeff's descender ring system is pretty cool, and well documented on his site (tothewoods.net). I converted mine (Claytor JH) and added my own mods to the tarp lines to make the whole process of setting up quicker and easier. *However* I've only slept in the hammock once, and I've only had a couple of other practice runs. The solution to "which improvements do I need?" is practice, practice, practice. To be honest, if you changed the stock straps today you'd be no better off until you tried it a few times. Every time you set it up you'll get faster, and you'll often think of small changes and modifications you can do, but if someone told you all the hints and tips now they'd be useless to you until you've seen the application for yourself.

Hanging in the back yard before your trip is the best way to get a head start (but might lead to strange comments from family and friends...)

Good luck, and have fun!

A

[Narwhalin]

The reason most of us switch our suspension is to make it easier to center under the tarp. What happens is you think you have it centered, but you don't. Then, you have to untie and re-tie knots which can be avoided by using ring buckles (http://tothewoods.net/HomemadeGearRi...eSupports.html) or cinch buckles(http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ighlight=cinch).

Good luck to you!