Video: Hang-n-Out Dirigible

[MedicineMan]

Wisenber,
What did you think of using the SMA (shug moisture absorber) when in winter and the sock is fully battened down. I've got to try it when the time comes. Won't hurt and a 4x6 inch piece of generic shamwow won't weigh too much.
Seems like Shug had it attached to the ridgeline with a cord, maybe bungie, and then clipped somehow to his top quilt right in front of his face.
Any one know how much moisture the typical (not me or Wisenber!)sleeper puts out exhaling and sweating? Vague memory says exhaling roughly a pint at night....

[Mule]

I once made a sock that had a vent above my head, and a nylon fabrid TUBE that hung over my face to channel away the condensation. Did it work? Yes, but I couldn't stand the tube over my head. It got wet itself and froze, and my face was cold compared to the rest of me. Well, live and learn.

[photohiker]

Impressive innovation there MM and HO.

Would this work for a Bridge Hammock?

[MedicineMan]

my first response was no.....but best to ask Hangnout about that since he actually uses his bridge hammocks.
Note that Warbonnet has recently released a hammock sock of their own that is specifically designed for the Warbonnet Ridge Runner bridge.
Not to say a w/b cuben sock could not be made for a bridge....bet it would eat up some expensive material though.

[FLRider]

my first response was no.....but best to ask Hangnout about that since he actually uses his bridge hammocks.
Note that Warbonnet has recently released a hammock sock of their own that is specifically designed for the Warbonnet Ridge Runner bridge.
Not to say a w/b cuben sock could not be made for a bridge....bet it would eat up some expensive material though.

The prototyping cost on that makes me nauseous thinking about it......

Interesting system there, MM. Thanks for sharing with us! It certainly does seem to speed up the in-camp process, and it looks like it'd be very good for at least three-season use.

[MedicineMan]

thanks man....I'm just hoping one of those 3 season is winter!
Really when its in the mid 80s and up to me it doesn't matter if I get a little wet but when its really cold being able to get the house up quickly can matter.
When its deep cold then any sock will do, the precip will be solid and just slide off. Saw this with my MacIX Hammock Sock and loved it. Love that sock so much I wanted year round use so I would not have to fool with setting up a tarp.
At this point I'm calling the Dirigible a big success. The Graf to follow is only improving a solid design. Just this week it was pointed out to me that the Graf will advance the art even further=the ability to go to ground in tent mode and not just bivi mode. Not that I want to but just another option.

[FLRider]

thanks man....I'm just hoping one of those 3 season is winter!
Really when its in the mid 80s and up to me it doesn't matter if I get a little wet but when its really cold being able to get the house up quickly can matter.
When its deep cold then any sock will do, the precip will be solid and just slide off. Saw this with my MacIX Hammock Sock and loved it. Love that sock so much I wanted year round use so I would not have to fool with setting up a tarp.
At this point I'm calling the Dirigible a big success. The Graf to follow is only improving a solid design. Just this week it was pointed out to me that the Graf will advance the art even further=the ability to go to ground in tent mode and not just bivi mode. Not that I want to but just another option.

Yep. Winter was one of the three seasons I was talking about. Sorry if it wasn't clear; that post was written Before Coffee.

The only thing that I would dislike is not having a sheltered place for hanging out while camping the way that a regular tarp can provide. Which is the same problem I have with a t**t, now that I think about it. You're either enclosed or wet (or often both, with the aforementioned four-letter word).

Which isn't much of an issue on long days spent on the trail or in the saddle, but might be an issue if I was to do shorter hikes or rides and spend more time in camp.

Been playing with my own modular system for the last little bit, and I think I've got the summer configuration down pretty good; it doesn't offer much extra in the way of coverage when not in the hammock, but my Fall/Spring configuration will. Not as simple to set up, though. It still requires two guyouts right now, and the tarp is set up separately from the hammock (which can be a pain in the wet, since it's such a minimalist tarp). Trying to figure out a good way to set up a larger tarp with minimal hassle, too...I think Mule might have a great idea there...gonna play with it some...

What I'm really looking at, though, is the Winter configuration. Much of that is going to be predicated on an overcover/undercover system similar to a sock, and I'm starting to look around for ideas. This is a good one, if a little out of my price range (wish I could afford the WP/B Cuben, for certain). Hope to have the first prototypes ready to go by mid-Fall, so that I don't miss out on the whole two weeks (insert Total Recall reference here) of winter that we get down here.

[MedicineMan]

you must have missed the tarp portion in the video.
The tarp allows plenty of room for two to get under and cook without swinging the hammock out of the way.
We've decided to cut down the tarp portion in the second gen, the Dirigible had not too much room but more than was needed. If perchance there is a tree behind the hammock/sock its easy to use a cord or bungie to tug it out of the way adding another foot or two.
The Dirigible can easily have the tarp portion in porch mode or in full battened down mode with the tarp portion fully against that side of the hammock.
Not best of both worlds but def. room to sit and cook right beside the rig in the dry.

[FLRider]

you must have missed the tarp portion in the video.
The tarp allows plenty of room for two to get under and cook without swinging the hammock out of the way.
We've decided to cut down the tarp portion in the second gen, the Dirigible had not too much room but more than was needed. If perchance there is a tree behind the hammock/sock its easy to use a cord or bungie to tug it out of the way adding another foot or two.
The Dirigible can easily have the tarp portion in porch mode or in full battened down mode with the tarp portion fully against that side of the hammock.
Not best of both worlds but def. room to sit and cook right beside the rig in the dry.

Ach, sorry. Went back and re-watched it. I'm an idiot. Sorry about that. Looks like a great compromise between coverage and use of set up.

[mrmike65]

I can see where one would want a tarp to be taut because a tarp protects best when it's not drooping and waving around. That, and you don't neccesarily want a tarp touching your hammock. But a sock isn't a tarp, I see it as weatherproof clothing for my hammock. I found maintaining that a sock is like a hanging bivy - not a hanging tent - went a long way to clearing up my goals in designing and using what I have.

My sock sheds water whether it's staked out or not. If it's not staked out, I can sometimes feel the rain hitting the sock. It freaked me out the first time for about 30 seconds, but when I realized that I was staying dry, I went back to sleep and never looked back.

That being said, I do like to have a tight ridgeline above me. It provides the little bit of structure that I want to keep the bug net/top directly off me and to hang things from.

.

and that is a mighty fine looking ORGANIZED garage.
I'm glad you've got it down in connecting the tarp to your suspension and not getting tarp sag. With the Dirigible there is sag, just part of it...now much but for those demanding a super taught ridgeline overhead, well it isn't there.
On the Graf the ridgeline will be capable of much taughter pitch, even going to the trees if you want for a super tight ridgeline.
I wonder though if you close down your tarp down close to all sides of the hammock wont you get condensation since its cuben?
Your set up time/break down is what I was after all along, that and the loss of the spagetti bowl of cords.