first impressions of the 5oz climashield apex.

so after finally talking a buddy of mine into replacing his hammock stand which his daughter broke last summer figured it would be the perfect opportunity for a test hang in the back yard (i'm an apartment dweller with no yard) perfect

he picked up one of these stands http://hatterashammocks.com/detail.p...00&pp=hammocks on the cheap think that it would work? you'd likely be wrong.

my setup:
grand trunk single
amsteel and sliding descender ring suspension
DIY 5oz apex TQ & UQ
8' x 10' flat tarp

lets start with the stand: brand spankin new out of the box set it up in the garage with his spreader bar hammock worked like a charm (as it should have) carted it out to the yard and attempted to hang my GT with SRL. easier said than done, with this style of stand the poles are somewhat 'loose' and so when you lay in the hammock after stringing it the two end pieces come together just a bit... by the time i was able to get the GT set so that my back end stayed of the ground when i got in the suspension and the SRL were in line with each other, less than ideal on top of that i wasnt able to get the correct amount of sag and it was too tight (with the correct sag i was sitting on the ground) ended up laying almost in line with hammock...

threw a tarp over the top, hung it from the same hooks as the hammock and as such it was very close and very flat...

went out and crawled in about 5am (working nights and the day time temps are higher than what i am looking to test days 50*+ wanting to test <40*) temp was 35* and using DIY TQ & UQ i was quite comfortable (temp wise) with the exception of the feet which were chilled. wearing cotton socks and should have been wearing wool or cold weather socks. mind that this was hours before my typical bedtime so i was wide awake unable to fall asleep or even nap.... laid there for close to two hours before calling it quits.

final thoughts, next test will have to be stealth down by the river using proper trees.........