Pacific Northwest Hammock Suggestions?

[jkm25]

Hey everybody,

I'm new here but I've done some camping in an ENO double nest and enjoyed it enough that I'd like to upgrade. I'll be moving to Salem OR for a new job soon so I will be spending time at the coast as well as the mountains. I'm leaning toward Hennessy since they're a well respected brand and I like that things sort of come as a kit... plus they offer a pro deal discount ;). I am open to other suggestions though if you folks have strong feelings.

To start out I'll probably just be using a sleeping bag and pad but I'd like to go with an UQ at least in the future because the pad was a bit annoying in the ENO. I'm thinking of the Explorer Ultralite Zip. I'm 6 ft 3 and I don't really like the idea of the bottom entry. Am I right in thinking that the double bottom models + pad might have more condensation issues in the ultra humid PNW than the single bottom + UQ?

Also, although I generally won't plan trips when its going to be crazy stormy I'm wondering what sort of tarp would be the best bet. I know that I would want a bigger one than comes with the hammock, but I wonder if something like the Typhoon rainfly would make more sense than a larger rainfly. I generally like the openness of the hammock so I'm not super into the Typhoon but if its a much better option then I would think about it.

I will mostly be using the hammock for car camping until I get more comfortable with the area to know if backpacking trips would have trees available, but I would like to backpack with the hammock eventually. Hopefully this all makes sense, let me know if I'm way off base anywhere!

Thanks for the help and I'm glad to be a member here, you guys have a crazy amount of info/experience.

Forgot to mention, this will most likely be for 3 season camping, although adaptability for all 4 would be a plus.

[Phantom Grappler]

Go to a group hang if possible
Buy once, cry once
If you have enough money get underquilt and top quilt and skip pad and skip double layer hammock
Get a single layer hammock at least 11 feet long and at least 5 feet wide.
After that you will know your minimum tarp ridge line length, about same length as your hammock—never shorter.
Talk to your cottage vendors and get their advice for system that you will like.
To avoid an enclosed feeling, set up in porch mode.

Watch Shug’s ten part videos on How to hang a hammock, tarp underquilt etc.

Welcome from Denton NC

Our trees are bigger than your [emoji268] trees LOL


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[leiavoia]

PNW is not terribly humid. It just drizzles a lot in the wet season. Quite dry in the summer.

Most of the rain here is light and constant, not sideways. So a simple hex tarp will do. You only need something more advanced if you plan to spend significant amount of daytime under it.

Of course there are trees here! The only time there are no trees is above timberline or out in far eastern desert.

I also recommend you skip the Hennessy and pad and go straight for integrated hammock and underquilt. Check the local vendors on this forum. You can make due with the sleeping bag as is.

[Immortalviking]

I live in BC. It gets muggy here in the summer.
My first outting in my Superfly and BBXLC was in a torrential downpour. Stayed nice and dry minus some little drips in a pull out my sealent didnt get.
I just ordered an underquilt. I couldnt stand the constant shifting of the pad( and i had a double layer). If you can afford the UQ, do it right off the bat. At best, I think you'll tolerate the pad.

[jkm25]

Thanks for the input folks. After looking into it I think I like the Warbonnet BB XLC. Are there any cheaper options for UQs besides their wookie or should I just bite the bullet? In the same vein, are their tarps a good buy or should I look into any other companies?

[Tyroler Holzhacker]

There are certainly other cottage vendors to check out. Dutchware Gear, Hammock Gear, Underground Quilts, ArrowHead Equipment, Wilderness Logistics, Simply Light Designs, Loco Libre gear, enlightened equipment to name a few.

[leiavoia]

The Wookie would be considered a premium quilt and there are certainly cheaper options. I would look into a Hammock Gear Econ quilt if I were doing it all over again. If money is really tight you might look into one of the Costco quilt hacks like the Gemini.

None of this advice is PNW specific however. You won’t need anything lower than 20 degree rated in most of the places you can go here. Tarp size is mostly a matter of preference unless you plan to be out in the snow. Like I mentioned earlier, i’ve Used nothing but a Warbonnet Edge hex tarp for several seasons and have not had problems.

[IRONFISH45]

I started with the ENO double nest. Moved to Hennessy, tried three models, none of which were comfortable. Then to a British hammock. Now I have a Thunderbird by Dream Hammock, Blackbird and a Ridgerunner. My daughter owns a Simply Light Design's hammock and a Switchback.

Buy once does not fit most of us for a few reasons.
- New design's keep appearing.
- We as Hanger's evolve/refing our taste in what we enjoy have changed over time.
- Curiosity.
Things like which direction we prefer our head. I like my head to the right my feet to the left. Heenessy was not comfortable because it is right lay - head left feet to the right".

I am short & prefer the shorter hammocks, orher members want the largest hammock available. Personal experience is the determining factor.

I started with a sheep skin under me, tried a pad, made a UQ, then purchased.

I spend most of my hang time in Oregon, mostly on the coast.

I have weathered a few major storms with my Hennessy and the stock tarp. There is a definate learning curve with the Hennessy tarp.

So many choices, it all depends on your personal choice. I build my own tarps so I now have exactly what I want.

I use a 20° F UQ year around, however I sleep really on the cold side. My TQ varies with were I will be Hanging.

In a lot of places long hammocks are difficult to find trees the right distance apart, I also have a problem reaching high enough to put up the rigging on hills when using my Bridge hammock.

[Chesapeake]

My first " real" hammock was the Henessy Expedition bottom entry and I got the Typhoon fly with it. The difference between that system and the cheap Wal-Mart Equip bug net hammock + 10×10 Snugpak tarp I had been using was night and day. I had virtually 100% protection from the thousands of spiders and millions of mosquitos I have and the Tyhoon did great in some pretty nasty summer storms here on the Chesapeake bay. However, while the Typhoon is sized for the larger Explorer, Monsoon for the smaller Expedition and I had more room than I would have had since I got the larger Typhoon with my smaller Expedition, It was still pretty tight inside if I had it in storm more with the blast panels on. Both tarps have some pretty neat features that, since I was still fairly new to hammocks, made things a little easier and more forgiving. Both the hammock and fly are built with super robust materials that at first I really liked, eventually made me want to move on and up. At 5'7" I was fairly comfy in the hammock but felt that the thicker than " normal" bug netting and hammock body made it very dark inside it seemed and kinda stuffy when the temps got higher. All in all its a great beginners hammock I think though and perfect for someone who is still figuring out what they like and all the nuances, tricks and techniques of hammocks.

As far as an UQ goes, at first I used my Snugpak UQ with the HH and it fits/works perfectly, even with the bottom entry I had. From there I added a Jacks R Better Winter Nest to get me through the winter. I ultimately sold it after 3 months or so for a HG Dutch Edition 0° Incubator, and soon after that sold the HH/ Typhoon for my XLC and Wilderness Logics 11' Old Man Winter tarp. Now I'm using a diy 11' netless argon hammock, the old man winter or my Warbonnet XL sock and HG minus 10° Incubator/Burrow for winter.... For fall I use my XLC, old man winter, HG 40° Econ Burrow zip or 40° overstuffed CDT TQ + overstuffed CDT UQ and in the spring /summer I use my Snugpak UQ, TQ, Cocoon, jungle blanket , ¾ length diy jungle blanket UQ and 10×10 tarp. I've also got other more budget type quilts, but really don't use them much. Here's a link to my YouTube channel , I have reviews on most of the gear I just listed as well as a few informational / how to videos as well : https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCdlR64khg0auvnVhQ3zRTNQ . Good luck !

[mcbpdx]

Oregon native here - plenty of trees to choose from, just make sure you get long tree straps. ;-)

Get the quilt, you won’t regret it. The Arrowhead Equipment Long River is a great synthetic underquilt for a great price. The Hammock Gear Econ Incubator is another great option for a bit more $.

I use a Hennessy Hex tarp for most of the year but also have a Superfly for when camping in the snow or if I expect a lot of rain. It almost always come straight down so I wouldn’t worry about a huge tarp until you need one.

Definitely come out for a group hang when you move here, you’ll love it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Immortalviking]

I also have XLCs and just bought a HG Econ 0* which i will hopefully be able to try this weekend.
As much as i want a Wookie, i wanted something i could throw under any other hammock i buy in the future and let my kids use regardless of their position of lay.

[mcbpdx]

I also have XLCs and just bought a HG Econ 0* which i will hopefully be able to try this weekend.
As much as i want a Wookie, i wanted something i could throw under any other hammock i buy in the future and let my kids use regardless of their position of lay.

I’m 99% sure that the Wookiee can be used on any gathered end hammock.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hiker Boy]

In the PNW the hammock is not as important as the tarp. If you have good coverage from the weather, any hammock you feel comfortable in should work. Humidity is only a factor for me when I camp by the ocean in the winter.

[LTMillar]

I've been comfortable in my Bear Butt, and my DIY tablecloth, but my best comfort has been in one of my Dutchwaregear hammocks (I've netless and a Chameleon).
I have a bunch of different tarps but my go-to has become a Superfly as I only want to get wet when it's intentional (however, since my son has gotten into hammocking I've contracted a supertarp that will be for us to tandem hang (14'x12')).

[cougarmeat]

Of course you can spend more money - get more/better stuff - but there is nothing wrong with starting out with Hennessy (many of us here have) and learning with it before moving up.

As far as condensation, that has more to do with temperatures and what you are using for bottom insulation rather than single or double layer. In my first year I used the Hennessy Explorer with a UQP (under quilt protector) and a therm-a-rest in the UQP; I was fine and warm in the summer.

Sometimes, amazing but true, there are no desirable trees. In that case, you can go to ground with your pad, sleeping bag, and tarp. Note that when starting out, a sleeping bag, unzipped about 4/5ths of the way down, can work like a top quilt. If it is buggy, you can put your hammock on the ground sheet, tie up the bug net on the (hiking poles) poles used for the tarp, and use the hammock as a bivi bag.

I had a typhoon and monsoon and they taught me the benefit of "doors" when the tree arrangement required that I hang parallel to the wind. Also, the wind/blowing rain direction can change. The Hennessy doors are removable so you can keep thing open if you are sure about the weather. I like a larger tarp because when it is raining, I like a larger dry area than just the minimum to cover the hammock.

There are videos showing how to change out the line (cord) suspension attached to the Hennessy, but you don't need to do that to get away from that ridiculous knot the instructions show. The biggest problem is, you will find there is usually a few adjustments to make after the hammock is up. You may want to raise or lower it on the tree. So you don't want to mess with a complicated knot. You can find YouTube videos showing how to use two climbing repel rings with the cord so you can easily adjust the hammock and the rings pinch the line tight. You can add a small half hitch for security. The point is, you can put webbing around the tree held with a carabiner that also holds the two repel rings. It is very easy to move that up/down the tree as desired and to adjust that hammock angle.

Finally, that "hole" entry is just fine. No zippers to mess with. You need to get up in the middle of the night - just press with your legs to open the velcro, put your feet down, sit up/stand up, pull the hammock over your head. Reverse to get back in. No fumbling with zipper pulls. In truth, all my hammocks now have zippers (or I'd use a separate bug net that has a zipper) but that's because of popular manufacturing demand.

I do have a few bug nets that are not completely zipper closed. The first time I tried one, my hiking partner tried it out and was unhappy when the bees come inside the net. There are threads about the cleverness of insect critters getting inside these "semi-open" nets. I'm sure with proper attention, they can be secure. But a built-in net or fill zipper closed net is pretty fool proof.

One PNW consideration is the size of threes. They are usually larger than you see in most How-To videos. If I don't know the area, I carry what would be considered "extra long" suspension straps to go around the trees. But if you are hiking high, near the tree line, of course they will be thinner than the usually Ponderosa Pines and "pedestrian" elevations.

Once you are done with your Hennessy, you can sell it on the forum here. But better to keep it for any friends that what to go adventuring with you and want to try a hammock.