View Full Version : Just ordered mine
east_stingray
04-19-2009, 11:58
I'm a long-time camper who is attempting to crawl out of the primordial ooze (ground camping) and up into the trees (hammocking). It might be surprising to you guys (it was to me) that I'm starting this experiment with what seems to be considered the "cadillac" of hammocks instead of something more entry-level.
My explanation for that is this: I have started many such endeavors (both in camping and otherwise) at the entry level, and what I have found is that I usually end up with about 4 or 5 versions of whatever piece of gear it is, and I only use one. Since the others are all entry level, I can't ever seem to get rid of them and I end up with a much higher cost.
I figured that this time around I'd just start at the top and save myself some time. I also reasoned that if, for whatever reason, this whole hammock thing doesn't work out for me and I have to slink back to my bivy, I can probably find someone on the forum who would love to take a fine piece of equipment off my hands.
Brandon has been very helpful, and answered all 2 billion of my emails promptly, so here I sit anxiously waiting to join the tree-hangers!
sir White Wolf
04-19-2009, 12:13
Welcome east_stingray
Welcome aboard. I don't think you could find a more helpful forum than this one. Plenty of ideas and articles to absorb, and hammockers tend to be more relaxed and helpful - probably because we get enough sleep. :)
I'm the one you were posting back and forth with at Trailspace, btw. ::waves::
east_stingray
04-19-2009, 13:03
::waves back:: Nice to see helpful people in both places.
I did the exact same thing for the exact same reason east stingray. I have nothing else to compare it to as the Blackbird was my first and only hammock, besides the other two I ordered for my kids. I have been totally pleased and have no regrets on starting with what I classify as the best hammock out there. You are gonna love it. Brandon must have the patience of a saint, as I also asked him 2 billion things on email. Now I have started wearing him out about the Yeti under quilt. Welcome to the forum and the Blackbird gang.
SoundWitness
04-19-2009, 19:55
ES, You have made a smart choice.........you will never regret it. The BB is the best thing out there IMHO. The craftmanship and the design are top notch. My other hammocks (shhhhhhhhhhh! My wife doesn't know about the 3 other hammocks I own) ;) remain in the bottom of my gear closet!!
Welcome to the BB club and the forum!
east_stingray
04-19-2009, 21:08
Since I've already sent brandon a zillion emails, I'll ask this to you guys... does he seam-seal his tarps? If not I need to round up some sealant.
warbonnetguy
04-19-2009, 23:47
the rl seam has edge binding covering it, i don't think they need seam sealing, and i haven't heard of anyone finding out the contrary.
east_stingray
04-20-2009, 07:02
Awesome. Thanks again, Brandon.
Cannibal
04-20-2009, 12:11
Welcome to the forum and the BB Gang! :thumbup1:
ky chris
04-21-2009, 16:57
Since I've already sent brandon a zillion emails, I'll ask this to you guys... does he seam-seal his tarps? If not I need to round up some sealant.
I was lucky enough to get to try my Mamba Jamba out in the rain this past weekend. It was a good steady rain for about 4-5 hours and I didn't find one drop of water on the inside. I really like my tarp, thanks Brandon!!!
Take-a-knee
04-21-2009, 17:28
Welcome to the forum and the BB Gang! :thumbup1:
Sadly I'm not yet a member of that gang.
Cannibal
04-21-2009, 17:30
Sadly I'm not yet a member of that gang.
Happily, there is a very easy solution. :D
Come on, everybody is doing it. :lol:
cavediver2
04-21-2009, 18:09
Happily, there is a very easy solution. :D
Come on, everybody is doing it. :lol:
Oh there you go Cannibal peer pressure get'sum every time. :)
east_stingray
04-21-2009, 18:16
I was lucky enough to get to try my Mamba Jamba out in the rain this past weekend. It was a good steady rain for about 4-5 hours and I didn't find one drop of water on the inside. I really like my tarp, thanks Brandon!!!
Good to know. Thanks for the update.
east_stingray
05-02-2009, 19:45
Well, brandon sent me the payment request today. You guys don't know me personally, but I'm convinced I could drive any sane person mad. I immediately decided that I wanted cordage included, so brandon had to re-do the payment request. Then, I saw that he had some prototype yeti quilts he was letting go of fairly cheap. So I had to have one of those too. Oh, and he got a new sil color in, so I had to bug him about seeing a picture of it... you get the idea (or if you don't, I can continue this in a PM, but you'll eventually go crazy).
This whole back and forth required about 63 emails. Brandon's going to need some propecia and rogaine after dealing with me :D
Multiply what you've put him through by a few hundred crazy hammockers and you'll probably feel (as we all do) that he qualifies for sainthood.:D
east_stingray
05-07-2009, 17:49
Everything came in today, and despite the high expectations the forum put in my mind for this gear, I was amazed at the (apparent) quality of all Brandon's gear. I say apparent because I don't even have two trees to my name and can't actually do any testing until I get on the trail starting sunday. I strung it up on the deck, but I didn't trust our deck railing to hold my weight.
I ordered a BB, a Mambajamba (in the new green/gray color... very cool), a yeti prototype, and a bunch of extras like cordage. Brandon went out of his way to make sure I had it before my float trip starting Sunday, which is awesome.
Props to Brandon on quality products and awesome customer service.
Seriously try to get out and hang with this before your trip, just so you don't have any surprises on the first night, and to work out any 'kinks' in your system.
Good choice, and welcome to the gang!
east_stingray
05-07-2009, 20:21
I did the best I could, but a real hang isn't going to happen. I have finals to finish, and then I still have to round up my gear. I spent too much time today making tarp tensioners anyway... plans have changed a little and I'm going to meet my parents Monday night to camp at the launch, then get up and go on tuesday. This will give the river more time to go down. So, I'm going to take all my ground stuff and try the hammock that first night when I still have access to my car.
If there are any little tidbits that I might not think of before leaving, feel free to share. I didn't get any instructions, but it all seems pretty straightforward. (and I DID remember to tie an overhand knot in the straps :D)
warbonnetguy
05-08-2009, 00:09
no instructions? must have forgotten, i'll email some
Anybody got a spare halo we can give to Brandon? Just ordered my BB, so now it's my turn to drive him crazy. :lol:
east_stingray
05-08-2009, 08:02
Seriously...I hope he's charging enough for this stuff to have a cush retirement!
Cannibal
05-08-2009, 09:00
Poor kid lives on turkey and PB sandwiches. :D
Actually, wanna know something funny? He's the only guy I know that makes a metric ton of gear a month, but doesn't have any of his own gear. It all goes out in the mail. Cracks me up every time I think about it. Maybe we should all pitch in and order him a Blackbird. :lol:
east_stingray
05-08-2009, 09:03
Wow, that's just... sad. Did WE do this to him?
Cannibal
05-08-2009, 09:12
Nah, he did it to himself. I keep telling him he's making his gear too good. Remember, he doesn't have to sell anything. But I sure am glad he does. I think I stole the only top quilt he had a couple of weeks ago when I needed a few more quilts than normal for a camp. :o
east_stingray
05-08-2009, 09:31
So is he doing this full time now, or is he chained to a cubicle in the daytime?
Cannibal
05-08-2009, 09:43
Have to ask him that one. I doubt he's working a day job right now because he's so busy getting ready for Trail Days. Besides, I think everyone is keeping him plenty busy these days. :shades:
Lorethian
05-08-2009, 10:53
I just ordered my BB and Yeti. Can't wait to see them. Now if I can get Brian to answer my email I plan on ordering a MacCat to go with my new setup.
east_stingray
05-08-2009, 10:59
Why pay shipping twice? Brandon's tarps are priced competitively with the MacCats, and I can tell you this tarp is the cat's meow. Plus, I can order doors from brandon later and make it into a winter shelter... they just snap right on. That's a huge plus for me, because I wasn't ready to fork out the extra money for a winter shelter, but this one is convertible back and forth... the doors snap off and you have a summer tarp!
Lorethian
05-08-2009, 11:05
I didn't know the doors could come off and on. I thought you had to order them on and that would add weight.
Brandon, could you comment on this please, because if it works this way I would like to add to my order.
Cannibal
05-08-2009, 11:09
Not Brandon, but I can confirm that he is selling his tarps with the option of removable doors. He is using a few (5, if I remember right) snaps on each door frame. The doors can just be snapped on or off based on your needs. Big Mamajama when the weather is nice, SuperFly when not so nice. Very cool design and nothing wrinkles or gaps open.
Pretty sure Sir White Wolf can chime in; his fancy black w/ red trim is a convertible model. Looked fantastic!
east_stingray
05-08-2009, 11:46
Lorethian... I can confirm it. The one I just ordered is like that, and I talked with Brandon at length about it. His one downfall amidst all his awesome gear is that some of it is not updated on the website. He just recently changed to removable doors, according to what he told me.
animalcontrol
05-08-2009, 11:47
Lorethian... I can confirm it. The one I just ordered is like that, and I talked with Brandon at length about it. His one downfall amidst all his awesome gear is that some of it is not updated on the website. He just recently changed to removable doors, according to what he told me.
interest offically peaked...
any other details you can share? weight? pricing?
east_stingray
05-08-2009, 12:07
Brandon charged me the same as the no-snaps Mambajamba ($110). I don't have a scale to weigh it, but he told me it was somewhere in the 16oz neighborhood. This is a new color of sil, so he doesn't have it listed on the site yet. It's a gray/green color... very stealthy, but not ugly. I really like it.
turtlelady
05-08-2009, 12:12
I also took the plunge this week, and ordered a Blackbird from Brandon, and a MacCat tarp from Brian. I'll get to know two nice fellows in this process, and spread the business around some. Can't wait to make all my adult kids jealous at the next family camp gathering :D It is hard to know what all the possibilities and prices are by looking at the websites alone. The cool folks at the recent TN hangout fielded most of my millions of questions. Well, the second million actually. Shadowmoss had endured my first million patiently over many months. She saved me the expense of buying all those entry level hammocks, tarps and straps by sharing the ones she had. This whole community is a joy!
Cannibal
05-08-2009, 12:12
It's a gray/green color... very stealthy, but not ugly. I really like it.
Pics, pics, pics!
I must know if this is something that I "just have to have".
Lorethian
05-08-2009, 12:21
I just emailed Brandon. I hope he reply's soon. Does anyone have pic's of this convertible tarp?
Cannibal
05-08-2009, 12:25
I emailed Sir White Wolf some pics of his, maybe he'll post them if east stingray doesn't have any yet.
Now if I can get Brian to answer my email I plan on ordering a MacCat to go with my new setup.
Brian is probably dealing with finals - he will respond.
It's a gray/green color... very stealthy, but not ugly. I really like it.
Pics would be nice <hint..hint>.
Sounds like something I would be interested in, as well.
animalcontrol
05-08-2009, 12:48
Brandon charged me the same as the no-snaps Mambajamba ($110). I don't have a scale to weigh it, but he told me it was somewhere in the 16oz neighborhood. This is a new color of sil, so he doesn't have it listed on the site yet. It's a gray/green color... very stealthy, but not ugly. I really like it.
a stealthy, lightweight convertible Mambajamba?
no, no interest here...;)
Lorethian
05-08-2009, 13:44
OMG somebody post some pic's on this bad boy PLEASE!
east_stingray
05-08-2009, 16:02
Holy crap, sorry... sorry! I didn't know you guys were festering in this thread. I was busy taking MY LAST FINAL OF MEDICAL SCHOOL! WOOHOO!
I'm heading out to the driveway to take pics now...
east_stingray
05-08-2009, 16:23
Forewarning... there is one tree on my block, and it's officially in my neighbor's yard. I had to string this thing up next to my car, snap some pics, and take it down before I got caught. The neighbors are not nice :(
So, I couldn't even stake out the sides (plus my car was in the way anyhow).
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f19/east_stingray/100_0904.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f19/east_stingray/100_0906.jpg
Cannibal
05-08-2009, 16:38
That's a good color! I gotta hide my credit card from myself. :(
warbonnetguy
05-08-2009, 18:34
yes, superfly's now have removeable doors via button snaps, i'm very pleased at how well they work and think they will add alot of versatility to the item. i will have some at td's along with a couple smaller sized tarps (3 season size and a summerish size) and the 3 season yetis', come by and check them out.
i think i might call this color "slate green", someone (cannibal?) mentioned that color earlier and i think that's a good description, was also considering "greyeen" (yes i came up with that on my own), what do you guys think?