SuperShelter pseudo-tests

[elcolombianito]

Just wanted to give a small report since Ive been using the SS in my room the past 5 nights (temps according to my therm are normally 55-60 F with the window closed, I always sleep with the window completely open, but I dunno why I always forget to check how much the temps change with its open) and I am very happy: it met my expectations, and is actually better than I thought. I had planned a trip with my smallest sister to test it outdoors but she got sick (no, not swine flu, thankgod), so the real test will have to wait a bit more.

First setup was not difficult at all, and i did it alone! This might have been thanks to all the info already available on the subject, though it should be noted that I followed the instructions exactly as they are on the supershelter stuff sack -using the extra glove hooks and such. Only extra info used was the "more horizontal less vertical" tip for the tie outs. The OFC pad is removed when i need to get the hammock of the way, and this is also much easier than I thought.

No condensation problems so far, even thought I have not used the heatsheet, which is in its box, brand new. Only using Undercover, Underpad, cotton boxer, cotton tshirt, and a very thin fleece blanket. The first night I used a 40F bag but i was melting in my hammock 10 min after getting in, so i tried the blanket and its working great.

I do have problems getting in since i feel it always is a bit more of pad to my right than my left so after I hope in, i have to stick my hand out the slit to adjust the pad better under me, even thought its really not necessary... I just need to feel i am perfectly positioned with the pad. It should be noted that since my room is very small, I can't really hang my hammock with the right ridgeline tension or put the tie outs high enough.

Besides from this, no problems. If its worth anything for people looking into buying the HH system, even good reports here make make it seem way more difficult and problematic than what I encountered, so please try it first, it is worth it IMO. Much much better than using a pad in the hammock....

I obviously need to test it under real circumstances to have a better criterion. Till then, Good hanging fellow hammockers...

[BillyBob58]

Great, keep the reports coming as you get it out in the field! I'm surprised you have had no condensation if not using a psace blanket, but I have also got away with that once or twice maybe. But, another time I got wet in the foot of the hammock, but that was under really high humidity and temps hi 40s to lo 50s. Just be careful adjusting that fragile pad!

Also, glad to hear it was so easy for you to set up, good to hear that for a change! I think RamRev had an easy time 1st time out also. Sadly, my 1st time was a fiasco, but I could set it up in my sleep ( or in the dark) now. Although, there really isn't much to set up any more, as I just leave it all together in a big stuff sack.

It's really a pretty good set up, don't you think? I mean, considering price and weight and rain/wind protection and such. It might not be the best/lightest/warmest or most compact solution for all folks, but it's still a pretty good one for a lot of HH users.

[elcolombianito]

I'm surprised you have had no condensation if not using a psace blanket, but I have also got away with that once or twice maybe. But, another time I got wet in the foot of the hammock, but that was under really high humidity and temps hi 40s to lo 50s.

Believe me... I'm the one most surprised with the no-condensation, specially since i sweat a lot while sleeping no matter on what or where (bed, hammock, pad, hot temps, cold temps and because of my sweating issue I almost didn't buy this system... i definitely don't regret it, besides, got a free expedition and snakeskins with the supershelter order, so my setup is all brand new.



Sadly, my 1st time was a fiasco, but I could set it up in my sleep ( or in the dark) now.

Important thing is you didn't give up... THANK YOU.



It's really a pretty good set up, don't you think? I mean, considering price and weight and rain/wind protection and such. It might not be the best/lightest/warmest or most compact solution for all folks, but it's still a pretty good one for a lot of HH users.

IMO, Its the BEST. It meets all my needs, and as Cannibal says, thats whats important. I must confess I dream with a JRB UQ... its a luxury i could afford in terms of money, but I have to consider other stuff beside that, like for example delivery in my country (it sucks, things either get here damaged or don't ever arrive), extra fees in my country (which sometimes even triples the price, and thats not fair, IMO an UQ can't be worth even twice what it already is, or can it?) and those typical what-if-i-get-robed or some-law-enforcement-dude-falls-inlove-with it and takes it away (yeah, lost a really nice leahterman mutli tool to an airport security chump, and my hennessy has been in danger of being taken away many times by the military because of the supposedly unusable by civilians color it has).

Any way, IM TOO HAPPY WITH MY SUPERSHELTER... im so happy, im gonna go now and give it a hug......... ok, done, it says hi... :P.

[kwpapke]

IMO, Its the BEST. It meets all my needs, and as Cannibal says, thats whats important. I must confess I dream with a JRB UQGreat report elcolombito. I feel pretty much the same way -- I'd love to have a JRB quilt, but I just can't justify the purchase when the SS works so well. Even if I did buy one, on many trips I'd still stick with the SS because it is so robust in wet conditions where a wet down quilt would be a liability.

Look forward to your field reports.

--Kurt

[Ramblinrev]

I'm waiting for the Big Brown Truck to arrive with my torso and kidney pads. Should be here this morning... :) Then I'll have to play around and test the gear. Good excuse for a nap.

[elcolombianito]

Okay, after seeing the AMK heatsheet nicely packed for more than a week on my desk, I decided to open it and add it to the SS. I must say its really nice piece of gear. Easy to handle and very strong for such a thin material, and not noisy at all, the undercover makes more noise.
It definitely adds a lot a warmth, so much, im now not using a fleece blanket for top side, but a very thin cotton blanket only for the bottom part of my body to not feel so exposed.

Pros an cons of adding the heatsheet to the system so far:
Pros: adds warmth to the system, and in the outdoors might have other uses, like in emergencies. If you wrap the ocf pad with it, is make it slippery so its easier to adjust once your in the hammock.

Cons (kindof): i was hoping i could uses the snakeskins to pack the hammock and undercover,, and stock tarp together, keeping the ocf pad and heatsheet separate. Had to ditch that idea, and now it will all go stuffed in a big stuff sack (bishop sack a s soon as I get my sewing machine back form an aunt), with out the stock tarp. I can easily get it compressed so it fits in the bottom compartment of my back pack were i used to put my sheltering gear (hammock, tarps, straps, etc). Now the tarp and straps have to go in another place, maybe the straps would fit if i compress the big sack more but i rather not.

BIG CON: My loved HH is becoming a PITA! And these are indoor tests, Im not sure how it will do outdoors... The feeling that i should have gotten an UQ instead of the SS is growing by the day. Yes the SuperShelter works, but it has taken away most of the simplicity I loved about my HH. Im actually even considering of spending my Aarn backpack money on a double layer BackBird... I can't believe Im saying this... OH LORD...

[Chris.Biomed]

join us Luke, join the blackbird side :)

[Ramblinrev]

My explorer UL fits into #4 snakeskins quite easily. I carry the foam and the heat sheet apart.

[elcolombianito]

Ramblinrev... I know it fits, and that's how i had been doing: took the ocf pad on and off, and snakeskinned the fly+hammock+undercover... I love the snakeskins.
But since i started using the heatsheet, I found it simpler to leave it all setup and stuff it as it is in a big bag, then compress it into the bottom compartment of my backpack. This way it just pops out of the sack already setup with ocf pad and heatsheet on their place, only need to tie the guy outs at proper level. The stock fly i just ditched it cuz the hex really does a good job, no need for the extra weight. People just luv when I pull off the skins and everything is already there, so im a showoff... :)

Chris... I will join you fellows, some day.. I just thought that day would be very very far away in my future. Now it seems so close... or maybe ill just add a zipper to my HH's bugnetting... :confused: Either way is difficult for me... a BB is expensive, and 2Q's zipper mod might turn just as expensive including shipping and handling fees.

I will give the HH 4 season setup a good chance though, it deserves it. If it keeps being a PITA Im gonna try to DIY zipper mod on my old hh and then try it on my new HH which has the SS. Still, im scared of this mod, im not to good at sewing, but im sure this would get rid of most of the issues one faces with the bottom entry of the HH's. If none of this works, BlackBird it is!

[Ramblinrev]

I must confess I don't understand what you are saying about the heat sheet. I roll the heat sheet up with the pads and put the whole wad in a stuff sack. I do have to rearrange things when I set up... but I figure I would have to do that to some extent even if I shoved everything together in one stuff sack.

Of course I am committed to the HH for reasons other than its simoplicity and frankly find the SS to be far simpler than having to much around with underquilts every time I set up and tear down.

[Chris.Biomed]

Chris... I will join you fellows, some day.. I just thought that day would be very very far away in my future. Now it seems so close... or maybe ill just add a zipper to my HH's bugnetting... :confused: Either way is difficult for me... a BB is expensive, and 2Q's zipper mod might turn just as expensive including shipping and handling fees.

That's the same reason I had when I got the BB, shipping fees are the real PITA! :(

Just try to sell your HH + SS and if it works then you've got the cash needed to get a BB and a DD tarp (roughly the same weight and size as the JRB's 10 11 tarp yet only costs about 45 compared to 120)

[elcolombianito]

Ramblinrev
First, the heatsheet just becomes another thing to toy around with, and what I loved about the HH is that, for example compared to my Clark, it had less things to care about fixing and adjusting. The ocf and HS packed together or apart, separate from the hammock just takes this away. Second, at first I went your way for placing, taking off, and rolling up the ocf pad: this wasn't difficult at all and i was going to make this my method too. When I added the HS, rolling it up with the ocf pad, and still placing or taking it off per your instructions, wasn't too different than before. So yes, it doesn't really make it more difficult than only using the ocf. But maybe since the heatsheet isn't breathable, compressing the rolledup ocf+heatsheet didn't seem too easy anymore as when it was just the ocf pad. This i didn't like. So I said to myself: try BB58's approach (and supposedly Tom Hennessy's method).

If I leave the whole thing rigged up, I found I needed fewer steps to pack it all up or for setup, and it all packs up into one single bag which resulted to be the same size as joining what would be the result of your method. Fewer steps, less things separate... it was looking good for what i was used too with the HH.
So now, for packing, I just get out the hammock pushing the pad to the side... untie the tie outs from where they are staked, and since i don't have to take the ocf pad off, i don't have to fiddle more with the tieouts of the hammock. Then take one hammock end, with the opposite still hanging, and roll it all up using the same technique you use to roll the pad. Then I stuff it in the sack, untied the remaining hammock end. The result is almost the same in size as just rolling the ocf with the heatsheet, with the little difference that compressing it doesn't feel as difficult... somehow the air escapes better this way.
For setup its just the backwards process... hang one end fist, unroll the the whole thing, hang the other hammock ends, stake tieouts, and just get in the hammock, stick a hand out the slit, and pull the pad to my desired position.

Hope it does clear things up. I really try to make my spanish thoughts make sense when i write them in english.

[Ramblinrev]

Hope it does clear things up. I really try to make my spanish thoughts make sense when i write them in english.

Thanks... I guess what it comes down to is different preferences and that's what makes this an interesting world. As I say, I have committed to the HH because it is the only hammock I can get in to and out of with anything remotely approaching ease and grace. So given that as my primary criteria, I guess I put up with the rest. I was never able to get my Underquilts to hang properly, so the SS is really so much easier for me. But hey...

I have heard the Blackbird is alot like any other gathered end top/side loader in regards to getting in and out so while I think the product is cool as a moose I am not highly motivated to get a hammock that will hold me captive... :tongueup:

Again... what ever floats your boat.

[elcolombianito]

Just try to sell your HH + SS and if it works then you've got the cash needed to get a BB and a DD tarp (roughly the same weight and size as the JRB's 10 11 tarp yet only costs about 45 compared to 120)

hmmmmmm... tempting... your making me realize I could afford a BB, though i wouldn't need a tarp. I currently have three tarps: two expedition asym stocks, and a poly hex. I just want a silnyl tarp, but that can definitely wait.

A friend of mine is pushing me to sell him my old HH expedition. His offering me 100 bucks for hammock, stock fly, ringbuckle supports... 115 if i add the new snake skins, which im not :P. I could take some of my saveup money for the AARn and complete for the BB....

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH... I feel im cheating on my HH, im not even givng her a chance.... but i will, at least three outdoor tests and a zippermod, she has been really nice to me, she deserves it. But i also deserve a new and differetn hammock... :confused:

[elcolombianito]

Thanks... I guess what it comes down to is different preferences and that's what makes this an interesting world. As I say, I have committed to the HH because it is the only hammock I can get in to and out of with anything remotely approaching ease and grace. So given that as my primary criteria, I guess I put up with the rest. I was never able to get my Underquilts to hang properly, so the SS is really so much easier for me. But hey...

I have heard the Blackbird is alot like any other gathered end top/side loader in regards to getting in and out so while I think the product is cool as a moose I am not highly motivated to get a hammock that will hold me captive... :tongueup:

Again... what ever floats your boat.

Oh, don't get me wrong, i love my HH! Im having problems is with its new jewlery (the SS), but im getting around it, and if i do the zipper mod it would just be a small one, just to access the ocf pad easier, not to change the way i get in, I adore the bottom entry. Specially for bug control. Thats why i would first do the zip mod on my old hammock, just to test it and see if its really worth it.

hmmm, you making me think alot now about the UQ... I can't get my DIY UQs to hang properly either, but i thought it was my bad sewing. Thats one thing i liked about the supershelter first hand, that once i got in, ive had no cold spots, but excessive hot spots... with my DIY UQs I have never been able to eliminate the cold spots.

Anyway, im not giving up on the SuperShelter, non the less on my HH.

[elcolombianito]

im sure this would get rid of most of the issues one faces with the bottom entry of the HH's.

Very badly put! I meant... the issues I FACE WITH THE BOTTOM ENTRY SLIT, which are two: 1) ventilating the hammock in hot weather isn't easy (that noseeum mesh retains much more heat that one could imagine, and just taking it off, or a fraction of it, would help this problem), and 2) accessing things outside of the hammock, which wasn't really a problem for me untill the supershelter, cuz i have this urge to fit the ocf pad perfectlyt under me. I could just get in the hammock and let the ocf pad underme as it is, it does cover my underside completely and provide the heat, but i like it to be more even, so i stick my hand out the slit and accomodate it a bit, until i feel there is the same amount of pad to my left as there is to my right. this is no really easy, adn acces from the top would be easier.

Id also like to remember you all that my experience with my SS so far has been in my room! For such an environment, where i cant even get a medium tight ridgeline, nor set the tieouts properly, i think the Supershelter has proven to be worth the hazzle. Just need to be patient and stop making such strong statements before trying it under real outdoor circumstances.

Thanks for understanding.

[elcolombianito]

Just because I know how much pictures are way better than words (and my sister purchased a new digital camera! weeeee)... here is my setup in my room. I actually hang it higher than shown to get better ridggeline tension, I had to lower it for better shot. Also, tie outs are not always like that. I've tried them in different hights every night, always finding different good and bad things.
My room isn`t big enough to get a full view shot, sorry...

[Knotty]

I'm pretty happy with my SS. Been good down to mid 30's adding just the heat sheet. Haven't had a chance to go colder.

The only thing which makes me nuts is the way entry slit in the SS bunches up when the hammock is empty, preventing everything from hanging in it's natural position. Not a big deal, just annoying.

[BillyBob58]

Just because I know how much pictures are way better than words (and my sister purchased a new digital camera! weeeee)... here is my setup in my room. I actually hang it higher than shown to get better ridggeline tension, I had to lower it for better shot. Also, tie outs are not always like that. I've tried them in different hights every night, always finding different good and bad things.
My room isn`t big enough to get a full view shot, sorry...

Hope you can get to the woods soon! What's the weather like down there now? I really think a major key to enjoying this system when breaking camp each day is putting it all in one large sack and compressing as needed. But, again, it is hard to keep all of the cords on the Prussick hooks from coming undone once stuffed. So, I have added cheap mini-biners to the Prussick lines. Then, when I tie to the trees, all is adjusted pretty well just as it was when I broke camp in the morning. It is all very quick and easy, especially if I have changed the tree hugger system to webbing with cinch buckles. Easy/quick up and easy/quick down!

[elcolombianito]

Knotty,
Glad to meet another satisfied supershelter user. I too don't like how it looks, but I actually thought it would be worse. It helps to leave things inside.
May I ask, how do you stake the tie outs? I mean, What level? do you put them high, or low, or as horizontal as possible?
Ive tried many possitions and maybe since Im in my room, in terms of fuctionality ive seen no difference. What does change is that with the tieouts high, and the higher they are, the supershelter is kindof loose on the perimeter and doesn't wrap tight the hammock's edge, apparently because the hammock's bug nettting edge isn't taut (probably isn't the way to say it, so look at pic 1 attached to this post, please) and is something that doesn't change if im inside the hammock. On the other hand, when staked lower, this seems to go away (see attached pic2).

[elcolombianito]

Hope you can get to the woods soon! What's the weather like down there now? I really think a major key to enjoying this system when breaking camp each day is putting it all in one large sack and compressing as needed. But, again, it is hard to keep all of the cords on the Prussick hooks from coming undone once stuffed. So, I have added cheap mini-biners to the Prussick lines. Then, when I tie to the trees, all is adjusted pretty well just as it was when I broke camp in the morning. It is all very quick and easy, especially if I have changed the tree hugger system to webbing with cinch buckles. Easy/quick up and easy/quick down!

Im really trying to find sometime to get out, but workload is pretty heavy right now and will be till mid june. Weather here in bogota is crazy changing all the time, but temps have not dropped lower than 50F... but where I usually go to camp and plan on doing my initial SuperShelter real test, this time of year is usuaylly aroung mid 30's. I try not to be too aware of weather, or else Im begin rotting a little bit inside thinking abut how swell it would be to be testing my supershelter.

Concerning your packing advice, Ive been using that method when i need to get the hammock out the way in my room, and plan on keeping it that way for ever while camping since it allows me to not change too much the way i store my shelter in my backpack, and IMO its just more practical approach than keeping things sepparate (i really wasn't liking the idea of carrying the pad appart, worse if outside the backpack, or having to arrange it each time at setup or breakdown, not that this was difficult, but your way is just faster and more hennessier)... so I luv it, just need to get a big enough bishop sack done. So thanks for that advice.
BTW, I don't use the tarp prussics... my supershelter came with a ziplock baggie that had a pair of glove hooks and some plastic cable ties. When stuffed or unstufed or whatever i might try to do, nothing comes undone. So as i said to Ramblinrev, all i have to do care about is staking the tieouts, and sometimes reaccomodate the heatsheet.

Any way, I tried, with the new hammock, to give the hennessy lashing a try once again, but that only lasted about two days.. im back on ring buckles.. so IMO my HH does have the Easiest/quickest setup and easiest/quickest break down system, and this is obviously thanks to all the input from you HammockForums.net members, THANKS ALOT. I'm confident i wont have any sheltering problems on my next trips.

[BillyBob58]

..................
BTW, I don't use the tarp prussics... my supershelter came with a ziplock baggie that had a pair of glove hooks and some plastic cable ties. When stuffed or unstufed or whatever i might try to do, nothing comes undone. So as i said to Ramblinrev, all i have to do care about is staking the tieouts, and sometimes reaccomodate the heatsheet. .........

Right, that is a new system for me, the separate glove hooks and cable ties, so I am ignorant of that set up. Mine ( over 2.5 years old) simply hooked to the same place you hooked the stock HH tarp to if you were using it the way TH originally suggested and not tieing the tarp to the trees. So my directions were to 1st adjust the tarp for correct tension and centering, and then attache the SS to the same hooks as the tarp. I've heard about this other set up, but never seen it.