OP:
You are not especially large among male hmmkrs, here. Maybe we're self-selected princesses who can feel that pebble beneath the pad or mattress, so need to sleep above them. Or maybe some of us compress the foam to the point that anyone would feel it.
On size: Mostly pay attention, within a maker's line, to bed size. I say "within a maker's line" because different fabrics and construction between makers challenge comparison of hmmks on feeling of size.
There are expressions of shock here and elsewhere at the total price of a big Clark package; but here, at least, few people fail to remark on the NX-250 seeming large, even cavernous. Yet it is shorter and narrower than many other hammocks offered commercially. I'd tell you that is due, in part, to visuals, the importance of getting netting and fabric you see away from you. If the motel room you rent is painted and decorated to look larger, and has a great view through a big window, who is to say you are wrong for preferring it for it feeling roomy and not cramped?
Leaving out the Vertex and Flex180, Clark used to use just 2 bed sizes, an 8' and a 9'. the 9' is also 3-4" wider. Just now, Clark seems to up-sizing, replacing the 8' models with same or similar that are 8.5" long. The NA and new Tropical / UL have those 8.5' beds.
Hammocks have been made commercially for a couple of decades and longer. 8' was a standard length. It is hard to believe that to save $1-$3, mfgs left a foot off of length. True, we are mostly heavier than the previous generation, but there ARE 6' folks who are comfortable in an 8' hammock, especially a Clark. True, they may mostly be........narrower than you are.
While weathershields (or integrated overcovers) have their fans, me included, go back a year or two here at HF and most nobody except some Clark owners had them. Or they were regarded as just for deep-winter use. For the $50 upcharge on some Clarks, I regard them as a bargain, albeit an 8oz penalty. That said, with so many comfortable for so long without a weathershield, and with so many preferring underquilts to Clark's system of pads, the models Clark calls"Tropical" are as suitable for winter use as any hammock in my opinion and comparative experience.
