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Is it just me, or is the tarp just a little bit too small...
When I lay in it, I've generally been finding that the fly net peeps out under the bottom and I can see almost 360' around. Which is lovely in the morning and when it's dark, well, it's dark. My main problem is getting changed.
Similarly, when it's very windy, The tarp lifts, and in heavy rain (whilst I've not had that yet) I could get wet.
Any ideas? Am I just hanging it wrong?
ive had the same problem and i have gotten wet due to that
If you expect bad weather you need to make sure the tarp is down closer to the hammock. It can protect you in some very powerful storms, but you need to get it low and close to do so. I've used my Hennessy in a tropical storm without getting wet.
The stock HH tarp is pretty small, but plenty adequate to stay dry if you pitch it correctly and in a good site. Sometimes that's a bit of a challenge.
Doing anything besides sleeping under that tarp is definitely a challenge. It can help if you use snakeskins on your hammock so you can get the hammock out of the way while you work under it. Or just use some cord to tie it into a tube so you have more area under the tarp.
That's why a lot of people upgrade to a bigger tarp. Downside is more weight/bulk to carry.
I assume therefore detatching it from the main suspension cord and putting it on some 550 lashed to a tree at the hight you think it should be when you get in it would be better, but then that's a catch 22 as you'll not be able to tension it correctly. Bah. I do have a much, much larger 3mx4.5m tarp, but that can be a little too big...
When I had that hammock and tarp, I changed out to bigger tarp just for reasons you mentioned. I camped with scouts and needed the privacy for changing. Now I go to hangs and also like the privacy for changing. Hangers don't stay strangers for long, but no need to scare 'em with too much information too soon! :D
in a "tropical" type of downpour, where the wind is minimal, the stock tarp works fine. As previously noted, there is not much room for anything else under the tarp.
I gave up with having the tarp attached to the suspension lunes. I could never get the tarp to pitch acceptably (yes, I know that as a flat tarp it will never pitch taught like a cat) so I started using a separate ridgeline. Much happier now!
The separate line allows you to attach the tarp BELOW the suspension lines, which results in the hammock being closer to the tarp and getting more protection in a rainstorm.
But for wind-blown rain, prepare to get wet with the stock tarp. The Hex is giant, and there are many other alternatives available.
Jim
What are you using to keep your back warm? If you don't have anything yet, the HH Supershelter + stock tarp attached as designed = dry in severe wind blown rain. At least the one or two times I have had it set up in those conditions. I actually think it is more wind and rain protection than a larger hex tarp tied to the trees- but with no SS- provides, unless it is a LOT larger maybe. At least more protection when you are actually in the hammock.
Of course, that still doesn't help if you need more dry space when you are not sleeping. And most folks prefer down UQs, which MUST be kept dry. And some need more privacy at least some times. And a fair number of folks don't like the SS, though it has it's few fans.
If you don't mind a few extra oz and spending some more money, there are some great tarps available. I have found the JRB rectangular 11x10 to provide GREAT coverage and stability in the wind. I thought the OES MacCat dlx was a work of art, at only a couple more oz than the stock tarp. But you still have to have a larger tarp pitched correctly for windy, stormy conditions. If the ends are not fairly close to closed on the windward side, wind can still blow rain onto the hammock/quilt and splash up from the ground can get you. I've seen it happen with a normal "A" frame pitch. It could have been easily prevented with a "storm" pitch, or by mostly closing the windward end, but I had not done that on that one occasion.
I'd say that if you can see all around that you're not pitched for high winds! I have 2 small (6 in. x 6 in.) sil bags that I clip to the out side corners of my standard HH tarp. I have 2 16 oz soda bottles that I fill with water and place in the bags. This REALLY helps keep the tarp down and (more importantly) eliminates a lot of the flapping noise so I can sleep. Plus, the extra water frequently saves another trip to a water source and gets me out of camp earlier. You can also tie a fist sized rock to the clip.
Thanks for the tips guys - unfortunately being a UK person, there isn't much choice in hammock tarps unless I import from the US. Hammock camping is very much in it infancy in Europe I'd never even heard of them till 6 months ago.
DD Hammocks has a super tarp (3x4.5?) which I have. I also have a 3x3 which I'm going to try out this weekend. I've used the XL tarp in conjunction with the stock tarp which provided me with a sitting area as well as a cooking area - worked out pretty well tbh.
trying to mobilise the troops for this weekend to do a bit of hammocking in cooler weather - I'm also going to mod a cheap sleeping bag into an underblanket - expect an instructable or similar.
I already use a self inflating roll matt which I fully inflate, then release air, seal and it works fine for me in summer conditions, but I think an underblanket would be nice for colder, windier and rainer conditions!
Jsaults,
How did you rig your tarp to hang on a separate ridgeline? Probably a newbie question indeed, but I'm new to hammocking and have been brainstorming how I could modify the hh tarp for better coverage. I've added an adjustable ridgeline with paracord under it, tieing off at the rings that you clip onto the hammock line, but it seemed to throw it off center, so I was wondering if it could just run on it's own line.
.
For an adjustable tarp ridgeline, you may want to try a seperate tarp ridgeline (full length, tree to tree) and have the tarp connected to that line with prusik knots that allow plenty of adjustment along the length of the ridgeline.
.
I've just bought one of the Hennessy hammocks used at the Scout Jamboree. I've taken it on two trips and hung it up and two different scouts have used it for those weekends. But no or very little rain. Well, I'm getting rain now at my house so I've got it hanging in the back yard. It's raining cats and dogs out there. I've not got it right yet so I've not stayed in it through the night. Just went out side to check it and found that during the night, rain splash had soaked the military poncho liner that I'd attached with shockcord to the bottom. It's now in the dryer!!
I think the tarp that came with this hammock is the standard size, it's very small!! Just had one of the loops that attaches to the rope that goes to the tree break. I tied it back to the rope but will need to sew it back down when all this rain quits.
Inside the hammock, I've put my summer down quilt. I wanted to see if it'd stay dry. So far it has.
I've got one side of the tarp (the side I get in on) pulled way out and the other side is staked together with the shockcord pullout on that side. So far with rain just falling straight down and very little wind, no rain is blowing up under either side of the tarp. I'm thinking that will change as the weather around here gets worse.
I have put a ridgeline under the tarp. I just couldn't get it up off the hammock without something to actually hold it up. Still testing that too.
So far I'm surprised at how this tiny strange shaped tarp is working out. Still though, I'm not ready to trust it yet on a backpacking trip.
TinaLouise
TL, I've used that tiny tarp a few times in hard, blowing rain. As I think I said earlier, the key is to get the tarp properly centered over the hammock, stake the sides fairly close and add weights to the sides (this keeps the tarp from sagging and whipping in the wind).
yep, I've been trying all that. I also had to raise the straps on my trees because of the rain hitting the ground and splashing back onto my under quilt(military poncho liner). It wouldn't have mattered so much if I'd had my regular under quilt as it's made with DWR nylon and the rain splash wouldn't have made a difference.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrankyOldGuy
Now I sort of have to stand on my toes to get into the hammock. (HH zip entry). I do have the tarp attached to the shockcord that pulls out the sides of the hammock. I put a loop into the shockcord so I could hook the tarp to it and that's about at the half way point on the shockcord. This is keeping the tarp from sagging or whipping in the wind. We'll see in the morning how well it does with this tropical mess that's passing through. It's just plain nasty out there but I did think the tarp was doing a pretty good job after I got it and the hammock a bit higher off the ground.
TinaLouise
I know what you mean. My confidence in the standard tarp isn't that great. I just got their much larger hex tarp that I'll test this weekend and probably take with me to a 3 night trip to the Pisgah Nat. Park next week.