First of all, well done Dutch on making [yet] another incredible piece of gear. The craftsmanship is spot on from the sewing work to the double-sided foot box.
I've been a very happy customer of Dutchwear gear for well over a year and my entire suspension and ridge line equipment is from Dutch: clips, biners, hooks, ridge line quilt hooks, quilt hangers, wasps, and the superb continuous ridge line.
My hammock of choice for warmer (read: buggier) months up until now has been the Warbonnet Blackbird single layer 1.1oz. It's one of my favorite pieces of gear but it's just not long/wide enough to get the diagonal lay that I get in the cooler months from my Snipe (Wilderness Logics) or Weight Weenie (BIAS) due to their 11x5 sizes.
I've been following reviews on the Half Wit for a couple months and they've been resoundingly positive: so in the deep end I jumped and I ordered the 1.6D (because I wanted the grey material) and I took it out this weekend - I was hitting the AT in Sterling Forest and was expecting some serious bug issues on the trail and at camp at Wildcat Shelter. After some good food and a fire, dusk was upon us the mosquitoes came out in force. Hiker midnight struck (8:30pm) and I was ready for some hammy time - I was really looking forward to hanging out in the Half Wit.
I wish I could loved it but, I didn't - in fact, I'm putting it up on GearTrade this week and going back to my Blackbird for my summer trips.
Let me just reiterate that the product is extremely well made, and I LOVE the 1.6D - soft and so comfortable. The 10.5 length is superb and I really like the 2 knotty mods.
However, there's a fatal flaw in the design of this hammock: it's designed as a warmer month (buggier) hammock with weight reduction in mind given the half bug net. Instead of a full bug netting it employs half a net to cut some precious grams. Brilliant idea, only that sleeping in the warmer climates, who wants to throw their feet inside their TQ/bag, right? Nobody, but that's the only way you're going to prevent being eaten alive by bugs all night. Not wanting to go through being devoured, I tried my best to keep my feet and legs covered with my summer (50ºF) Hammock Gear top quilt, but I overheated. I also turn in my sleep (side sleeper) so whether I turned to my left or my right, the open back of my UQ would reveal my calves and I got slaughtered by the mosquitoes.
The other choice is keeping my legs uncovered so I can benefit from some nightly breeze, but I may as well leave a sign on my lower half saying "come and get it, free meat!". Bugs love me, so I went with overheating from the waist down instead. In my Blackbird I could have at least slept in my underpants and t-shirt.
Then there's the actual netting. Sure, it comes down and rests on your bag/torso area and does a decent job of "sealing", but it simply cannot seal 100%, meaning you will absolutely get smaller bugs coming in and laying waste to your face/ears/neck/arms. Small openings will appear on the sides where the net is sewn onto the hammock body, sometimes golf ball size gaps. Last night was one of the worst night's sleep I've had on the trail and I was kept awake with the little biters all night long.
I'm sorry Dutch, I REALLY wanted to love this like I do every single other piece you make, but I can't.
Some of you will love the Half Wit, and that's great - I wish I could feel the same.
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