Hammock Storage while hiking

[Bird Dog]

That's not what BB said about your trip on the Fooothills Trail with him, but then again, I wasn't there.

Nah, dont let him fool ya'll. He's the one with wheels. I just do my best to keep up. Hopefully we can get together sometime and you can see for yourself. BD

[Hooch]

Nah, dont let him fool ya'll. He's the one with wheels. I just do my best to keep up. Hopefully we can get together sometime and you can see for yourself. BD

Hopefully so, but I don't plan on getting smoked. I left those days behind in the Marines.

[blackbishop351]

Wow that's a good idea.

Yeah I know...wonder where that came from?

[FreeTheWeasel]

Man, did I get beat to the punch. BD

I got five replies to one question! Wow. You didn't get beaten to the punch. You and four of your friends made it really clear that I'll be using a soldering iron. You punched the answer!

Thanks.

FreeTheWeasel

[TeeDee]

I find my sack idea easier all around...I actually came up with (and used) my first prototype during my HH phase.

IMO, snakeskins are nice in SOME respects. If you look at the time it takes to get a tarp or hammock into skins versus the BB sack, the skins win for sure. If you look at the total time it takes to go from hung to pack (or vice versa), my BB sack has won every time.

The sack also allows for an underquilt to stay attached to the hammock all the time, a NICE advantage in speed and especially in bad weather. "Python skins" were designed to accomplish the same thing, but JRB no longer makes them...and I've read several posts that reported that even with the oversized Pythons, having a quilt included made the skins stiff and exacerbated the packing problem.

Just my .02. I'm sure TeeDee will disagree with something here

Not at all - my real concern isn't the time, but keeping things out of the dirt/mud.

With the skins, if I drop it on the ground before getting things strung between the trees, then the only thing that gets dirty/muddy/wet is the snake skin and if it is raining the ground will be wet and/or muddy even though I have already hung the tarp. The snake skin doesn't come off until it is no longer possible to get the hammock dropped on the ground (unless the suspension fails in which case I have bigger things to be concerned about ). I wouldn't save anything by putting the under-quilt in the same stuff sack anyway, since I pack quilts separately compressed in special, air and water proof zip lock bags. Wet quilts are a no-noooooooooooo. So the only thing, for me, that would go into the stuff sack is the hammock.

The stuff sack concerns me for my use because it sounds like you are hanging the suspension end sticking out of the sack first, then pulling everything out of the sack to hang the other end. It seems to me that at that point the possibility of letting the hammock touch the ground becomes the greatest. With the possibility, comes the total certainty for me - I'm a klutz, especially when wet and cold and my fingers aren't working too well and I fumble things. I am kind of paranoid about letting the hammock touch the ground - just like I am about getting sleeping gear wet. I don't mind it touching the ground with the snake skins covering the hammock - no chance of getting mud or water on the hammock, only the skins and I don't sleep in the skins.

Also, then stuffing the hammock into the sack when taking down. Again, I envision the end away from the sack is unattached and then things have to get gathered to the sack end and stuffed. A lot of chances for me to drop something on the ground in the mud and damp - trying to hold onto the hammock with one arm and hand and use the other to hold the stuff sack up and open with the other. Stuffing things into stuff sacks with the sack supported on the ground/table/whatever is fraught with things overflowing and falling on the ground. With the snake skins, that just isn't possible - the snake skins cover the hammock before anything is unattached from the trees.

Also, I pack differently - the skins get folded and wrapped in the suspension rope and then go on the outside of the pack - the skins still protect the hammock, no need to put them inside - it would just take up pack space there and if it is raining, the skins could be wet and I just don't put anything wet inside the pack. That would be true of the stuff sack also. The stuff sack would also go on the outside of the pack. I fold the skins with hammock into a long oblong package that gets put on the pack like a horseshoe. Not possible with the sack, for me, it becomes a big blob that would have to get stuck on the outside in some way.

I would also have to assume that your tarp is long enough that the stuff sack is very well protected. Otherwise, when taking down in the rain, you and the stuff sack and anything you put into it are going to get wet or very damp. With the skins, I don't need that much protection, enough to cover the hammock ends and one end of each skin, the rest of the skins can stay out, unprotected.

Now, I will admit that the sack would be easier to use for the hammock when the bug netting isn't installed and it is a clear day. Rolling the hammock is a real pain without the bug netting installed.

In the end, I think it all comes down to your set-up and take down style and packing style and what is more important to you. All in all, for my style, the snake skins have proven to be good for me, but then I haven't actually tried the BB Sack.

[Cannibal]

I think I agree with you on most of these TeeDee and I do think they are mostly due to "your" style of set-up/take-down. However, the last one vexes me (I like "vexes"; it's fun to say). The sack wouldn't need to be protected from rain. One: because it's hooded and open, not much water could accumulate before pouring out either the suspension hole or the opening. Two: just a quick dump of any water and wipe with a paktowel and you're good to go and dry as a bone.

Of course, I just found out about them today and have zero experience to back-up these assumptions. BTW, I'm totally with you on the klutz thing.

[blackbishop351]

The sack should be under the end of your tarp, and that should be plenty of protection. The sack is also sil, which means it's pretty well waterproof anyway.

For that matter, one of the reasons I like the sack is that I can use it for storage while my hammock is hung - with the drawstring closed there's little or no chance for water to get in. The same would apply without gear in it, too. L

Like Cannibal says, it's just a piece of sil - if it gets wet, wipe it off with a pack towel. There's a lot less surface area than with skins.

If you're worried about your hammock getting wet, why use skins at all? Both ends are completely open. The sack has two openings too, but one (the drawstring) is tightly closed and the other (the suspension hole) is tiny and partially sealed when stuffed. Or just make one like Headchange's that uses an end cap and a rolled closure.

I definitely understand how skins would work better for your packing method, but honestly it sounds like you've modified your packing style to accommodate the skins in the first place. I wouldn't want my hammock in skins on the outside of my pack, because they're not watertight. I try not to put anything out there that would get damaged by water. I tried packing skins inside my pack, but they're a pain to work with, bulky, and create a lot of unusable air space. I'm much happier with a nice, squishy, compressible, compact sack that I can stuff in the bottom of my pack like I've always done.

[TeeDee]

If you're worried about your hammock getting wet, why use skins at all? Both ends are completely open.

Yes, but with the skins folded like a horseshoe all open ends are pointing at the ground - at least in the manner that I fold it they are. That acts just like house siding or roofing material - overlap the higher on the lower and the water runs right off. I've never put hammocks/tents inside a pack. Just seems a waste of pack space to me. Tents were even worse during wet weather. I handle the tarp in the same manner. Enclose in snake skins and fold into a horseshoe on outside of pack.

Now if everything is submerged, which has happened, then the only thing that is any good are the special, compressible air and water tight zip lock bags I use. Thats why all quilts and spare clothing go in them. I have had those so-called dry bags leak when submerged. When the temps are hovering around freezing and it is damp, a submerged hammock can be dried sufficiently for use (especially when made of DWR ripstop), a quilt cannot.

By the by, I think I may have had the wrong idea on how the BB Sack is used. The end of the suspension away from the closed end is hung first and taken down last, right? That affects how things are taken out and stuffed back in considerably and affects the possibility of dropping them on the ground. If the above is right then the possibility goes down considerably.

There is a "closed end", the rounded end or squared off end of the sack. How do you "seal" the hole for the suspension through the end. When on the outside of the pack, wouldn't that hole have to be sealed? How would you prevent rain water entry?

[blackbishop351]

By the by, I think I may have had the wrong idea on how the BB Sack is used. The end of the suspension away from the closed end is hung first and taken down last, right? That affects how things are taken out and stuffed back in considerably and affects the possibility of dropping them on the ground. If the above is right then the possibility goes down considerably.

There is a "closed end", the rounded end or squared off end of the sack. How do you "seal" the hole for the suspension through the end. When on the outside of the pack, wouldn't that hole have to be sealed? How would you prevent rain water entry?

I won't "debate" the rest of your comments because I think we're at an impasse.

You almost have the right idea. The foot-end suspension comes through the hole in the sack, and is hung first. Although I suppose it wouldn't be that much of a pain to hang the head first. In either case, you're right on the takedown part - the head-end suspension is at the drawstring end of the sack, and is taken down last.

The hole has overlapping ~ 1/2" flaps integrated into its design, to the inside of the sack. When the sack is stuffed, these flaps are pressed together, closing off the hole pretty effectively. It's not sealed by any means, but neither is the drawstring end. Insanely heavy rain or submergence would be necessary for either end to take on water, IMO.

[TeeDee]

I definitely understand how skins would work better for your packing method, but honestly it sounds like you've modified your packing style to accommodate the skins in the first place.

Not at all. As I wrote in another post I have never packed tents/tarps/hammocks inside my pack. My packing style evolved decades before I knew anything about how comfortable hammocks are.

I wouldn't want my hammock in skins on the outside of my pack, because they're not watertight. I try not to put anything out there that would get damaged by water.

Don't know about your skins, but mine are made of silnyl which sheds water as it is supposed to do. As I wrote previously, it is just common sense to then fold and tie to the outside of the pack so that the ends of the skins are pointing down and not up. Unless either I'm inverted or the pack is separately from from me, there is no way to get water inside the skins when tied to the outside of the pack - well short of submersion that is in which case I can guarantee that the pack is separated from me.