I have seen Snake/Python skins. What other options are there for putting my hammock into while hiking that I need to consider before making or purchasing anything of that sort?
Please also tell me about the pros/cons of each.
I have seen Snake/Python skins. What other options are there for putting my hammock into while hiking that I need to consider before making or purchasing anything of that sort?
Please also tell me about the pros/cons of each.
Get busy living, or get busy dying.
Do a search for 'Bishops Bag'. It is the only other method that I've seen.
Edit: Here's a pic from BB. Basically, it is a stuff sack with a hole in the bottom for the suspension to go through. I haven't used this method, but it seems to ge a good idea.
Last edited by angrysparrow; 06-11-2007 at 19:28. Reason: Added Link
“I think that when the lies are all told and forgot the truth will be there yet. It dont move about from place to place and it dont change from time to time. You cant corrupt it any more than you can salt salt.” - Cormac McCarthy
I like the snake skins better for a Hennessy style hammock with integral bug netting. Just roll on the bias and pull the skins and you're done. Easier to hang also and the hammock stays covered until the last moment when you pull the skins.
If the bug netting isn't on the hammock, e.g., a speer type or a Hennessy with the bug netting cut off, the snake skins are a lot harder to use.
I'm guessing, but that's probably why BB351 created his "BB Bag". For a Speer hammock, the BB's stuff sack idea is easier to use probably - I've never used one though.
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
"Physics is the only true science. All else is stamp collecting." - J. J. Thompson
I also use the BB. I switched from the skins. The sack is easier for me to use and store. The BB sack goes into a sea to summit ultra sil bag. My issuse with skins is that they added a lot more bulk to my pack. Plus they would not fit into my sts bags.
Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".
I finished my first BB sack the other day. It was a roll top on it and from initial tests it seems like it is much easier to deal with than the skins. I also realy like the idea of using the BB sack as storage while the hammock is set up.
“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." -Terry Pratchett
For those of you using the Bishops bag, could you give us newb's some hints as to how to use it? Do you just "stuff" the hammock in the bag or try to fold or roll it first? Do you also put the tarp in there, or use a separate bag? I currently have two Claytor Expeditions that my son and I use and a new Speer IIIA on it's way for me this week. I like this idea and may pull the wife's sewing machine out and start some DIY projects. Any size recommendations to get me started? Thanks!!
I used the BB bag on my Foothills hike through dry and wet weather (VERY wet weather). It worked great. The BB sack allows you to stuff everything into the sack unlike a python skin. My BB sack was large enough to put my HH Expedition Asym, JRB No Sniveller, and JRB Nest into with no problems. After the rains came, I found a highway road crew who gave me a big orange trash bag to put the BB sack inside of while in my pack. No folding or twisting required, just stuff it all inside. The one BB made for me has a mesh pocket on the outside that gives me a place to put my straps. If the straps are wet, I just remove them and put them in an outside pocket on my pack with my tarp.
I own python skins as well but found that they were just large enough for my hammock and underquilt, but was so stiff that it took up WAY too much room in my pack and could not be shaped very easily. I also did not like how much the pythons compressed the loft of my quilts. Just paranoid I guess.
If you have a choice, go with the BB sack. Very easy to put up and take down and provides a large storage area for small items when your hammock is hung.
Just my 2 grams (Yeah Keith, Im still counting).
BD
Just Jeff made me do it
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