Help me decide: Raven vs Darien

[Zaphock]

Pretty soon. May have it on the trail this week.
Shug


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Do you have the winter cover too? I think I haven't seen a proper review about the new one on the Raven yet. Also, I'm pretty sure comfort wise this will be at the top of the list, any list, but a focus about the fact it's not asymmetrical and which are the differences in the shoulders area would be great. Another humble request: an honest opinion about the net's closing system. I know everyone says they never had a mosquito or fly or anything buzzing around their ears but is that really possible? What about those nasty little crawling critters like worms and the like? Have you ever seen those big fat hairy juicy gnawing centipedes over your tent's mosquito net? Because I did and the idea of them crawling under the opening is quite nightmarish. And what about ants, spiders, leech... charlies... you name it? Don't say they can't crawl vertically on a slick surface because they do. Now that I think of that, you should set up a wOrm environment in order to test this one out, with you inside the hammock obviously, for science's sake!

[rweb82]

FWIW, the ends on my Raven seal up very well. Nothing has ever gotten inside (except me, of course ).

[Shug]

Do you have the winter cover too? I think I haven't seen a proper review about the new one on the Raven yet. Also, I'm pretty sure comfort wise this will be at the top of the list, any list, but a focus about the fact it's not asymmetrical and which are the differences in the shoulders area would be great. Another humble request: an honest opinion about the net's closing system. I know everyone says they never had a mosquito or fly or anything buzzing around their ears but is that really possible? What about those nasty little crawling critters like worms and the like? Have you ever seen those big fat hairy juicy gnawing centipedes over your tent's mosquito net? Because I did and the idea of them crawling under the opening is quite nightmarish. And what about ants, spiders, leech... charlies... you name it? Don't say they can't crawl vertically on a slick surface because they do. Now that I think of that, you should set up a wOrm environment in order to test this one out, with you inside the hammock obviously, for science's sake!

I did not get the winter cover. Got into hammocks to not be shut it!
Not had a big get in mine yet.

Shug

[arcana73]

I have a Darein. I like it a lot. But there's that part of me that wished I had gotten a Raven. Mostly because I could take the bug net off when I carry it around to relax during day hikes.

[T- Minus]

I love my Raven.
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[Gravitythief76]

I love all our dream hammocks. My one gripe about the raven is that the zippers always seem to run off the ends of the sliders when exiting the hammock, but my wife loves being able to change directions on a whim so , a plus and a minus I guess. I do like our darien for its simplicity. While the net is not removable, it is easily zipped open and tossed over the ridgeline for zipper free access to the hammock.

[Zaphock]

One last question: is there a rule of thumb about width and comfort? I don't care much about the 0.5/1 oz in extra material you can squeeze out but more about not having a stupid amount of fluff fluffing behind your head or forehead.

For example I'm 6.2'' so I'd say that having more than 6.2'' of width is a nonsense, but even 6 should be perfectly fine since I'll never lay perfectly perpendicular. So maybe even 5.8'', not sure about 5.6'' so... is there a 'proper' width?

[Zaphock]

Uhm, I just noticed that width is measured as an integer, like 60, 62... 66 and that those are inches.



The question remains: is there a way to guess the right amount for my height?

[weaver2469]

I love all our dream hammocks. My one gripe about the raven is that the zippers always seem to run off the ends of the sliders when exiting the hammock, but my wife loves being able to change directions on a whim so , a plus and a minus I guess. I do like our darien for its simplicity. While the net is not removable, it is easily zipped open and tossed over the ridgeline for zipper free access to the hammock.

I agree with the issue of accidentally running the zippers off the sliders. I just got back from my first trip with the Raven. I accidentally ran the zippers off at least half the times I used them. I got the 1.6 and it was very comfortable. The ability to reach out either side of the hammock is a really great feature. I think the unzipping problem is just a matter of getting used to it. I am used to sliding my WBBB zippers as far as possible when I get in and out, to reduce stress on the fabric, so I think I just need to train myself to be a little more careful and only unzip as much as needed. As far as the bugs getting in question, I must admit I was pretty skeptical, but I was in serious mosquito country during this trip and didn't have a single one in. There are a lot of drapes and folds in the end of the hammock and the bug net, so it is a maze to navigate. I don't think any bugs could actually do it.

[Shug]

I agree with the issue of accidentally running the zippers off the sliders. I just got back from my first trip with the Raven. I accidentally ran the zippers off at least half the times I used them. I got the 1.6 and it was very comfortable. The ability to reach out either side of the hammock is a really great feature. I think the unzipping problem is just a matter of getting used to it. I am used to sliding my WBBB zippers as far as possible when I get in and out, to reduce stress on the fabric, so I think I just need to train myself to be a little more careful and only unzip as much as needed. As far as the bugs getting in question, I must admit I was pretty skeptical, but I was in serious mosquito country during this trip and didn't have a single one in. There are a lot of drapes and folds in the end of the hammock and the bug net, so it is a maze to navigate. I don't think any bugs could actually do it.

I just got back from an overnighter with my Raven and had the same ziper thing happen. You have to be mindful not to let it un-zip all the way. That was my only con on the whole Raven. Feel like extending that zipper even 8 inches might cure that.
Uploading a Looky-See video of the Raven right now.
Shug