Tensa Outdoor and the commercial packable tensahedron stand

[KiwiMark]

I've changed to a Dream Hammock with cinch buckles to give me a shorter length to allow the stand to have a shorter ridge line. Combined with a longer tarp (13' Ridge Line), it is really easy to have the entire stand & hammock completely underneath the tarp so I don't have to worry about rain running down the Tensa poles.

Once the stand is up and tarp extensions added, I attach the tarp and stake out 4 corners:


At this point I have a sheltered area to move my gear into, if it is raining I would leave setting up the hammock until this point.

At this campsite the ground was quite hard and it wasn't all that easy to get the large Orange screws into the ground, to make sure the foot end of the hammock stand was well anchored:


This worked well! Often there is a pole or tree or picnic table that makes a good anchor for the foot end, the rest are not that critical and I can use my titanium tent spikes hammered into the ground when the Orange screws just can't be coaxed into the hard dry ground.

[KiwiMark]

Sometimes the problem is heat and sun, you really want so shade and room to sit & relax!


Here the tarp works well in porch mode.





And again here. I've even gone double porch mode using 4 poles, so that the wind blows through - great when it is really hot and you need all the breeze you can get!

[KiwiMark]

One thing that can get annoying is when it gets quite windy and the wind keeps blowing the tarp into your hammock & stand. It isn't hard to fix though:



One small Orange screw and one adjustable tarp pole can easily pull on the 2 side pull-outs and works well to stop the tarp pushing into the hammock. It also works well to hold the tarp away from you when it is covered in condensation on a cool morning!

[P-Dub]

KiwiMark, none of your photos are showing up for me. Just wanted to alert you (realize it could be on my end, but...)

[Free Dog]

I can't see any of the photos either.

[ChinoUSMC]

I can't see any of the photos either.

Ditto, also not seeing them


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KiwiMark]

Dang, can't edit the previous posts.
Pics show up fine on my browser, must be because they are my images. Google photos used to work fine for sharing images, now it looks like you have to go through some extra steps.
Let me try something and see if it works . . .
Nope, didn't work, trying something else . . .
And again . . .
From Imgur . . .

This is my bike all loaded up for a 23 day trip:


Once the stand is up and tarp extensions added, I attach the tarp and stake out 4 corners:


At this campsite the ground was quite hard and it wasn't all that easy to get the large Orange screws into the ground, to make sure the foot end of the hammock stand was well anchored:


Sometimes the problem is heat and sun, you really want so shade and room to sit & relax!


Here the tarp works well in porch mode.




One thing that can get annoying is when it gets quite windy and the wind keeps blowing the tarp into your hammock & stand. It isn't hard to fix though:

[Crazytown3]

@KiwiMark you have a great setup there. My setup is pretty similar when I'm on the bike, except I don't have the collapsible tarp poles. I think I might get at least one for the versatility it adds. I can't imagine it takes up much in the way of storage space.

Love your bike too. The Africa Twin is at the top of my (very) short list for my next bike.

[KiwiMark]

@KiwiMark you have a great setup there. My setup is pretty similar when I'm on the bike, except I don't have the collapsible tarp poles. I think I might get at least one for the versatility it adds. I can't imagine it takes up much in the way of storage space.

Love your bike too. The Africa Twin is at the top of my (very) short list for my next bike.

Thanks, I really like the Africa Twin, if I came into a large amount of money and wanted to buy a new bike then I'd trade it for the 2020 CRF1100 ATAS ES DCT, but that is a really pricey bike and my '17 AT is doing a great job of getting me out and around the country.

My Camping setup has been refined over the last few years. I started with a hammock and tarp, using trees and had a Handy Hammock Stand for a backup option for when there were no suitable trees. Then I got the pre-production Tensa stand and used it on my '18 trip - way easier not needing to find suitable trees, it gave me the freedom to camp anywhere that the tent campers could. I changed to the production version of the Tensa stand for some worthwhile improvement (anodised, keyed poles, straps & cinch buckles). I bought more Orange Screws (smaller ones for staking out the tarp) for vastly superior holding in soft ground and then I bought some 6mm titanium stakes for hard ground.

The REI adjustable tarp poles have been great, well worth taking 4 of these on my trips. 4 poles allows: Porch mode with 2 or 3 poles, double porch mode with 2 poles on each side, high wind porch mode with 3 poles and the 4th pole used to get the angle right on the pull-outs on the windward side. I used to use 2 of the poles to support the ends of the ridge line, but now the tarp extensions have proved to be quicker & easier.

Since last year I have changed my tie-outs. On this year's trip I used Dutchware Fleaz on Zing-it loops attached to my tarp's D-Rings. I have made several lengths of line with a bowline loop at one end - put the line through the Orange Screw eye and the loop and pull, then hook it on to one of the Fleaz, tighten and secure. I like this system so well that I'm going to buy some more Fleaz on Zing-it loops and attach them to the pull-outs and also the ends of the tarp ridgeline. I have been using Dutchware Stingerz, but the Zing-it goes from the Stingerz to the anchor and back, giving me only half the reach for the given length of the Zing-it. I think it is easier to make a length of Zing-it or Glow Wire with a loop on the end with a suitable length and use that for the ridgeline or pull-out or tarp corners.

I really want the camping gear to be quicker and easier to set up and take down. Making everything as simple and easy to use as possible. Over my 23 days & nights I travelled over 5,500kms and I set up and took down my hammock & tarp around a dozen times. If I can save a few minutes on the set up and a few minutes on the take down then it would add up to a decent amount of time and effort saved throughout the trip.

[KiwiMark]

I can't thank the Tensa people enough, the difference it makes having a stand that fits on a motorcycle is absolutely game changing.

Here in New Zealand there is no support for Hammocking at campgrounds. There are usually trees, but rarely pairs of trees at a suitable distance. 99% of campers use a tent, so that is what the campgrounds cater for. A lot of the trees that are in wilder areas are pines which pose a dead-fall risk. There are motorcycle rallies that are held on land that has no trees at all, if you need trees then you are very limited as to what places/events you go to.

For the last 3 years I haven't even bothered to try hanging from trees. I just use my Tensa stand and set up where the tent campers setup. I do have less trouble than the tenters with sloping ground though (one motorcycle rally is on farm land that is not flat at all), just need to have the stand set up with the hammock up/down the slope rather than across it. Lengthening or shortening the tethers will get the Tensa stand ends to the correct heights, regardless of the slope of the ground under it.

My Tensa4 stand/hammock/tarp setup is very versatile, with a lot of room under the tarp in porch mode it is better to relax under than most tents. Lots of guys go to motorcycle rallies with very compact tents that offer very little except somewhere to sleep, they may bring a chair to sit in, but have no shelter from rain for that chair. I often lie in my hammock watching TV programs (10.5" tablet, Bose noise cancelling headphones & memory stick loaded up with whatever TV programs I want). On this year's trip I finally got around to watching the first season of Altered Carbon. My new Helinox Sunset chair is absolutely fantastic for relaxing in when I'm not lying in the hammock.

On the last night of my trip I got to the campground and set up my gear. Then I went for a ride and fulled the tank with petrol. I returned to the campground and relaxed while munching on a pizza (I needed to be fuelled up too). SO much better than being at work!