My first HH SS hang

[Hulk]

I've been hanging out for a while now. I've simply been using a therma rest "self" inflating pad and my Big Agnes Lost Ranger Down bag. Its an arrangement which has worked ok for me. Except for when morning fog has formed, it felt like if blew right through.
Annoyed with all the squirming associated with using the bottom entry and the pad\bag arrangement i sent my Hammock for the zipper mod from 2Q. I have to give 2Q for the quality of craftsmanship, and how fast it was accomplished and shipped back to me.
While my hammock was away, i made the decision pony up fort the super shelter system after reading this review. http://www.backpackgeartest.org/revi...0Kurt%20Papke/

Last weekend i took the opportunity to put it to the test. At the last minute i found a car camping partner. I set up, on Mt Pilchuck in Wa, at about the 3000 foot level, at an old logging landing.

Yep, i was hanging from an old slash pile. A very open unsheltered area on the windward side of the mountain.

Equipment used: Hennessy hammock, Super shelter, space blanket, stock tarp and Kelty Noah 9 tarp, Big Agnes Lost ranger bag, REI minimalist bivy.

The weather forcast was partly cloudy with a 30% chance of rain by morning. That NOT what i got. The wind picked up at dusk, as a result i drew down the kelty tarp as low as possible, and the stock tarp as low as it would go as well. During the night, the temp dropped to 39*, the wind became very strong, with gusts up to 40 mph from variable direction, with heavy bands of rain showers. The cloud deck also dropped below, 2000 feet. During the night i was warm except during the strongest gusts of wind, but did not get uncomfortably cold. However, the tarp arrangement was not enough to keep all the water out be of the gusty winds. The water running off the tarp simply blew under, and hit the HH under cover. In the morning my shoes, and pot and pan which had been sitting under the hammock over night were flooded full of water. Inside the hammock, there was a little bit of condensation, on the bug net, and under the stock tarp. Sleeping bag was dry, except for the area around my face. The Space blanket was dry, as was the HH open cell pad.

I went looking for some crappy weather. I got more that what i was looking for. I must say i did not expect it to preform this well. It's nice to know that if i get and unfocast storm while back packing, my shelter will handle it. I would still hesitate to call it a 4 season system.....but

I'm impressed.

[jonesy]

grats man! i recently got a myself a ss for my HH and love it.. it performs very well esp. wit a heatsheet/space blanket..altho the pad is pretty fragile .i dont have the zipper mod ..so that means that ofter i get into the hammock i need to pull the pad over a bit to get it in the corrct spot.. one night my thumb went right through the pad making a tear. im unhappy with this but it has caused any problems with its usage..

[BillyBob58]

Well now, how about that! I've never seen the Super Shelter put to such a test the first outing! And for a long time I've been saying that my favorite thing about the super shelter(other than price) was that it included, as part of the base system, a significant amount of wind and rain blockage courtesy of the undercover. WhooBuddy, I do believe you put that to the test, and then some! And I do believe it passed the test with flying colors.

Even though using just a diamond tarp(s), and even though things underneath you tarp got quite wet, including the undercover, you stayed essentially dry inside the hammock, and your pad stayed essentially dry inside the undercover! I don't know what more could be asked for. It also sounds like you were dealing with quite significant wind chill, with a lot of wind getting past the tarps (along with some wind driven water). At those temperatures with that amount of wind getting past the tarp, that would've been a real challenge for some other under quilts which normally might be a good bit warmer than that single Hennessy Hammock pad and space blanket. (unless of course, they also had some sort of wind and water resistant cover)

Of course, with a bigger tarp and an optimal pitch, you may well have also been able to keep everything dry. And keep the wind out. But in my experience that undercover is a big help, especially when using smaller tarps.

Anyway, glad to hear it worked out so well considering the exposed position of your hang. Thanks for the report!