Thinking about an HH

[wirerat123]

I'm one of the few that love the bottom entrance for various reasons. But it would be nice to have both options. Much easier to get in your sleeping bag and get things in the right places from the side. For ease of use, the side zip is the way to go. I like the bottom, but I'm sure I'm in the minority here. I've been using mine so long getting in, and getting everything adjested and in place is just second nature now.

Top quilt makes the bottom entrance a lot easier. Mummy bag can make it a nightmare.

Both have positives and negatives. But that aside. Hennessy makes one of the finest shelter hammocks on the market for the money. I'm fine with my stock tarp, but am considering a hex upgrade.

[SGT Rock]

You could get a regular Hennessy and get the mod done while keeping the bottom entry. That way you have both options.

[dakotaross]

You could get a regular Hennessy and get the mod done while keeping the bottom entry. That way you have both options.

That's what I'm doing with mine!

The bottom entry HH is all I've ever really known, so when I think of side loading, I think of my head and back rubbing against the tarp when I get in and out, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

I only have a 2/3 UQ and it only comes a few inches past the slit, but the bungees holding it do sort of have to be negotiated when getting in and out. Minor issue for a 2/3 quilt, but for me would me much more of an issue with a full UQ.

The bottom entry does have a bit of a cool factor to it when it comes to showing others. I typically hang my hammock with the entry end further from the tree than the other end, and I cheat my large tarp to cover more of the entry end so that I have a bit of a vestibule there. Can accomplish a similar type of thing side-entry using your poles to lift a side of the tarp to give more underneath space, but it would seem to me you lose some windshearing capacity that way (as well as use of your poles for something else). I suspect that a HH with tarp pulled down close on it handles wild weather better, or at least allows easier entry/exit when you have the tarp pulled close. And I guess in that regard, you could carry a smaller tarp, too.

My only gripes with the bottom entry is that with "stuff" (i.e. pads, s-bag) in the hammock, it can be easy to nudge the velcro open if you're squirming around with it - not good when that happens when you're sleeping. No problem with an UQ, however, but you do need to be able to reach out and adjust the UQ from the side around your shoulders, which is why I'm doing the mod.

[SGT Rock]

I keep flirting with the idea of getting one of me Hennessy hammocks modified.

[Wentworth]

We just picked up an ultralight with side zip. I like it, nice chunky zip, about as comfy as my blackbird.

[oldsoldier]

SGT Rock, do it-you'll enjoy it. The options are nice

[kwpapke]

I have cooked and eaten meals in my Jetboil while sitting in my HH with legs dangling down from the slit opening. Gives mosquito protection, and in inclement weather keeps me dry and can throw my sleeping bag over me for warmth.

I also use a WBBB, and I've had the zip snag on my bag on numerous occasions. There is something simple, elegant and robust about the HH bottom slit opening -- it cannot fail you.

The downside for some people is they notice a bit of tension in their calf area where the slit does not flex as much as the rest of the hammock bottom. This never bothered me, but it does some people.

One of the supposed advantages of the side zipper is being able to sit there with the bugnet pulled back. For whatever reason I almost never do this with my HH: I am either sitting around the campfire or by the eating area with my compadres, or, I'm laying down.

I find the two pretty equivalent for the midnight tree-watering excursions: the side entry requires a bit less bending over, but more fidgeting with the zipper.

Some people have a fear of falling out of the slit. This is *highly* unlikely. After a few iterations of wriggling down there to exit, you realize that you are not going to do this by accident.

FWIW,

--Kurt

[Rain Man]

I keep flirting with the idea of getting one of me Hennessy hammocks modified.

If I had not had my HH modified with zippers, it would have been sold by now. Sending it to 2Qs was the best thing I ever did with it.

Rain Man

.

[bcaron]

I bought an Expedition Zip this year and like it very much for all the reasons stated. For me the best times in a hammock are at first light when the bugs are asleep, and you unzip the side a bit, let the fresh air in (yes the mesh blocks alot), hang your head partially out, listen to the birds and take in the view for a while. Can't do that without a side zip.

[sir_n0thing]

I have a HH with the side zip AND a #4 mod by 2Q ZQ. The side zip is an improvement over the bottom entry. Adding the extra zipper mod to that made it even better!