DISCLAIMER: I like to post LOTS of pictures...
So we finally got our hammocks on Wednesday, over a week after ordering, and after requesting rush delivery (screw you UPS)... This was absolutely no fault of Hennessy's and they were absolutely above reproach with their handling of the situation. I would recommend them to anyone any time.
Anyway, we set them up in the back 40, behind the house and chilled out in them, got used to setting them up... We're both pretty good with tarping a campsite from when we were ground dwellers, so setting up our hammocks came fairly naturally to us, and we didn't have a lot of issues. We both got the Hennessy Expedition Asym, as you can see in the pictures. Both of us are absolutely thrilled with them. Best camping sleep I've ever had, and the ease and speed of setting up is fantastic. I'm pumped to upgrade to whoopie slings and some dutch clips and/or 'bieners, the stock suspension is definitely a bit clunky and bulky, but it does work great for a start.
All this is prelude to the camping trip. Friday was gorgeous, and Brad had the afternoon off (best friend of 23 years, basically my brother). We had been planning a small overnight trip to test out the hammocks since basically before we'd ordered them. Brad goofed his back at work on Thursday, so we thought it best not to push it and hike anywhere too far. So we took my car and headed off to a spot not too far out of town that I like to camp at.
Temps were about 15*C on Friday, getting to about -2*C over night, and up to 13-15*C again on Saturday. Nice clear skies the whole time. We had Coleman -1*C-20*C bags for insulation, it worked admirably since we were outside of it's temp rating**. My only complaint was a small amount of cold seeping through the bottom, which would've completely been eliminated by a CCF pad or an underquilt. I would say with a 3 season rated underquilt I could take this setup to -10*C, I would guess. Further, I was sleeping with fleece pants, normal socks, a t-shirt, and a fleece sweater I put on half way through the night. We also got to test out our new DIY alcohol stoves, still need to make cookwear, but we're transitioning from vehicle camping to backpacking, and I recently lost my job, so the transition is slow... The forest was fantastic, a few skeeters out already, but not really enough to be bothersome. Felt almost like fall, the forest was still cold enough to have not really started budding, but there was no snow, except in the shadowy areas... A unique experience no doubt. We did see a deer on the way out, but we were too slow on the camera. Oh well. There's about 3 or 4 times the amount of water that normally flows down these falls currently passing over them. I'll post pictures and reference these later this year.
I have a video I'm uploading and will add when it's online, but for now here's my story 1000 words at a time.
**(It goes way high through a system of self propped vents, works awesome, Brad slept in his the next night in his bedroom and reported back that he didn't sweat all night with it zipped up completely)
(where's waldo..er..spot my car and the hammocks, win the satisfaction that it brings you)
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Originally Posted by chickenwing
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