Help!!! Clark or WBBB? Which rain fly??

[Dura108]

Hi guy's. As you can probably tell, I'm new to hammocks. I'm 67 years young, and in very good health for my age. I am a side sleeper. I toss and turn all night long from one side to the other. My research turned up so much info. that my brain shut down. I think I've narrowed it down to the Clark or the WBBB. I like the Clark NX-150 and I was thinking about the the War Bonnet Super Fly. I like the foot box on the WBBB and it appears to accommodate side sleeping better than other brands. I know the Clark claims to accommodate side sleeping, but how comfortable compaired to say the WBBB with it's foot box? As you all know, without being able to actually lay down in them, it makes it very difficult to make an intelligent decision. I will appreciate any help I can get. Thanks

[Syb]

Welcome Dura. There are a lot of helpful folks here and a few in the AZ area that you might be able to touch base with and see each of the hammocks you're considering. I have a WBBB and sleep like a baby on my side. I don't own nor have never seen/been in a Clark but I've heard good things about them. Welcome to being above the ground.

[lazy river road]

WARBONNET IMHO its the Cadillac of all hammocks. It is so comfy, the shelf and foot box are both really nice features. I don't feel claustrophobic at all and have plenty of room to roll and move around inside. I get a nice flat lay and once I found my sweet spot I've had no trouble getting some of the best nights sleep in my WBBB.
IMHO, Get your warbonnet on!!!
LRR

(I promise I'm not bias I just like warbonnet )

[wisenber]

Don't forget the JRB bridge hammock.
That might tackle your side sleeping as well.

I see that was your first post. Welcome!

Have you tried any hammocks yet? You may want to give one a whirl before diving in.
Grand Trunk has a plain UL hammock for about 20 bucks. Playing around with one of those close to home might help you decide if you like hammocks or not while also helping you better determine what you want (or don't) in a hammock.

You will no doubt find countless advocates for any number of hammocks type and brands here, but hammocks are like shoes: what works for one person may not be so great for another.

Again, welcome. Take your time and see what works for you before jumping in and spending a bunch on something you may or may not like. That 20 dollar Grand Trunk hammock might very well help you decide better on a larger investment. Then again, some folks are happy with a 20 dollar hammock.

[shumway]

Hi Dura. You are in a similar pickle to so many people on here. My first hammock is a Hennessy Expedition which I got at a local sporting store about 8 years ago. It's great but I wanted something new and perhaps fancier. Oh and with a bug net I can push aside. I too went up and down the whole spectrum of hammocks trying to decide. If I decided a year ago I probably would have gone with a Clark - but that was before I read anything on this site. After months of reading on here I decided on a WBBB 1.1 dbl and a Superfly, which are on their way to me with UPS as we speak. It really was a difficult decision. I also considered the Clark NX 250 and the Switchback. The owners of all of them seem to love them. Actually, I didn't really see much negative about any of the brands, which made it even tougher.
The things that made me decide on a WBBB were 1. Structural ridgeline. The Switchback needs tie outs for the bug net and the Clark has those spreader poles adding weight and complexity. 2. weight. The WB I chose is lighter than both. 3. price - Clarks are way more money than the WB. 4. double layer - easy to use a pad or UQ if I choose. Same for SB but Clark has those pockets which I feared might make insulating a challenge unless I bought their system. 5. favorable reviews. Everybody with a WB loves it

The Super Fly seemed like an obvious choice to me. I'm paranoid about getting rained on. I love the built in door idea so if the weather gets crazy bad I can seal up almost like a tent.

[Amelander]

Those were exactly the two hammocks I narrowed my search down to. I ended up picking the WB Blackbird over the Clark, mainly because of this forum and all the advice I got from people here. I have not regretted my decision. The WBBB is more comfortable than my bed in the house. It is very easy to setup, I use the stock web straps suspension that it comes with. For a fly I was worries about rain coverage and got the Superfly, man is it huge, I love it.

Brandon at Warbonnet has always been helpful whenever I have emailed him. Good luck in your quest and keep us posted.

Oh and Shug owns a WBBB, thats the main reason to get one, HAHA!

[pgustaf249]

Hi guy's. As you can probably tell, I'm new to hammocks. I'm 67 years young, and in very good health for my age. I am a side sleeper. I toss and turn all night long from one side to the other. My research turned up so much info. that my brain shut down. I think I've narrowed it down to the Clark or the WBBB. I like the Clark NX-150 and I was thinking about the the War Bonnet Super Fly. I like the foot box on the WBBB and it appears to accommodate side sleeping better than other brands. I know the Clark claims to accommodate side sleeping, but how comfortable compaired to say the WBBB with it's foot box? As you all know, without being able to actually lay down in them, it makes it very difficult to make an intelligent decision. I will appreciate any help I can get. Thanks

Rather than direct you to a particular hammock I'll share with you some questions/factors I considered when deciding on my hammock/tarp. Some of the questions below may apply to both the hammock and tarp and some may apply to just one or the other"

Which is more important to you: light weight or the low volume?

Do you want a ridgeline or not. If you want a ridgeline, do you want a built-in ridgeline?

Do you want a bug net. If so, do you want a built-in bug net?

Do you want your tarp built-in to the hammock or separate?

Do you want to be able to lie flat or are you OK with sleeping like a banana?

Single or double layer bottom?

Do you want some type of system to organize/store small items when you're inside your hammock?

Do you have a spending limit?

Are you OK with tying knots each time you setup or would you rather not fool with knots?

I'm sure they other folks can add some other things to the list, but maybe this one can get you started.

[Riverpirate]

Well I will vote for the Clark as the cadillac of hammocks but I have both. The Clarks offers more features in and all in one package especially if you are looking at the NX or TX models.

[brushybill]

imho
if you are going for light wieght the blackbird is a great hammock, very comfortable,extremely clever design, if i did nothing but backpacking ,this would be my hands down winner, however, i do a lot of canoeing, so wieght is not as much of an issue, so the clark hammocks give a roomier feeling, but have an entirely different lay, also some folks find the rainfly to be on the small side, although i have never gotten wet in almost ten years with my ultralite.
these days i am in love with my switchback, large, roomy and very comfortable in almost any position i can get into, although it requires a large rainfly to get adequate coverage, so again , there is a small wieght penalty
hope this helps

[Raul Perez]

not trying to swing your vote in either direction. But I find my Blackbird very comfy: