NX-250 without poles

[Jsaults]

using shock cord sections with mitten hooks clipped to the continuous ridgeline I use.

Worked OK, I guess, but you do lose some of that wonderfully roomy feeling you get with the stock setup.

Jim

[nateseviltwin]

I never thought of that Jim. That would be easy to set up if you lost a pole in the field.

-Nate

[bacon_grease]

Since it appears I will probably be keeping my 250 I might be looking for ways to trim weight off it on long trips. I'm also terribly disorganized and I'm always afraid of losing a pole. Have any of you tried setting it up without the poles using some sort of ridgeline or by using sticks instead of poles? If so how's that working for you?

My understanding is that the only differences between the NX-200 and NX-250 are the addition of the sleeve for the poles and the weather shield is zipped to the bug screen.

As such, it is quite easy to set up without the poles - you simply use the rain-fly to support the top of the hammock rather than using the poles. You'll probably want to refer to the instructions for the NA to make sure you do it right.

As DemostiX pointed out, it may feel more "closed in" without the poles. However, a sleeping pad will hold the hammock out fairly well though not as wide as the poles do.

The tent poles really set the 250 apart, though, since they mean you don't have to set the rain-fly. That REALLY cuts down on set up / break down times and it lets you sleep bug free under the stars.

As for not losing the poles - put some orange tape on them. Those darn black sticks are crazy easy to lose track of. A little bright marking will REALLY help you keep track of them.

Hope that helps.

[rngn]

I just put ridge line above mine and used a s biner attached to a prussic attached to the ridge line. that way i could easely adjust tention

[LikeYogiSays]

I took an aluminum long handled car windshield scraper and cut a piece of the aluminum tube the same length as the nx250 poles, went to the hardware store and got two vinyl tips that fit over the tubes and wala! a tube just big enough to hold the poles and keep them safe and sound. This set up is no longer than the broken down pole segments and the poles just fit inside the diameter so you can tell at a glance if one segment is missing.

[gaijin42]

You can still use the weathershield even without the poles if you use tieouts to make a pseudo ridgeline

[Holger]

You are supposed to use the shock cord between the hammock and the tarp, both have attachments for this case