I received my Claytor Jungle hammock May 29 (13 days shipping).
Spent the next 2 nights in my back yard playing....I have much to learn!
Set-up
Easy and straight forward. I'm amazed at the amount of slack needed verses my HH Exped. I used a Strapworks, biner, decender rings to a short loop of the original Claytor strap (I will replace that ASAP). I created a set of 14"spreaders from a carbon fiber hunting arrow. Worked well but could be 1"-2" wider. I replaced the original diamond fly with the BIG rectangle tarp (about 13'x10'). WOW, is it HUGE! Pad was a GG CCF 1/4" and I just used a fleece blanket on top.
Night 1
Plenty warm (night temp 50), had some shoulder squeeze, but not enough to be uncomfortable. Woke up about 4 AM (nature called) as I wake up frequently sleeping anywhere but my bed. Went inside to take care of business and was invited to stay by my wife
Night 2
Terrible weather came in!! Had tornadoes hit 10 miles from my house. My wife was mortified that I was sleeping outside but hey, if your going to test the weatherproofness of my set-up, BRING IT ON! We had 2.5" of rain in 1.5 hrs and 50= mph straight line winds. 5000+ lighting strikes in my city overnight. Kinda reminded me of a rock concert!
Hammock was bone dry! 2 of the 4 tarp stakes pulled out of the ground (replaced and hung) and a 3rd was drug 4" IN THE GROUND but hung in. Personally, I put on my mp3 an slept till morning.
Low was 65 and I replaced the fleece blanket with a silk bag liner (3 oz) and was perfectly warm. I did increase my hanging slack and the shoulder squeeze went completely away. I was laying on my back with my arms back over my head completely comfortable (gotta love a 10' hammock)
Conclusion
PROS-Great hammock that is amazingly comfortable. Very weatherproof. BIG rain fly is HUGE providing awesome coverage. The top loading was sooo much easier than the HH bottom entry and the double bottom is pure genius! The spreader bars do an outstanding job of keeping the bug screen away from your face and making the interior feel very roomy.
CONS-Only 1...WEIGHT!
This set-up is not for the ultralight group. My scales (bathroom) had 2.5 lb. for the hammock body (including suspension) and 2.5 lb for the fly alone (ouch).
But hey, comfort and complete weatherproofness for 1 or 2 xtra lbs.
If the weight is that big of an issue, maybe I should go on a diet and lose that xtra 10-15 lbs. I'm carrying anyway!!
Great hammock that I look forward to using more often.
Bookmarks