I can't wait to get mine! It should ship out tomorrow and I too will post some pics when I get it set up.
I can't wait to get mine! It should ship out tomorrow and I too will post some pics when I get it set up.
I know these are new on the market and no one has much experience with the Flex 180 but how does single sleeping feel on the diagonal? Is it better to just use on rope on the foot end for one person?
I have a NX 150 and it is fine but I would like the larger sleep area and I need to make a choice between the Flex and the NX 250 fairly soon so I can use it this summer.
Also interested in how wide the bottom of the Flex is when set up for one person? I'm wondering about UQ fit...especially the Underground quilts?
Love the NX 150 and it looks like the Flex can only be more of the same good stuff. Just did a 9 days of hanging around Sand Point, ID and it kept the bug invasion at bay the whole time. I was warm with the pockets filled with pillows and using a poncho liner...temps in the upper 30's at night wearing Sitka Kelvin pants and jacket. 12'x12' Kelty Noah tarp worked great.
Comments appreciated!!
Lowrider: How big are you? Ht, wt, and suit size?
@ 5'7", 170 and 42 suit, I found on returning to the smaller bed Clark WITH SPREADER HOOPS, from a larger bed NX-250, that I was not lacking for space and feeling of roominess. The hoops (and standard Clark firmness) matter, but the hoops matter a lot.
(NA and Tropical owners): I'll report on a separate thread on great happiness with adding hoops -- esp at the head end -- to those models.
Flex owners: Could you specify in words or measures how the hmmk hangs? 3 trees? One tree and both sides of a second large diameter one?
Demostix I would be curious to see your report on the addition of hoops to the NA.
5'10", 200, 46 coat, but....I'd like more room than the 150 provides. I do sleep comfortably in the 150 but I can't sleep on my side at all which is not mandatory but would be nice. Recent shoulder surgery makes it tough to get comfortable sometimes too. Kinda like a twin bed will work but a queen is a lot better.
My thought is turn the 150 over to my wife and get a more roomy one for myself...hence the 250 or the Flex. Also, having room for some extra covers on a cold night on the inside would be nice too.
I'm thinking rather than using two trees to hang the Flex, why couldn't you make a spreader bar out of PVC pipe or aluminum pipe and use that to spread the hammock and make a yoke that only requires being hung from one tree. The spreader bar would give the full width (whatever that might be) to the hammock and simplify the hanging process not unlike the old military style Jungle hammock which I spent many a night in once upon a time in a land far far away.
I'm also thinking of trying a sleeping bag to rig an underquilt but without the width measurement it's hard to figure out if that would work and should be better than the NX250 pockets anyway. An unzipped bag would surely be wide enough...I think. I guess fairly soon the UQ industry will start making a quilt wide enough anyway.
A spreader bar would have the issue of possibly raising the total center of gravity for the hammock (depending on how it was attached), and as well making the single connection point on the tree a pivot on which the two beds can swing in a see-saw fashion. This would significantly reduce the "untipability" of the hammock. This would be espeically pronouced if one side was significantly heavier than the other
Hey there guys,
You know, if there's one thing I thoroughly regret right now, is that I didn't jump into the hammock in 1 person mode when I had the chance. I was trying to make camp quickly in the dark after a very strenuous hike, and get my lady to relax as soon as I could. It was her first time out in the woods with me, so the priority was to get it right as quickly as I could in 2 person mode.
In the morning, we had to de-rig quickly to reach our waterfall destination and get home before dark, as I only had a very short break from work. So, I didn't get to test the flex-180 in 1 person mode, as much as I wanted to.
As for the width of the hang, without a tape measure and from memory; I'd say easily 4.5 feet across, shoulder to shoulder across 2 occupants. As for an underquilt, it would have to be at least 5 feet across or more I would say, to curve round the 2 occupants.
Here's a pic to help 'guesstimate' the width:
As for using a sleepingbag as an underquilt to experiment, I was thinking the same. Would be great if someone made a flex-180 specific one soon. Even at 26C (79F), the breathable base was very 'breathable' and even felt a bit chilly on my back in the morning without a sleeping bag. And I'm normally comfortable under the sheets at 23C (73F) bedroom temp.
Lowrider, you know, I think a spreader bar may only work well with 3 trees in total (Gaijin42 is right). You could probably use a spreader bar with 2 trees (conventional hammock style) but only to flex the hammock slightly- AND in single occupant mode.
The reason I say this is; the hammock would 'roll/tilt' quite a bit as its attached only to 1 point. One side of the head-end would almost/if not touch, the ground during the tilt as the first person jumps in. The spreader bar could end up near vertical and not horizontal, if you know what I mean.
But if the single tree is wide enough; then it may not be a problem to use a speaderbar to flex the hammock out to the maximum flex.
With 3 trees in total, the spreader bar worked fine, eventho the head-end trees were fairly close together. As long as there is a sag, ie 30 degree hang, and the ropes are not too tight unoccupied; it would be difficult to tip.
If there is space between trees top and bottom end, the hammock head-end could be moved closer to the 2-tree end to help flex the hammock more if required. I just didn't have that extra distance with the trees I used.
Note: Be sure to read the Clark supplied manual well. Take special precaution not to stretch the hammock apart on the 2 rope-end if the trees are too wide apart. It isn't designed to take too much stress between the 2 rope-end (hence the safety strap).
Last edited by russwestwood; 06-19-2012 at 23:32.
From the trees we came, to the trees we shall return
Ok, so when I got home tonight, my Flex 180 was waiting on my doorstep for me. I swapped out the stock ropes for three all in one whoopie slings and hung it before it got dark in my back yard. I'll mess with it more tomorrow, but for now, all I have to say is this thing is HUGE! I think you could have a party in there! I actually laughed out loud when I first got in because it was so roomy. More to come later.
Bookmarks