Just got back from Loon lake on the Canadian border. Weather was wet but we managed, picked up a few fish and only a two ticks on the dog.
BTW temps were around mid 30's at night with some wind 5-10mph and rain at least 2 nights.
We had 4 newish hangers and here are the results:
- HH user was obsessed with tightening his hammock so much it required 2 guys, figuring that would get him a "flat hang". Although his new green OES MacCat deluxe was very flattering in the woods (what can I say, his wife asked me for birthday gifts). I didn't comment on his hang because honestly I don't have a clue about HH.
- The other HH guy had condensation issues between his sleeping bag and non-insulated inflatable pad (he did have the HH foam UQ). But with his lack of tarp coverage the almost zero r-value pad that doesn't suprise me.
On my side of the camp, we had a ENO doublenest and WBBB. My daughter (9 years old, second hang) got the ENO and a bugnet (learned my lesson last time). She had a 15 degree Big Agnes bag, with the insulated inflatable pad and a yoga mat/ccf pad underneath (thank you forums for that idea). She said she was warm but did get condensation between the ccf and pad. That was somewhat expected and didn't cause any issues. She was rocking a 4 season OES tarp setup like a tent which really helped cut down the wind although it did create a huge tripping issue for nighttime bathroom visits. New suspension pre-trip including dutch buckles, lash-it ridgeline for tarp with some pulsiks, nacrobeaners and line-lok/shock cord tarp tensioners. Only real problem was the pulsiks wouldn't keep the tarp tight on the ridgeline so i tossed on some figure 9's to pull it tight (need to revisit that later).
The WBBB had a 3 season Yeti UQ and OES Deluxe, pre-trip got new dutch whoopie hooks, lash-it ridgeline for the tarp, line-lok/shock cord tensioners and some 6061 6" aluminum tent stakes. Sleeping bag was a Big Agnes 55F nugget and some of natures insulation (fat).
Stakes were awesome, very easy to push in with a shoe. WBBB/Yeti/OES were flawless as always with the exception of my slipping pulsiks (solved by figure 9's also).
My body was warm (even hot), but my feet were freezing!
- Night 1, feet so cold I got up early just to walk around
- Night 2 , moved to wool socks over my hiking socks
- Night 3, changed to fresh socks before bed and wool socks, then put camp towel under feet and poly shirt around foot box in my sleeping bag. Feet were "acceptable".
- Night 4, home in my own bed, sticking my cold feet on wife..
Hook versus buckle report - The trees were a little tight and I had to wrap the dutch hook straps around the tree several times, leading to lots of sap on my straps and lines that came off one side of the tree versus middle (making the tarp setup interesting). The buckle on the other hand shortened nicely. I really wanted to prefer the hooks but I think the buckle wins out in my book.
As far as the cold feet, I am struggling. Part of me thinks the Yeti 3 season is too hot for my well insulated body although it also could have been that all the heat was moving to my core as it left my feet to die a cold death. Pondering some fleece socks/ccf combo or maybe switch to a full length UQ.
Biggest hit of the trip was the DIY hanging gear bag on the Eno ridgeline. Held water, flashlight, book, glasses, toothbrush, toothpaste and stuffed cat (just in case).
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Its good to see the next generation take an interest in the outdoors.
Originally Posted by Redoleary
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