Personally, I use a Speer Top Blanket and Underquilt, but if I had to recommend a true sleeping bag to anyone, I'd have to go with Western Mountaineering bags. They're popular for their light weight, warmth and comfort.
Personally, I use a Speer Top Blanket and Underquilt, but if I had to recommend a true sleeping bag to anyone, I'd have to go with Western Mountaineering bags. They're popular for their light weight, warmth and comfort.
"If you play a Nicleback song backwards, you'll hear messages from the devil. Even worse, if you play it forward, you'll hear Nickleback." - Dave Grohl
I used a home-made hammock for the entire AT on '07. Here's what worked for me: A simple hammock with a static line like the HH; bug net suspended from the static line, no zipper; twelve-foot long, 1.5 inch polypro webbing suspension lines all the way - no tree huggers, no hardware; a 9x5 foot tarp with the option of hooking to the suspension webbing or the trees, and 6 potential tie-outs, although only 4 sufficed except in heavy blows; snake skins; 6 lightweight stakes.
Since you are starting with the HH, I would certainly get a rectangular or hexagonal tarp larger than their standard - but not hugely larger. I did just fine with a 9x5. A 9x6 would do just fine, and some HHs work OK with 8x6. I would cut the suspension lines short and tie webbing directly to them. I also suggest hanging the HH loosely so the angle to the trees is around 45 degrees.
In regard to underquilts. Sometimes, you may want to stay in shelters or hostels without matresses or on the ground. You will be pretty uncomfortable if you don't have a pad. That means extra weight and bulk that will be very unwelcome on a thruhike. I used a thick, non-inflatable pad from late March through mid May. No underquilt. The pad did me proud in the hammock down to 20 degrees. I had one night at 7 degrees and several in the teens, and stayed in shelters then because it was a screaming late-spring storm. The pad was very welcome then. After mid May, I switched to a thinner pad and a lighter top quilt.
I recommend quilts instead of sleeping bags. They are more efficient and much easier to maneuver in.
Last edited by Spock; 10-15-2008 at 20:21.
On my thru this year, i rocked an HH with no accessories until Front Royal (im not a purist ewok) and never had an issue with any of the nasty weather. I had a CC camp chair for a pad on the coldest of nights, and the shoulder to hips coverage was enough when i brought my pack in with me as a knee break. I was never in a place where i couldnt rig and i left the hammock as it was. There were times when I hung inside a couple of shelters as well (ie after getting poured on from Fontana Dam to Mollie's Ridge). I never HAD to rig on the ground, but I did a couple of times for S+Gs, i used poles once and trees another time.
I used the standard HH fly and NEVER got wet in my hammock and got hit by more than one hard storm. i found that when i tried to rig my kit low enough to get the fly to (or very near to the ground), either I was on the ground or the fly was in too tight to the body of the hammock to make me non paranoid about water. I preferred to set it up with the fly about 30 degrees below horizontal and that was good enough to keep me dry and pretty much untouched by the wind.
Also, with respect to you question about sleeping bags, I used a Western Mountaineering 20 degree bag and that was great. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about their gear. LaFuma makes good stuff for the price point that its at. A friend of mine on the trail won a bag at trail days and used it without complaint.
Everyone's opinions and set-ups are different. I'll second the suggestion of practice riggings. Take a bunch of ideas and find the ones that work for you. I went out blind on just my second camping trip with my HH and was fine.
Best of luck on your thru, hope some of this helps.
you will be hanging all the way if you want to,i even hung every nite in the whites in new hampshire,except for lake of clouds hut and madison springs hutOriginally Posted by kristin1065
I'm planning an AT thru-hike this coming spring/summer and am excited to have swapped my tent for a HH hammock!! I just returned from a 3-night adventure in Pisgah National Forest (North Carolina) and am happy to report that the hangin' was excellent!! I am very happy so far with the new hammock lifestyle. I had a basic question, though: are there any issues that I should plan for with a hammock on the AT?? Any tips or suggestions? Thanks all!
i hung on the porch at zeeland falls hut and galehead hut.actually its easier to find places to hang on the AT then it is to tent.neo
the matrix has you
One question while we are on this subject.Still very new to hanging so forgive my ingnorance! I just purchased a McCat Deluxe tarp. I have a HH asym Deluxe. I tried to rig the tarp as the original was rigged...on the hooks that came with the HH. Seemed as though the tarp was to saggy or not tight enough.Also seemed as though the sides were laying right on the side of the hammock. Any suggestions on rigging this tarp with this hammock. Thank you!
Oh boy, here we go!Hanging a tarp in the original HH way gives great rain coverage, because you don't sag away from the tarp ridgeline once you get in. But, that also causes the tarp to sag with the hammock, and no matter how tight you had it originally, it will now be loose and saggy. So this can be tricky to deal with when using the stock tarp, but using a MacCat would be even trickier because you have 4 stake out points to deal with.
With the stock ( or any diamond) tarp, using hiking poles at the guy out points helps. Using tarp tensioners helps. Hanging stuff sacks with something heavy in them ( wet sand for ex) from the glove hooks on the HH tarp right and left ends helps a lot, and makes the loose tarp quieter in the wind.
But, with that MacCat, you are probably going to want to just tie it to the trees, or at a minimum tie one end to the tree and the other connect to the prussick.
Thanks BillyBob58! Now I have to learn how to properly tie out my new tarp! I swear there is a learning curve with the hammocks but everytime I use it I get better and better!
No way Hooch, the Rock Wren/Winter Wren is the only way to go for a hammocker, it also serves as camp insulation just like a JRB No Sniveler. Plus it is a real bag, not everyone can use a quilt on the ground very well. With the Wren, if you have to go to ground there are no compromises/supprises except that the drawstring foot adds a few ounces. You gain however, a big puffy hooded down vest for those few ounces.
Noticed that you did not plan to carry hiking poles. I found that they saved my rear end a few times on slick rocks, ice, a couple of muddy stretches and just plain stumbles. Also were handy to make a tarp tent for going to ground when I found a place I wanted to stealth camp or just do a simple camp like up on the Roan balds. Worth their weight in gold to me since I didn't end up with any injuries from my mis-steps.
Rockdawg69
It's a long way to the top if you want to Rock and Roll ----- those hills!!!
Professional Prevaricator: Part-time dealer in Yarns, Tales, Half-Truths, & Outright Lies -1st half-hour session at no cost (Lawyers and Doctors excepted).
Bingo. That's the method that I have been recommending for some time now - it alleviates most of the sag associated with laying in the hammock while still allowing adjustability via the prussick knot.
Brian
OES
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks