Meet my new Traveler 1.7 Single
Well, boys and girls, it was time to pick up a new hammock. This is becoming a bad habit of mine, as I am up to three. I know, it’s nowhere as overboard as most of you, but I am catching up slowly.
Just as I have summer and winter underquilts or topquilts, I decided I needed to have different winter and summer hammocks as well. Why? Well, thank you for asking. I started out with a Skeeter Beeter mosquito hammock, but I noticed that in the colder months, my breath condensed overnight, making things inside the hammock, well, damp. With the Skeeter Beeter, it was easy to flip the hammock/ netting upside down and utilize it as an open gathered end hammock. Then, last winter, I borrowed a friend’s WBBB 1.0d and noticed the same condensation. I did like the WBBB, and picked up my own 1.1 d at the beginning of the summer, but the WBBB cannot be flipped like the Skeeter Beeter.
Knowing that I did not have enough hammocks, I concluded I could use an open hammock for temps below bug season, and focused on getting a Traveler. Being my usual neurotic self, I talked with everyone here about whether or go with the 1.1d or the 1.7s and what suspension to get. It was a grueling decision, but I finally selected the 1.7s, as it was very close to the “feel” of the Skeeter Beeter, and Brandon assured me that it would have as flat a lay as the 1.1d. As I have become more focused on ounces, I felt I could get the weight down below those published by Warbonnet. On top of that, if I carry a lighter hammock in the winter, it will help offset the extra amount carried by cool weather quilts and clothing (Hi! My name is Buffalo Skipper, and I’m a gram weenie—they say admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery…).
Ok, enough of the fluff and background. After nearly 2 weeks of sitting on pins and needles, my new Traveler arrived in the mail yesterday! Before I even took it out of the bag, I threw it on the scale, where it came in at 16.9 oz. I removed it from the bag and as expected, it is art and function in its simplest form. Without even trying the stock suspension, I stripped it clean, put on a brand new set of whoopies I had made, then coupled it with my own straps. And off to the back yard I went….
I tried it with both my underquilts, but there is only a very small range in which I would use the Traveler with my summer quilt. Both fit marvelously, and as I lay down, I really began to appreciate the form of the Traveler. It was as comfortable as the WBBB for the few minutes I was able to relax in peace (before being chased out by the mosquitoes).
Now that’s nice.
While I had it strung up, I switched out the Amsteel (?) ridge line for some Zing-it. When I went inside to weigh it, it was down to 15.6 oz. Not as low as I would like to be, but certainly a place where I can be happy. I will miss the shelf, which is really cool, but I will just have to get by. I will also miss the side pull outs, but in the cooler months they are admittedly less necessary.
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Originally Posted by Coil
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