OK, I got my bird several days ago, but I only just got it set up this afternoon. I dutifully slogged out to my mud pit, in the 39*F rain. It has rained, heavy or light, for days on end around here lately. ( We were under an ice storm/freezing rain warning yesterday thru this AM. Thankfully, it didn't amount to much. I love snow but hate ice storms.

So I get 'er hung up with relative ease, kind of guessing about how tight to pull the RL ( Brandon warns not to pull to tight), and guessing about how tight to tension the R and L guy outs. I first sat there a couple of minutes chair style. That felt pretty good, probably as good as any and better than most. Then I laid back and swung to the diagonal. That felt about perfect, except I felt a bit of the old left calf pressure that I tend to feel in 100% of gathered end hammocks I have tried. But, I can at least sometimes get rid of the center ridge problem just by digging a heal in and kind of forcing the bottom to be flatter at that spot. Kind of hard to explain. But, I found the BB to be far easier than most ( all?) to pull this maneuver in, and the pressure point pretty quickly eased off. Then I went to my L. side ( pretty quickly, couldn't resist). Not bad, not bad at all. Maybe the best side comfort of all, except the BMBH? I was able to stretch my legs out towards the foot pocket ( R. side) and be pretty darn comfortable. With maybe a little less side torque than my Claytor, which is the only end gathered hammock I have been able to do this with. I think this ( first impression, of course) is probably the most comfortable side position of end gathered hammocks, just slightly better than the Claytor No Net for the "on side with legs out straight", and I can't do this position at all with my other hammocks ( except, of course, the BMBH, with which it is not an issue).

I also suspect it is the most comfortable in the L. side "fetal" position, based on my first impression. A little more comfortable "fetal" than my Claytor, and by a wider margin over my HH Explorer and Speer. I can not do "fetal" in my BMBH, unless I have my stout Thermarest wide and thick inflating pad.

I could not get comfortable on my right side, but I may just need to switch which side ( L or R) my head is on, which I didn't take the time to do. Because by now, I was starting to freeze. So in I go to drag out a top quilt, pillow, book and WBUQ with 3 layers installed, and leg pad. As I was getting all of this set up, I quicly fell in love with the "shelf". Nice touch. I threw my pillow and book and storage sack for my quilt in there. Plus, with the RL to hang things from, there is even more room.

I got all of this adjusted, and settled in to finish my book. It wasn't long until I was napping. I had previously found that using my leg pad got rid of all "left calf pressure" problems in my other end gathered hammocks. Strangely, even though I felt this hammock without a pad had less calf pressure problem than the rest ( except BMBH which has zero), or at least was the easiest to fiddle around and get rid of the pressure, it was more difficult with the pad. The pressure point seemed worse with the pad, at least at first. I don't know what was going on with that, I'll have to work on that. ( Maybe my hammock tension is not correct?) Finally, I got it worked out with the pad ( I think I got more diagonal, not sure) where the pressure went away. I read and then drifted off for a light nap, nice and warm and comfortable. I got on my L. side at some point, and that was good to.

Thinking back to my last nap at a very wet frost covered 27*F, using the BMBH with the MWUQ, comparing to the short UQ and pad- I can see some pros and cons of each approach. For one thing, I need a pad that is just slightly longer. I had to adjust for some very small cold spots, especially when I shifted position. Though really, these are pretty minor considerations, and might not be worth the slight weight penalty for some. Plus, I don't yet know how well the MWUQ will work with end gathered hammocks. Any body using that combo yet? How is that working, especially on the legs and feet? I'll be trying that, hopefully soon.

So, that's it for first impressions, subject to change with further experience. But overall, very positive. Very comfortable, quite flat ( not as flat as BMBH, but I think flatter than all ohers) probably second place( to BMBH) for side sleeping, zippers work good, net stays out of my face ( always a potential problem with my HH, especially with the SS), works great with WBUQ, naturally. It has a pad pocket if you need it. Easy set up. I'm looking forward to to further use, and testing with a full length UQ, as well as a pad. Oh, and I have not yet figured if it will work well with my PeaPod ( still one of my favs). I think it will work, but I'm not sure if it will work well. I don't know where I will get the time to test all of this any time soon! Life is tough, I'm tellin 'ya!