There were a few things I did not anticipate for my first hammock hang.
I just got my RidgeRunner and Superfly and couldn't wait to try it out. Events conspired to keep me from getting to the first-come-first-serve camping area at Moraine Park (Rocky Mtn Natl Park) in the morning. I finally drove into the park around 5pm, after passing 3 signs that said the campground was full, drove over to Loop B, and - the blind luck gods were with me - I got the very last spot. It turned out there were trees surrounding the site's designated tent area that were just the right distance apart - another lucky break.
Despite having watched the Warbonnet set up videos as well as setting it up once in the park, my set up went less than flawlessly. For one thing, the wind was 35 to 45 mph, which made everything more difficult. I used the suggested lengths for the Superfly tie down cords. However, I discovered that I needed much longer cords to tie down the trekking poles that were used on the pullouts. Instead of a 6 ft length, I ended up using a 12 ft length. However, that's because my preference is to put a loop at the end of every cord and attach them to the rings using a Lark's Head knot. I leave them attached when I pack up. When I tie them out, I loosen the Lark's Head, loop the cord around the stake, and tie the end back to the loop with a slipped overhand knot.
If you're wondering whether your Superfly will fit in its bag with the cords attached, the answer is yes. It was a little bit of a tight fit. I used 550 cord. YMMM.
I used a single stake for the doors on each end. That worked pretty well. It was easy to reach down and slide the loop off of the stake. However, the RR has ropes coming off each end of the spread bar that keep the doors open about 4-6 in near the top. I discovered that all I had to do was slip through the opening. There was no need to unhook the stake loops at all.
Once I laid down and tried to sleep, I kept sliding down to the foot of the hammock. I had tied the foot end higher than the head end, as recommended, but not high enough. The hammock fabric is pretty slick so it makes the set up a little bit sensitive to how high you loop the hammock around the tree. Once I fixed that, I was good.
I never experienced any feelings of instability, which I had thought might be an issue with a bridge hammock.
The temperator went down to around 40 degrees that night and was pretty windy. I had a 6 ft piece of Reflectex btwn the 2 bottom sheets of the hammock and used the black mummy bag from my Military Sleep System. Wearing just a T-shirt and shorts, I was perfectly warm the whole night.
Some time during the night, I tried to sleep on my side. The RR has a built-in (sewn-in) contour that fits your neck and head when you're sleeping on your back. That negates teh need for a pillow. However, once I rolled over onto my side, I realized I could no longer lay with my head aligned with my neck without using a pillow to bridge the distance from my shoulder to the side of my head. Fortunately, I had anticipated that potential problem and stored a blown up camping pillow in the saddlebag of the hammock.
I was so comfortable, I didn't want to get out of bed in the morning. The night before, I'd laid out my alcohol stove, water, and coffee underneath my hammock. So, all I had to do was sit up, swing my feet over the side, position my stove, crank it up, and then lay back down until I heard it bubbling. Hot coffee without getting out of bed - my holy grail. I was feeling pretty dang smug laying there sipping my coffee all toasty warm and comfy.
My check-out trip went better than I thought it would and I was very pleased with the warmth, comfort level, and ease of set up/break down. I can't wait to try it on a longer trip.
I hope this helps anyone who is new to hammocks.
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