Still Playing with setup and have a few more ?'s

**Ramblinrev** · 05-22-2009, 21:39

There's been a lot of chatter on the forums about hanging the stock tarp... people advocate both ends of the spectrum... Hang from the tree or hang from the prussics. If I remember correctly someone hangs one end from the prussic and attaches to the other to the tree. Kind of a figure out which way works best for you situation. The important issue in terms of bad weather coverage is getting down close to the bugnet. But not so close that your breath condenses on the tarp and rains from underneath.

**pgibson** · 05-23-2009, 18:35

Ok I have the hammock hanging up stairs and I know that is is not the perfect spot as I only have about 15' to work with for width. But I played with how tight I hang it a bit more last night. If I dropped the tension on the ridge line down to just slack unweighted I found it was a lot more comfortable than how I had it up in the woods thursday. At home this means that when I am in the hammock I am only about 6" off the floor. Once I was in the hammock the ridge line came to what I would call just firm. Measuring the slope angle on the suspension unweighted gives me about 30* off each side, so looks like I mostly just needed to play a bit more and get it to hang just right. And hey I just finally found the first good use of my level app on my Ipod

and just this morning I was kicking my self for wasting that dollar a few months ago

As far as the tarp goes I have no gripes getting it to cover as much as it dose. I would like more coverage in case I do need to cook under it at some point. But my main concern has been the looseness in most of the tarp along the ridge. I felt like I have had it cranked down tight at each of the four corners and yet still have a very slack area across the top. For the time being I am going to be using the stock tarp and would like to figure out how to get good tension on it. I will give the one clip one tree option a try the you have suggested Rev. Just more experimenting with what will work I guess. Thanks for all the tips from every body I do appreciate it very much.

Hope to have a chance to hang with you all at some point.

Paul

**titanium_hiker** · 05-25-2009, 01:29

Yeah, the thing that you noticed with the ridgeline slack to when you got in is what makes the tarp saggy. tightening at least one end to the tree (an unmoveable anchor point) will help lots.

I once hung my hammock inside under my bed in cramped conditions- was comfy, but more comfy where I had room to manoeuvre outside!

some people have used the hammock tie outs both to one side of the tarp to temporarily keep the hammock out of the way of cooking- most people who have top entry hammocks will tell you that the best thing to do is get a Top Entry hammock and a bigger tarp so you can sit in your hammock and cook.

Glad you're getting the bugs ironed out!

TH

**sakura1998** · 07-29-2009, 13:57

Originally Posted by titanium_hiker

most people who have top entry hammocks will tell you that the best thing to do is get a Top Entry hammock and a bigger tarp so you can sit in your hammock and cook.

Hi,
Can't you just use 'HH as lounge' and sit in your hammock and cook regardless of the bottom entry?

**Ramblinrev** · 07-29-2009, 13:59

Originally Posted by sakura1998

Hi,
Can't you just use 'HH as lounge' and sit in your hammock and cook regardless of the bottom entry?

You can... but most epople think the HH is less comfortable for this especially with the ridgeling and no zipper mod. I don't have a problem sitting in it that way. But others do.

**sakura1998** · 07-29-2009, 14:28

Ahhh...

I thought it was pretty comfortable too. Seems there's a lot of true connoisseurs around here

**Monocle** · 07-29-2009, 16:13

Love this thread!

I am a newly-owning hammockteer, and my choice was through Hennessey, as well.

Most of the time, during my initial hangs, I was thinking how I MUST mod the suspension, and mod the entry, and fix the tarp hang, and so on. But now, I am content to let it all stay stock.

The Warbonnet is excellent! As mentioned in innumerable other posts, had the Warbonnet come with snake skins, two tarps, a lower price, and straps other than in camoflage, I'd have been all over it. To me, I still think how nice it would be to have a "Blackbird" and if I could advise someone on which to buy, I'd say purchase the latter, as Hennessey's extras change from time to time.

In your confusion as to which hammock to buy, my very limited experience tells me to suggest you purchase the "Blackbird." However, I will be keeping my Hennessey and will continue loving it.

I have not cut the ridgeline, and can offer little advice to you except that it also does not bother me when sitting in it. I usually strap my hammock very tightly, and at 6'3, I must shift a bit in my hammock during the night. However, while camping, I have often had to this and I think we all agree that shifting within a hammock is preferable to the ground.

I also do not latch my tarp to trees but rather the hammock, and though slack does occur, I do not mind it. I often go tarpless altogether, as I prefer trying to recognize constellations through the blur effect of the no-see-um.

I do love your camp shoes though, and like your posts about them. Looking forward to perhaps picking up a pair one day.

Take care!

**BillyBob58** · 07-29-2009, 16:31

Originally Posted by pgibson

Ok I have the hammock hanging up stairs and I know that is is not the perfect spot as I only have about 15' to work with for width. But I played with how tight I hang it a bit more last night. If I dropped the tension on the ridge line down to just slack unweighted I found it was a lot more comfortable than how I had it up in the woods thursday. At home this means that when I am in the hammock I am only about 6" off the floor. Once I was in the hammock the ridge line came to what I would call just firm. Measuring the slope angle on the suspension unweighted gives me about 30* off each side, so looks like I mostly just needed to play a bit more and get it to hang just right. And hey I just finally found the first good use of my level app on my Ipod

and just this morning I was kicking my self for wasting that dollar a few months ago

As far as the tarp goes I have no gripes getting it to cover as much as it dose. I would like more coverage in case I do need to cook under it at some point. But my main concern has been the looseness in most of the tarp along the ridge. I felt like I have had it cranked down tight at each of the four corners and yet still have a very slack area across the top. For the time being I am going to be using the stock tarp and would like to figure out how to get good tension on it. I will give the one clip one tree option a try the you have suggested Rev. Just more experimenting with what will work I guess. Thanks for all the tips from every body I do appreciate it very much.

Hope to have a chance to hang with you all at some point.

Paul

This thread goes back a few months, somehow I missed it. You have been asking the classic questions about the HH and it's little tarp.

Keep in mind that there are a few folks around here, starting I think with Sgt.Rock I believe ( http://hikinghq.net/hammock/hammock.html ) who have gone through absolute deluges, near hurricanes, with the stock HH and tarp and remained bone dry. So, it clearly can be done.

The following is simply my opinion based on fooling around with this hammock/tarp combo for a long time. Starting with a one week trip during which the wind flapping the loose tarp nearly drove me crazy one night.

I guarantee that you will be able to get a much nicer, tighter tarp pitch if you attach the tarp to the trees. IMHO, I think you will also get wet in any kind of wind blown storm. I think it should at least always be considered that this system is designed to attached to the hammock. In my experience any way, the only way I am going to get away with using this small, light tarp is by doing just that.

If you attache to the trees, this tarp will not be near as noisy in the wind. But when you lie in the hammock, it is going to sag well down below the tarp. You are going to be wide open on the sides. If you attache the hammock higher on the tree than the tarp, this is supposed to help. But I never had a lot of luck with that and still felt quite exposed. YMMV.

But if you tie to the suspension prussicks, the tarp will be right on the hammock RL, and it will stay close to the hammock RL after the hammock sags, you will be pretty well covered. If you are using the Super Shelter, I think you will have better weather coverage than with a much larger tarp tied to the trees.( Though the larger, more expensive and heavier tarps have their own advantages like ROOM and living space when out side the hammock) I can't imagine getting wet in that set up unless something failed or major mal-functioned.

So now you are at least well covered, but you have that miserable flapping tarp to deal with. What to do? I don't think you will ever match the taughtness of a nice cat cut tarp tied to the trees, like a JRB or Mac Cat or Speer. But you can greatly improve the situation. First of all, follow HH's directions precisely. Don't tighten the RL prussicks until you have perfectly centered the tarp and tightened it on each side at the stakes, just like HH says. This will apply some pre-sag to the hammock. Meaning less additional sag once you get in, and a tarp that is not quite so loose. The tighter you pull down on the hammocks ridge line, the less additional tarp sag you will have when weighted. Warning: the more tension you apply downwards with the tarp, the harder it will be getting in the hammock. It won't matter once you are in, but it will hinder entrance. You might want to use moderation with this.

Next, if you have some small empty stuff sacks, fill them with sand or something heavy and attache them to the ends of the tarp on the left and right sides, to the glove hooks. That is what those hooks are for. When the hammock sags or the tarp gets wet and stretches, the weight will continue pulling down on the tarp providing some tension. It also dampens the tarps movements in the wind. It can make a dramatic dif.

And/or, attache the tarp side lines to hiking poles, rather than straight down to the ground. That seems to help also. Or a combination of the above. Or using tarp tensioners also helps.

If you don't want to buy a new tarp yet, play with some of these ideas. I htink they will help a good bit.

**BillyBob58** · 07-29-2009, 16:34

Also, I think my HH makes a fine chair or lounger if I just hang it a good bit looser tha normal for chair use. I have the detachable RL mod but rarely use it. If I hang it loose, the RL does not bother me.