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  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
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    NY
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    TX-270, TTTM
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    Clark Flex-180 Intro


    http://youtu.be/zF6O1tdffAY

    This clip is intended to be a 'teaser' clip of more to come. The hammock is the Clark Jungle Hammock - Flex-180. It may be my searching skills but I have not found a lot of information on the Flex-180, at least in comparison to the amount of information on many of the other Clark hammocks. I hope to help get more info out here about the Flex-180 as I use it.

    Primary intended use: Camping with child.
    Setup in video:
    3 trees
    3 diy whoopies - connected to 3 dutch buckles
    3 dutch straps & buckles used to connect to tree

    First impressions are that the quality is excellent. It is large, outside and inside. It looks odd from the bottom compared to NX-150 due to two 'beds'. The clips in the teaser video are from a short day outing with not a lot of discovery time. I did test it with a second person with a weight difference of around 130 lbs between the two of us. It worked fine and was comfortable for both of us - but again this was not tested overnight or for any length of time. Individually I tried different position and while I found that I could achieve a very flat lay I found that a ridge was created on the bottom of the hammock in the single person recommended position. The ridge would run under my legs between my calf and knee. I could see this creating a pressure point after a time and becoming uncomfortable. This certainly needs a lot more testing/time to provide a true evaluation. I tested different heights and tensions on the third 'extra' connection from the hammock, this may help with defining a lesser ridge.

    Long story short - I need to do a lot more testing and get out for some overnights. For that, I need weather to warm up a bit - nights that stay above freezing. I hope to provide insight and personal review of the Flex-180 as I learn more about it.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Denmark/Sweden
    Hammock
    Dutch Half-wit Hexon 1.0
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    Clark XL Tarp
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    Wookie/UKH custom
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    Dutch kit
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    323
    What kind on insulation system did/do you use?

    (I'm sorry if this is mentioned/shown in the video, I'm unable to watch it right now.)

  3. #3
    Member
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    The video was first time setting it up outdoors. I did not install an underquilt. I have a Hammock Gear Incubator that I have 'messed around with' indoors with the Flex. I am continuing to test this. I have seen a few pics where someone used a Jack R Better quilt (Mt Washington) and that is very similar, dimensionally, to the HG one I own. So far my testing has led me to wonder how effective the underquilt will be with two people - if there is enough width to be effective. I plan to do some outdoor testing with the Flex and HG quilt with two people in the hammock in the near future; Will update as I test more.

  4. #4
    Member SAAvage's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Miami
    Hammock
    HENNY HYPER/EXP
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    CAMO VERTEX
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    WHOOPIES
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    58
    any more testing down with the flex?

  5. #5
    Member
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    Mar 2013
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    NY
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    I have been out twice with it since my original post. I had planned on following up with some video posts and still plan to do such. Most recently, was out the Memorial weekend for one overnighter and prior to that an overnighter in March with snow on the ground.

    March trip with 6 year old. Flex set-up fine, no problems with finding trees an appropriate distance apart. This trip could be classified as a car-camping trip and we brought more than we would have carried, but I was worried about insulation as my current underquilt is not designed for the width of the Flex-180 - though I believe it may work for a single person. Also of note - the Z-liner sold by Clark (and the way the velcro is on the bottom of the hammock) appears to be only for a single person as well. The HG underquilt did okay but was not sealed up against the bottom - and I don’t fault it for that - it can’t handle the width required for 2 people - so we slept a bit cold, but were fine. We slept in the 2-peron configuration as specified by Clark. The 6 year old had a great time and was comfortable in the hammock. Tossed and turned but I would not have noticed - other than I was concerned about their comfort regarding temperature so I slept lighter. I was not that comfortable. It felt cramped. I do not know the width of the larger single ‘bed’ in the Flex-180, but it feels smaller than that of the NX-150, and I would expect that; it’s not a dedicated 2-person hammock. The hammock feels huge though with the wide ‘canopy’ of the weather-shield.

    May trip was with 5 year old. Again no problem with Flex-180 setup, but it did take longer than friend with NX-150 (both times actually). Hiked in this time and set-up along the Cedar River. The 5 year old slept great. Right through a number of times a beaver slapped its ‘tail’ on the water; it was loud, but not a stir from the five year old. Same scenario - I felt crowded in my hammock but kid slept great and had nothing but positive things to say regarding comfort. In the morning the 5 year old came and laid on the ‘gear-loft’. Clark does not call it that for the Flex-180 but i’m stealing the term from the ‘separator’ of hammocks and it is referred to as a gear loft for the Vertex (I think), a specific 2-person hammock.

    Neither setup did I have a need to set up the tarp so have no report on that. It works fine as a 2-person hammock with kids but I don’t believe that I would really want to do a week long trip in it with a second person. There may be some tweaking and things I can set up better to make it more comfortable...? I like having the kids in the same hammock as they feel safer, and I do too, knowing they are right there.

    I now need to get out solo and check it out. At this point in time, I think if I was not taking kids I would stick with an NX-150. I don’t see a huge benefit of being able to store my pack beside me. I am not final in these observations yet and want to do much more testing with it.

    I will try to get a short video up of some setup of the Flex-180, sooner than later. Unfortunately, due to battery charging events I have no real useable video from the March trip and I try to keep the kids cut out of posted videos so that is limiting my available footage right now.

    So in summary: kids slept great in it, me not so much in the two-person configuration. Regardless of my sleep it is great to get the kids out there and they love it.

  6. #6
    Member
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    http://youtu.be/qZWXeP4wRhE

    Nothing Fancy. Abrupt cuts. No audio of significance. Once I get some solo time with the Flex 180 I'll get a proper video review uploaded.
    This video coincides with post #5 in this thread.

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