Quote Originally Posted by dsshepard View Post
For those of you using the Bishops bag, could you give us newb's some hints as to how to use it? Do you just "stuff" the hammock in the bag or try to fold or roll it first? Do you also put the tarp in there, or use a separate bag? I currently have two Claytor Expeditions that my son and I use and a new Speer IIIA on it's way for me this week. I like this idea and may pull the wife's sewing machine out and start some DIY projects. Any size recommendations to get me started? Thanks!!
If you want to try the idea and get some easy sewing under your belt, just do what Jeff did - make a "standard" square-bottom stuff sack and melt a hole in the bottom for your suspension cord. My current version is quite a bit more complicated than that, but I am in the process of writing up directions for it.

I never liked folding/rolling my shelter, even when I *gulp* slept on the ground. My reasoning was the same as for a sleeping bag or quilt - if you start folding a piece of material, you'll tend to do it the same way every time. After a while, the creases will develop weak spots in the material and wear the item out quicker. So the sack is designed to just stuff your hammock/quilt(s). Unhook one side of your suspension, stuff toward the other end, then unhook the other side. The whole thing stays off the ground completely and thus dry and safe.

I haven't put my tarp in the same storage area as my hammock since the second time (give or take) I hung on the trail. Doing so just seems ridiculous to me - why would you want a (often) wet tarp in the same water-resistant storage as your hammock, which needs to stay dry? My tarp goes in snakeskins at the moment, but I'm working on a small BB sack for it, too. Not sure which I'll like better.

My current sack design is round-bottomed rather than square. The bottom is about 10" diameter and the sack is about 16" long when stuffed. That's after sewing, of course.