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  1. #1
    New Member
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    First time outside in a Claytor

    I put the hammock outside for the first time. Everything was good but then a giant storm hit with massive windblown rain. After a couple of hours the bottom right side of the hammock was soaked. The stock tarp was just overwhelmed.


    I am leaving it up to see what happens by morning. I doubt it will be in one piece

  2. #2
    New Member Half Step's Avatar
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    Hang the hammock high enough to sit on, and stake the tarp low and tight, back-side to the wind. A bottom weather shield keeps off any bottom splash from the ground. A poncho will work just fine as well. You can probably even raise the tarp on the lee side and get some room. Enjoy.

    Best,
    Mal/HS
    Half Step, aka Mal the Elder
    "In one ear and out the other,
    Don't you get criss-crossed.
    I recommend you try a little
    Mental floss. . .
    "

  3. #3
    Senior Member
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    Sounds like an inherent limitation of the diamond tarp -- inadequate coverage to keep blowing rain out. However, it's a jungle hammock and in jungles rain comes from above, not from the side (too many trees to allow much wind at ground level). One needs to have the proper equipment for one's setting.

    FarStar

  4. #4
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Is it a Jungle hammock? I thought they had waterproof bottoms? Neo has been through many severe storms with his jungle and diamond tarp and has always stayed dry, I beieve. Is that right, Neo?

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    BillyBob58,

    Good point -- Claytor sells more than just Jungle Hammocks; however, the Jungle Hammock looks to be the only one that comes, stock, with a tarp. And that tarp is tiny -- I estimate it's only about 65 sq ft. They do sell a Big Rain Fly that looks to be rectangular and 127 sq ft, but my guess is that cshama wouldn't have had a problem with a tarp that big (providing it was staked out well).

    I bought a Claytor Jungle a few months ago for my nephew who made Eagle. I didn't sleep in it, but I did examine it. It didn't seem waterproof, but the website claims it is. My guess is it has a DWR finish? If so, a DWR finish can be overwhelmed (after all, it's water resistant, not waterproof).

    Tiny tarps have their plusses: the biggest is they're light. My objection to them is they work just fine as long as you don't need a tarp. At backpackinglight.com they advocate the use of tiny tarps coupled with a bivvy sack. That seems a bit redundant, but they gravitate toward hankie-sized tarps and very lightweight bivvies. They seem to have struck a good weight balance, but using a bivvy nullifies the freedom of using a quilt rather than a sleeping bag, so I've opted for a bigger tarp. Compared to the canvas tarps of my youth, today's silnylon tarps are virtually weightless (but not as campfire friendly).

    FarStar

  6. #6
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    The diamond tarp that came with my Claytor JH is 13 feet on the ridge line. That's a lot, it is considerably longer than the one that came with my HH Explorer UL. Plus, it is symmetrical, rather than Asym, and I think it supplies more even coverage on the sides than my Asym HH tarp. Does the tiny tarp that came with yours have a 13 foot RL?

    But of course, it does not have as good a coverage on the sides as my rectangular JRB. Nothing else I have does. But I have had it out in some wet weather, and so far all has been bone dry, but I can't remember if I have had it out in a real gully washer or not. My favorite thing about the diamond approach is just two stakes. But I am not sure if it would provide adequate coverage in a wind driven storm. But Neo should know, if he sees this.

    I do know this: with my HH diamond tarp connected as designed to the suspension ( with all of the loose, flappy tarp problems that implies), there has never been a drop get on the hammock, even in severe storms. I think this is because when the tarp sags with the hammock, then the hammock stays up close to the tarp RL where most of the protection is. I have, on 2 occasions when using the SS, found one or two tablespoons of water in the low point of the undercover. But as the under pad and hammock itself were bone dry, including on the outside of the UC, I suspect that wicked in by way of the UC suspension, because I did not use a drip line. But tying both ends of that HH diamond tarp to the trees leaves me feeling quite exposed. I can only figure that my Claytor diamond would provide even more coverage, and hopefully enough coverage even if tied to the trees. But I don't know for sure.

    My JH bottom appears quite different than my Claytor No Net and any of my other hammocks, and looked WP. I know I was a little concerned about condensation issues, from the looks of it. I will take a closer look. I should test it.
    Last edited by BillyBob58; 10-25-2008 at 23:07.

  7. #7
    Senior Member
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    BillyBob58,

    I agree that the Claytor Jungle Hammock Diamond Trap is 13 ft long, but it's only 10 ft wide. You can subdivide the tarp into four right triangles with a base of 6.5 ft and a height of 5.0 ft. Thus, the total area of the tarp is 4bh/2 = 2bh = 65 sq ft.

    I don't have a tiny tarp. I obtained a Speers Winter Tarp with my kit. It's a rectangular 11 ft by 10 ft so the area is 110 sq ft, 69% larger than the Claytor Diamond. I and my equipment have stayed dry as a bone under my SWT. I haven't encountered blowing rain yet (not likely to encounter it too often given that most campsites out here are in fairly heavy forest), but when I do I can take comfort in knowing I can pitch the sides down near the ground and close the ends off, if necessary.

    I can't speak to a Hennessy set up as I've never seen one. I'm glad your small tarp works for you.

    FarStar

  8. #8
    canoebie's Avatar
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    My Claytor JH is not waterproof by any stretch of the imagination. However, I have been through some really nasty rain and wind and have never gotten wet using the stock tarp. I agree with the earlier post of setting it so you can sit in it and snuggle the fly down around it. I also think tarp tensioners really help. I just clip my water bottles to the figure 9 biners I have on the tie out points of the fly and the weight keeps tension on the tarp.

    I will spend some time this winter making a larger rectangular tarp, primarily to provide privacy for my wife. We are sleeping in ours full time now, hanging on the front porch. We are trying to figure out when and how to move them indoors.
    “Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
    ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

  9. #9
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyBob58 View Post
    The diamond tarp that came with my Claytor JH is 13 feet on the ridge line. That's a lot, it is considerably longer than the one that came with my HH Explorer UL. Plus, it is symmetrical, rather than Asym, and I think it supplies more even coverage on the sides than my Asym HH tarp. Does the tiny tarp that came with yours have a 13 foot RL?

    But of course, it does not have as good a coverage on the sides as my rectangular JRB. Nothing else I have does. But I have had it out in some wet weather, and so far all has been bone dry, but I can't remember if I have had it out in a real gully washer or not. My favorite thing about the diamond approach is just two stakes. But I am not sure if it would provide adequate coverage in a wind driven storm. But Neo should know, if he sees this.

    I do know this: with my HH diamond tarp connected as designed to the suspension ( with all of the loose, flappy tarp problems that implies), there has never been a drop get on the hammock, even in severe storms. I think this is because when the tarp sags with the hammock, then the hammock stays up close to the tarp RL where most of the protection is. I have, on 2 occasions when using the SS, found one or two tablespoons of water in the low point of the undercover. But as the under pad and hammock itself were bone dry, including on the outside of the UC, I suspect that wicked in by way of the UC suspension, because I did not use a drip line. But tying both ends of that HH diamond tarp to the trees leaves me feeling quite exposed. I can only figure that my Claytor diamond would provide even more coverage, and hopefully enough coverage even if tied to the trees. But I don't know for sure.

    My JH bottom appears quite different than my Claytor No Net and any of my other hammocks, and looked WP. I know I was a little concerned about condensation issues, from the looks of it. I will take a closer look. I should test it.
    I have always thought that the bugnet design with the spreaders on the Claytor JH caused tarp coverage issues. The spreaders are located pretty high and cause a higher and wider tarp pitch which is inconsistent with a storm pitch for wind driven rain.

    And a diamond shape tarp has it's own issues with coverage unless it is hung close to the hammock, basically right on top of it... which is the way the smallish tarps for the bottom entry Hennessy Hammocks are intended to be used. Of course if you make the diamond shaped tarp large enough it has a better coverage area but that limits your site selection because you have to use trees spaced far enough apart for the longer ridgeline of the tarp.

    There are tradeoffs with all this and you do give up some things with a diamond shaped tarp that only needs two stakes.
    Youngblood AT2000

  10. #10
    Peter_pan's Avatar
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    one point relative to the Claytor bug nets.... You do not have to use a spreader bar....Not using them in stormy weather will allow the tarp sides to be drawn in more protectively.... Doopy bug nets still work fine.

    Pan
    Ounces to Grams.

    www.jacksrbetter.com ... Largest supplier of camping quilts and under quilts...Home of the Original Nest Under Quilt, and Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock. 800 595 0413

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