I do not have It yet, but here are my initial thoughts why did I order it and to what will I try to use it for.
When I first saw MadTree Tarseer insulated hammock I did thought WOW! Ingenious! And they are here from Finland - Excellent!!!
Sadly it was too small for me. My height is 6,3 feet. And also it was quite expensive as there is hammock, TQ and UQ in same package. And I did not actually like the idea of three suspension points - more complicated than normal hammock. (Now they have an XL Tarseer)
Now some things have changed
Core hammock is cheap, so it is easy to buy it. That was probably the idea behind it. Cheap way to test the idea and usage of the odd shaped hammock. And then user will upgrade to Tarseer if happy. With MadTree campaign code which made the suspension free, it was no brainer to order the Core Hammock.
Core hammock is very light. I have not seen any lighter hammock with similar weight limit (265 lb.) and promise to be good even people with my height. They promise even 6,5 feet people will be happy. Core's weight is 8,6 oz. It is very light for what is promised. There is no weight for the suspension system, but that is probably not very much either. Suspension system must be ordered as an option, which is odd, but then again it works with Tarseer's also.
Few thoughts
After I made my order I have been comparing the Core hammock to different types of hammocks I have used or seen here in HF. I have come to the conclusion that the Core Hammock is actually a bridge hammock. And that makes it's weight even more astonishing. I did watch some videos about Bridge type hammocks. Mainly I checked out the WB Ridgerunner, it somehow reminds me about the Core hammock. It is quite shallow at the head end, it is curved similarly, narrower at the center area.
There is no insect netting - that is bad. My current plan is to test normal insect netting for ground sleeper sold almost in any outdoor store or even at big super markets. Bottom will be open and it must be hanged somewhere, but we will see how that goes. There will of course be a TQ or sleeping bag also. And I hope the netting can be jammed somewhere either between pad and hammock or pad and TQ.
My hopes
First of all I will try to use the Core hammock as a 'take it always with you'-hammock. It is so light and small it can be taken anywhere. Suspension system makes it stable and it seems it can be hanged almost as an hammock chair. View is great, so You do not fall inside hammock and it is not as antisocial as for example DB 72 11' with netting on. So it can be used when other people do not have hammocks with them.
Secondly what would that mean if Core is a bridge? I hope it will be the solution for CSS, so I could use narrower pad than with gathered end hammocks, so insulation would be lighter and smaller. Bridge hammocks should also make pad use very easy. Side sleeping should be easier too. And if it really is a bridge hammock, then the setup and packing it up is actually simpler that all those other bridges with crossbars.
Third idea would be to build an UL hammock system. With MadTree's Rae tarp there is no lighter system - at least I do not know it. Rae is 5,3 oz with suspension. So hammock + tarp would be only 14 oz. And after that the insulation of Your choice. Whole 'Summer system' could weight only about 30 oz. And it would be very easy to pack for example to a bicycle or kayak trip when there can be a shortage of room in packaging system and smaller packages are better.
Fourth idea is to support Finnish cottage vendor. I like to support people who have ideas and who make them happen. I have not met MadTree people - so I have no real relationship to them - I just hope they succeed with their business and I'm ready to but my money where my mouth is.
http://www.madtree.fi
http://www.madtree.fi/products/core.html
http://www.madtree.fi/products/rae.html
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