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[velvetmonkey]

Hi all,

I'm in the market for a good hammock and tarp set up.

Currently most of my overnighters are done on riverside canoe trips, and on the last few, the small two man tent I bring is starting to restrict where I can camp.
I've been on a couple of trips where some others have set up various hammocks and they really look the business.

DD and Hennessy seem to be names I keep hearing, but was wondering if there was any real difference or is it just down to individual preference?

[Kayakgirl]

I bought one on EBay TW ultra light hammock for £9.99 and £2.99 postage. I received it today and I'm planning to test it out this weekend. I must admit it is pretty compact so would be ideal for storing in the boat and Ruc sack.

[b0ogaloo]

Hi

I'll start off with tarps .. the DD 3x3 is a great tarp for the money , I have one and I also have their 4.5 x 3 .  Some people have commented that the standard Hennessey tarp is too small and wont  keep you dry if the rain goes horizontal ,although I have a friend who uses a Hennessey with no problems .

Major Differences between the Hennessey and DD hammocks are

1. Price

A DD travel  Hammock will set you back £49.99 the Hennessy Hammock Expedition Asym will cost you £104

2. Weight

The DD travel hammock weighs `1050g the Hennesey 1175 , however the DD requires a modification to suspension to stop water wicking down into the hammock and this will add to the weight

3. Pack size
 
The Hennesy is approx half the size of the DD

4. Comfort

IMHO having used both the Hennessey wins hands down ,  it allows a kind of diagonal lay which means you sort of lie across the hammock rather than along its length, more on this later

5. Access

The DD is a side entry Hammock, the older model Hennessey are entered from below some of the newer ones are available with a side entry zip

One of the most overlooked aspects of hammocking is  insulation , you need insulation under you or you will be cold ,  this can be a foam mat . a self inflating mat or the best option which is a hammock underblanket or underquilt
Being in a sleeping bag is not enough !  the underside of the sleeping bag will compress giving you zero insulation underneath
The DD frontline is a double layer hammock, this allows you to sandwich a sleeping mat between the  two layers ,so in theory no matter how much you move about in your sleep the mat will stay beneath you , My  personal experience .. it still moves and cold spots can occur
With an underblanket  its attached to the suspension of the hammock and it envelops the hammock eliminating cold spots and allowing for an uninterrupted nights sleep

My dog checking out my hammock


DD and Hennessey are popular Hammocks , Ive had both , I still have A DD as a guest hammock , now I'[ve moved onto a [ur=http://www.ni-wild.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2413.msg25308#msg25308l]custom one[/url], however there is an off the shelf option which is very similar to mine and thats the Warbonnet blackbird

Slightly more expensive than the Hennessey , buts its worth every penny

If you want to err on the cheaper side of things m the UK hammocks Woodsman will allow for a diagonal lay ,  which in my experience is the most comfortable way to sleep in a hammock .

What is a diagonal lay ?

In a normal hammock your lying with your head and toes pointing at the trees the suspension is rigged to,  and your  lie in it sort of banana shaped , I find it uncomfortable , others don't although I suspect those who don't have not tried a diagonal lay hammock
With a diagonal lay .. you lie across the hammock , its difficult to explain but lying across the hammock means that you are nearly lying flat . you can also sleep on your side . TBH I sleep bettor in my hammock that I do in my own bed

This is just a brief overview I haven't even touched on suspension options,etc  ,  , the best way is to try before you buy , I have the 2010 DD model I can borrow a Hennessey and I have my own custom one which is very similar to the Warbonnet .  I live in Belfast and could meet up to let you try them out

Andy

[b0ogaloo]

Found this photo that sort of shows the diagonal lay



Not the best photo because it looks like I'm lying in the banana shape, which I'm not its just the angle of the camera , but if you look at the suspension lines you can see I'm lying across the hammock rather than toes and head in line with the suspension

Andy

[Oisín]

I had the same question last summer. I seen the advantages of both, but I also seen the prices.

I couldnt justify spending that much on a hammock or tarp so instead I went with Tenth Wonder of eBay for both the hammock and tarp.

I found them good quality at a good price, used them a handful of times and enjoy the change from sleeping on the ground.

Setup below. (In Picture - The two Hammocks and Tarps are identical) Roughly I think for all four of the items 2hammock 2 tarp, it came to somewhere around £100, which when split, kept my wallet from being too skinny.

[b0ogaloo]

i forgot about the excellent videos by Sean "Shug" Emery on youtube

10 parts .. but it will explain everything you need to know about hammock camping

The diagonal lay i was on about is explained in the 2nd video

part one

&feature=youtu.be

[velvetmonkey]

Slept out in hammock last night.
Took a few photos which I'll post once I work out how.

There was no modifications to the hammock suspension, basically straight from DD.
The webbing did stretch some, but I had setup about late afternoon, and re-tightened the suspension before bedtime.
This seemed to work out well - at least I didn't wake up at 0300 lying on the ground!

As far as comfort goes, the hammock provides a better night's sleep than any tent I've stayed in. With the roll mat inserted into the pouch provided, insulation was more than adequate.
It being April, I used an Alpkit bivvy bag as well as my sleeping bag and if anything I was too warm.

Took the decision to order a DD Frontline 2012, which should arrive today. For the money, and the amount of time I'll get to use it, I'm happy with the Hammock (£48), the 3x3m tarp (£35) and the Hammock sleeve (£8).

I'm looking forward to modifying the suspension of my own hammock with the karabiner setup that I've seen to prevent wicking, and then I'm good to go.

Thanks to all for your advice.

[b0ogaloo]

Forget about the karabiner mod and get yourself some tree huggers and whoopie slings ,, this will reduce pack size and pack weight dramatically ( both available from DD or UK hammocks)

In the video below the guy still uses karabiners ... i've no idea why theres no need for them

The material the sling is made from ( dyneema) is water repellent , but even if it wasnt the tail from the slijng hangs down like a drip loop ,so if any water that runs down the sling goes down the tail anyway

I've been using whoopie slings for a year or so now with no ingress of water into the hammock

Andy

[velvetmonkey]

Heading off to Fermanagh lakes tomorrow for a spot of canoeing/wild camping. Hopefully the rain stays off and the wind dies down.

I'll get the Karabiners when I get back, but question is, do I need to spend big bucks? I'm guessing I need four in total, and at £10-12, it's starting to all add up

[FlapJack]

hi velvet monkey
Could you post your route and camp sites for me?

[velvetmonkey]

Set off from the Share Centre at about half eleven.

Stopped off at several islands to give the legs a stretch.

Trannish island was the lunch venue, must say the new bothy really looks the business.

Upper Lough Erne is so vast, that there was plenty of places to camp.
It was minimal impact camping - i.e. no-one knew we were there, fire was restricted to my portable firebox (which left no ash), and hammock was hung within site of the shoreline, but out of view.
Happy to say we left no trace whatsoever.

Would contemplate getting the DD underquilt - must admit my ass was cold in the middle of the night. Might even fashion my own version.
All other aspects of the hammock/tarp venture were spot on.
Setting up was easy, as was the packing up.

I'll spring for a couple of Karabiners to prevent wicking, and maybe invest in DD's Amsteel tensioning rope.

For the flexibility of site selection, Hammock was definitely the way to go

[b0ogaloo]

RV ops is the cheapest place for the underblanket @ £65

http://www.rvops.co.uk/hammock-under-blanket-2509.html

As i said above you don't need the karabiners if your using the whoopie slings, the amsteel does'nt wick, so save yourself 12 quid

you will need a pair of tree huggers , or you could use the webbing you cut off the DD , but its prone to stretching

Uk hammocks tree straps £7

http://www.ukhammocks.co.uk/shop/article_27/Tree-Saver-Straps-25mm.html?shop_param=cid%3D3%26aid%3D27%26

Uk hammocks whoopie slings £11.50

http://www.ukhammocks.co.uk/shop/article_11/Whoopie-Slings.html?shop_param=cid%3D3%26aid%3D11%26

What were you using as under insulation to get CBS ? ( Cold Butt Syndrome)

Andy

[velvetmonkey]

Hi Andy,

Probably a bit rash, but ordered the suspension kit from DD this afternoon (whoopie slings x 2/tree huggers x 2 and Karabiners x 2 ). Total cost of £28, so not too worried about the impulse purchase.

I'm thinking of attaching the two Karabiners at either end of the hammock, that way I can clip them into the whoopie slings relatively easily. One of the guys there had a similar set up which seemed fairly foolproof. It also allowed him to unclip the hammock during the day to leave the space under the tarp free.

The hammock sleeve I got was great for this purpose but because I only had the webbing the hammock came with, it seemed too much hassle wrapping up 15m of webbing.

I used a CCF roll mat in the hammock pouch which was difficult to centralise once i got into the hammock. The mummy type sleeping bag I had also gave me some grief when I tried to get setlled in.

To be honest I think my cold ass came from my tarp set up. There was a steady breeze coming from one side but I had set up the tarp in a equi-angled pitched roof. Once I had got into the tarp, I think my bum was below the side of the tarp and catching the breeze.
If I was doing it again, I would peg the windward side to the ground, cutting off the wind.

There's no substitute for practical experience I suppose.

Once I work out how to post pictures, I'll show some photos of my camp.

Overall though, and awesome trip.

[FlapJack]

Set off from the Share Centre at about half eleven.

Stopped off at several islands to give the legs a stretch.

Trannish island was the lunch venue, must say the new bothy really looks the business.

Upper Lough Erne is so vast, that there was plenty of places to camp.
It was minimal impact camping - i.e. no-one knew we were there, fire was restricted to my portable firebox (which left no ash), and hammock was hung within site of the shoreline, but out of view.
Happy to say we left no trace whatsoever.

Would contemplate getting the DD underquilt - must admit my ass was cold in the middle of the night. Might even fashion my own version.
All other aspects of the hammock/tarp venture were spot on.
Setting up was easy, as was the packing up.

I'll spring for a couple of Karabiners to prevent wicking, and maybe invest in DD's Amsteel tensioning rope.

For the flexibility of site selection, Hammock was definitely the way to go

Thanks velvetmonkey, karma to you.

[b0ogaloo]

Hi Andy,

Hi

Probably a bit rash, but ordered the suspension kit from DD this afternoon (whoopie slings x 2/tree huggers x 2 and Karabiners x 2 ). Total cost of £28, so not too worried about the impulse purchase.

I'm thinking of attaching the two Karabiners at either end of the hammock, that way I can clip them into the whoopie slings relatively easily. One of the guys there had a similar set up which seemed fairly foolproof. It also allowed him to unclip the hammock during the day to leave the space under the tarp free.

On your DD hammock the webbing is fed through a channel on each end , this is what holds you up ,  simply remove the webbing and feed in  the  fixed eye end of the whoopie sling , once its through the channel pass the rest of the sling through the eye and thats it secured
Using the marlinspike hitch and a toggle its a simple matter of unhooking your hammock for "day use" of the trap



The hammock sleeve I got was great for this purpose but because I only had the webbing the hammock came with, it seemed too much hassle wrapping up 15m of webbing.

I used a CCF roll mat in the hammock pouch which was difficult to centralise once i got into the hammock. The mummy type sleeping bag I had also gave me some grief when I tried to get setlled in.

To be honest I think my cold ass came from my tarp set up. There was a steady breeze coming from one side but I had set up the tarp in a equi-angled pitched roof. Once I had got into the tarp, I think my bum was below the side of the tarp and catching the breeze.
If I was doing it again, I would peg the windward side to the ground, cutting off the wind.

The main advantage of the underquilt is that its on the outside of your hammock. so no matter how much you move about inside the hammock you're not going to dislodge it , plus it sort of cocoons you inside the hammock depending on how tightly you adjust the underquiltt suspension this eliminates draughts
If you start using an underquilt you 'll not need to zip up your mummy style bag. just keeping it unzipped and using it as a top quilt  is more than enough .. we were out at the weekend there i think it was -3 on Saturday night I woke up at 03:30 because i was too warm and had to adjust the unbderquilt to drop the sides a bit , you don't have to leave the hammock to do this there are drawstrings for adjustment

There's no substitute for practical experience I suppose.

True

Once I work out how to post pictures, I'll show some photos of my camp.

Overall though, and awesome trip.

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