Ultra Light Backpacker Hammock

What? A hammock? Are you nuts? Probably.
I've been a tent user for years but one day I saw a comment by a guy who calls himself Sgt. Rock and read his interesting views.

After reading his review and comments it got me to thinking a little out of the box (my usual box). While a hammock isn't a good choice for areas where there aren't trees (like above titimberline), there are plenty of places where I go that a hammock would work great. So, I went down to REI and bought one.

Now, after 23 nights out in one, I'm sold. The Hennessey Hammock is so comfortable to sleep in and you can set them up just about anywhere, as long as you have two trees. i've slept in places where it isn't level, where the ground was soaked, or where I couldn't find a regular campsite. These things are well built and this particular model will hold a guy like myself, weighing 190 pounds with no problem. Weigh more? Hennessey offers more stout models to choose from. Each one is a self contained shelter, coming complete with no-seeum mosquito netting and a rain fly. Entry is through a unique velcro slit in the bottom. There is a learning curve to setting it up (took me 30 minutes the first time out, now only about 4 minutes), finding the right insulation to put under you to prevent getting cold from convection loss and in figuring out what to do with your gear.

I think the selling point of this thing is comfort. I sleep so well in one and I can actually sleep on my sides or even on my stomach (which may be hard to believe) The typical banana shape is avoided by the clever design that Tom Hennessey used in designing this unique shelter. I've been in rain storms (and stayed dry) and wind (and stayed warm) and even had it snow on me. I have learned to deal with some of the problems (like, where do you change clothes) and finding the right combination of sleeping bag and pad in order to stay warm. You may wonder why you'd need a pad but you do. Without one you sleep very cold in the spring and fall so it is a must. Some HH users use a closed cell foam pad and a few even use their thermarest.

So, in summary, the advantages are comfort and the ability (below timberline) to camp just about anywhere and the negatives are the learning curve of what works best in the way of a bag and pad and a loss of being able to change clothes without a tent (privacy) Backpacker magazine (May 2002 issue) wrote a great review of it and several of the backpacker forums have had lots of discussion on the pro's and con's of Hammock camping. Mark me as one who really enjoys this unique way to camp. I recently camped out in the headlight basin near Ingalls Pass (Mt. Stuart area) and the temps dropped into the teens. It snowed during the night and the wind gusted from 0 to 50 all night long, yet I slept well. My son even complained about my snoring and he had his tent knocked down by the wind. I merely rocked comfortably between the two trees that were my companions. Neat concept.

I've been using hammocks for camping for about 20 years now and the Hennessey is by far the best solution I've found. It does everything right for about 1/3 the weight

of any other tarp/hammock setup I've ever used.



It does have a "cold spot" where your weight compresses the sleeping bag so you need some kind of pad. I use an 18x24 inch "bivy pad" cut down from army surplus foam sleeping pads.



Hammocks aren't for everybody, but if you've ever thought of using one, this is the one to have.