[at-l] Couple of (hammock) questions

[saunterer@jimbullard.org (saunterer@jimbullard.org)]

At 11:51 AM 11/7/01 -0500, Martin Fors wrote:
>I've been given an ultra-lite Hennessy Hammock.  I've a couple of 
>questions about its usage.  Others are welcome to respond:

I have a Clark hammock, not a Hennessy, but these questions apply to any 
hammock.

>1.  What did you do with your backpack at night?  That is, what if its 
>pouring rain.  I usually will hang my food bag and pop my pack inside and 
>at the foot of my Lite-N-Airy tent.

Put a rain cover or small (very small) tarp over it.  Actually keeping it 
dry while you sleep in your hammock is no different than keeping it dry 
while you are hiking in the rain.  The big difference between the hammock 
and the tent is that you don't have the contents scattered around in the 
hammock with you.  The Clark hammock has pockets under the bed of the 
hammock (3 on each side) that you can put things in if you feel the need to 
have access to the contents of your pack.  You could put your pack into one 
of those mini net hammocks just below or beside you for the same effect.

>2.  How about cooking in the rain?  No vestibule.  Answer may be, "Use the 
>shelter."   But...

Again a small tarp may be your best solution (aside from "use the 
shelter").  I've considered replacing the rain fly on my Clark with a 
larger silnylon tarp that would create a larger covered area for cooking 
while I sit in the hammock.  Place the stove just inside the drip line from 
the tarp (which you tie up high to avoid any problems).  When the weather 
is real bad, eat cold food.

>3.  And, of course, the cold temperature problem.  How did you dieal with 
>this?

As my last overnight demonstrated, a hammock lowers the effective 
temperature rating of your sleeping bag.  Wind plays into this big time 
because it wicks off your body heat underneath where the bag loft is 
crushed by your weight.  The wind that night was around 15mph.  Putting a 
reflective layer under you won't help much against the wicking effect of 
the wind.  You need dead air space which you could create by using a pad 
inside the hammock.  I haven't tried that but recall someone saying they 
had and slid around quite a bit in the hammock.  Even with pad I suspect 
you won't be as warm as you'd be in a tent under the same conditions of 
cold/wind.  OTOH you'll be cooler in a hammock on hot nights in 
summer.  :-)  Obviously, if you have the option, hanging your hammock where 
you are sheltered from the wind is a good idea if the temperature is cool.

I think I'll relegate my hammock to warmer weather use (above 40º when 
using my 20º bag) and stick with a tent in cooler weather.  I might lose 
only 10º if it wasn't windy.  I like my hammock because it eliminates the 
need to carry a pad thereby cutting my overall pack weight.  If you have to 
carry a pad and maybe other gear to compensate for the coolness of the 
hammock, you haven't gained anything.  Well, alright, you gain comfort over 
sleeping on rocks and roots.

sAunTerer