my sweetie (wife!) just got me an expedition asym for my birthday.
i've been wanting one forever - for bike trips and hiking trips.
can't wait to use it... and may even sneak out in the cold fall here in VT to give it a try.

i researched these over a year and a half ago. i'll have to revisit the BF threads.
i ordered the snakeskins today on the web. they seem like a good investment for quick up and down of the hammock.

Excellent choice!

I've used the expedition for years and found it to be great. I've just bought a Safari and I'm having trouble getting used to the extra space (and weight).

The snakeskins are a great idea and although it's never as fast as advertised it does make it fast. I've got the fly on my Safari on the outside, so I can set it up first in the rain and the hammock remains dry, or pack up in the rain and just stuff the wet fly in a stuff sack for later drying.

Also, If you do decide to try it out this autumn, I find the sleeping mat that World Famous make for cold weather camping combined with polyester fleece underwear and a good down sleeping bag make cold weather camping comfortable.

i have several thermarests that i can use... and an old synthetic bag (i need to replace!) with an extra reactor liner. not sure i plan on 4 season use - but early spring and fall in VT can get chilly.

for colder climes i'm thinking i can sew up my own fleece blanket combo, or pick up the cold weather kit if i really like it.

how is getting into and out of a sleeping bag in the hammock? easier / harder than in a tent?

If you've mastered standing in a canoe, it shouldn't be a problem. Seriously, I've tried it a couple of ways:

1. I get in the hammock with the sleeping bag and using your feet placed between the entrance way, lift your bum (English meaning) in the air and position the bottom part of the sleeping bag, then insert feet and re-do (slow way).
   
2. Get into sleeping bag while standing in the entrance way. Lay back and put up your feet (quick way).

what i thought.
i'm unfortunately on the road for work for the next week. i'll have to rig it and try it in the backyard when i get home.

has any of you seen the idea, i believe on the hennesy site, about fixating water bottles at the two side corners of the fly during a rainy night. 1: collects as fresh as any wild water for drinking tomorrow. 2: extra weight is not letting the wind take away your roof. i hope to try this trick soon.

I've pretty much got one of everything Hennessy, including the water bottle fly trimmer. I'd call that a 10 on innovation and a 5 on design and implimentation. The threads don't fit every water bottle, so you've got to carry around extras. There is a filter to keep out the hard bits, but I'm still not sure I'd drink it afterwards.

Add that to the fact it makes for a neat hammock, but I tend to stealth camp so I'm in late, out early and neatness doesn't count 'cause no one sees me.

I must have one of those CADPAT flies! Where are they sold?

There are 3 easy steps:

1. be ready to spend more money than you think it is worth
2. phone Ann Hennessy and ask how much
3. put it on your credit card

those are cool...
i'm probably going to make my own version of the black cat.

http://www.jhatkhat.com/Khat/camping...images/bc1.jpg

wonder about the cadpat...
is it available in silnylon?

I've had a Hennesey for a few years. A few comments:

(1) I've changed clothes standing up. If the hammock is low enough, you can put your feet outside with only thigh and below outside the hammock. I've also changed clothes completely in the hammock...more awkward, but doable.

(2) I store gear in a mesh duffle bag hanging with a separate rope between the two trees. The mesh duffle is positioned immediately below the entrance and off the ground. If I want something in the middle of the night from the duffle, I move my legs out, straddling the duffle, and put my feet on the ground (onto my sandles, which I keep outside on the ground). If I want to get completely out of the hammock, I put both legs to one side of the duffle and get out.

(3) In camping in state parks in Indiana and Michigan, I've never been denied...and I ask in advance. And I'm also convinced that with the webbing, it would take a heck of a lot of hammock camping before any damage occurs, if ever. That's even if a lot of people were to hammock camp, and there aren't very many.

In summary, the Hennesey is quite an innovation...a definite advantage over a tent. By the way, I've never failed to find two trees the right distance apart, either...although I'm sure it will happen sometime. I'll either use as a bivy or just use the fly as a tarp.

Are you using the stock tarp? Which HH do you have.
I'm having trouble getting the tarp tight after entering... going to mess with tensioners this weekend.

Yeah, I noticed that in the beginning too. I have the stock tarp, and I tighten that sucker up to the point where it seems unhealthy. Then it will stay taut all night.

I should also mention that getting in and out of the hammock often makes the hammock and the tarp sag. Best thing for that is to get in once and stay in till you wake up.

That's a problem with the Expedition. You REALLY need to have those lines tight. The Safari has the tarp separated. I removed the standard lines front and back and replaced them with heavy shock cords from MEC. I put climbing-style hooks on the end of all the lines so I can loop them around things or hook them to branches. Because the tarp is separate it stays tensioned.

Just as an aside; I find the tarp is large enough to put everything including my bike under it when it rains.

The big tarp really adds to bulk and weight, but since I'm on a bike and comfort is everything, It's worth it.

Got my first overnight hang in last night.
Temps got down to 35... I think colder by the look of the freezing water on the drainage ditch behind the house.

Set up in the dark. Stock HH Exped Asym. GossamerGear Thinlight 1/4" pad. Old ragged Kelty syntehtic 30? bag. Wearing my Sporthill XC ski pants, Ibex mid weight woolie, wool socks. I brought an extra fleece with me and a skull cap.

All in all a good night.

Tree huggers + biners + ring buckles to my stock susp rope worked great. Easy to set up, but lots of stretch in the HH system - hopefully this will work itself out. I bounced around alot getting situated. Took me quite awhile to figure out how to get in my bag and on top of the GG pad. Must have looked funny if anyone was watching - wrestling match going on in that thing. I got in and out 2-3 times throughout the night - 2 for nature calls, 1 to adjust some slipping. By the third time I figured out how to get comfy.

Managed to get my tarp relatively tight using some shock cord I made into tensioners. It flapped around a bit in the wind through the night - I'll have to work on this. (going to upgrade this with a DIY blackcat in the spring)

After reading about sliding into the exit, I ended up hanging my feet too high - but decided to live with it. I should have dropped it a few inches - I would have been more comfortable.

Was comfy with minimal gear to the 35*. Definitely frosty this morning where I was half on the narrow pad. (I thought I ordered the wide one... so I'll have to improve this a bit) Slept off and on from about 6-6:30 by rolling into a tight ball on my side to warm up. Worked well enough. Got up @ 7am and headed into the house for breakfast. Ended up needing the fleece and the hat after a nature call @ 2am. It was cold! Got snuggled back in and warmed up fine - was very comfortable!


I see where an underquilt is a huge advantage - but glad to know I can go cold if I need to with limited gear and $$. Also see the advantage of the SS system or pockets under the hammock - would have made the pad (the GG is 'sticky' - so it stays put - not sure if that is good or bad) issue easier to deal with.

Tarp worked OK. No rain - but there was alot of open area. I thought about doing a storm pitch in the middle of the night to cut down on wind - but decided to get back inside. This would have kept me a bit warmer.


Going to do a S24O hike sometime this week up to Nebraska Notch. Planning on staying at the tenting sites or near the lodge in case I need to go to ground. (It's going to be colder up there...!) I'll take my thick thermarest pad which should add another 5-10* (if I can stay on it), add my Thermolite Reactor to my sleeping bag, and carry a ground cloth / space blanket I can rig for an undercover if needed. Confident I won't freeze...

http://lh3.google.com/mike.beganyi/R...0/IMG_4252.JPG

if someone is looking for one. It's not mine but in my town:
http://wilmington.craigslist.org/spo/462414695.html

nother pic.
can't wait to do a light tour with this setup...!

http://lh6.google.com/mike.beganyi/R...0/IMG_4254.JPG