Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Hennessy Hammock Tip

I have made no secret of how much I love the Hennessy Hammock. The comfort and quality of sleep it provides are second to none.

Because you are elevated it's different then sleeping in a tent in many ways, but the big one is how the wind can rob you of body heat. When in a tent, it protects you from the cooling effect of the wind, but in the hammock whatever side you sleep on is pressed against the base or "bottom" of the hammock and when the wind blows the side you sleep on gets cold. Even on the warmest August night I have woke up with a cold but or back despite being in a sleeping bag. To prevent this I sleep on top of my Thermarest and doing this provides an extra layer of insulation and as long as I can stay on top of the mattress I stay toasty and warm.

But over the night I tend to slide down or off the thermarest and often wake up with a cold but. I just figured this was something I would have to put up with....after all, it is otherwise a very comfy sleep.

A poster named SM on the AA forums offered this tip and it sounds like it would be a big help...

"Some peeps I know zig-zag a thin layer of Shoe-Goop along one or both surfaces for more traction..."

But over That could be the answer, but I will experiment a bit before I declare this a winner. I have a cover for my mattress, so I will apply it to that and report back on how well it works.


5 comments:

Mungo said...

Jim - have you ever considered getting a light-weight bivy bag? That could go into your hammock, securely containing the thermarest and sleeping bag...

Mungo

Jim said...

Hey Mungo,

I have considered it, but I am not sure how well it would work. You see I am already sliding off the thermarest when it's on the hammock, so I imagine a bivy made of the same sil-nylon as the hammock would make the problem even worse. (nylon on nylon)

I have never used a bivy sack, so correct me if I am wrong here.

I look forward to your thoughts my friend.

Rick Beaty said...

have you looked into an undercover? Check out this site i found recently searching for a solution.

http://216.83.168.206/index_files/Products%20List_files/Under%20Quilt.htm

jacks are better makers all kinds of HH modifications.

Jim said...

Hey Reeock,

It looks cozy and I like the idea, but not it's $230 price tag. OUCH!

HH sells one for almost half the price. If their website wasn't so cluttered with info you don't need I may have bought from them, but I can't fin details on what comes with their undercover.

They mention they use a pad, but does that mean I need one or it comes with one? Any idea?

Ian said...

could you put the thermarest in your sleeping bag?