Heading back to the States and The Oregon Coast.
The next Mission involved a trip down to the Oregon coast for some boat work and water Ops. It was a good bit colder, especially since our thermostats were still set for Thailand temperatures. I spent another 10 days sleeping outside in the Hammock, and did I sleep great! I was using the green and black bags together - no Gore-Tex cover - and a space blanket inside of the hammock. I wore only silk weight long underwear. I was very comfortable during those windy high 30s and low 40s nights. Rain was not an issue since I was again on a porch of a building. It says a lot for the hammock that I would rather sleep outside in it that inside a heated room in a real bed. I'd sleep in it every night now at home except I'd miss my wife too much J In the mornings I did notice a bit of condensation collecting on the hammock. I am not sure if that is a direct result of sleeping with the space blanket in the hammock with me, or the fact I kept my head deep inside the bags.
Trying it out in Rainier national park.
After coming home from Oregon I had a good bit of time off, so I went camping at some hot springs with my wife. Unfortunately I had only the one Hennessy Hammock, so I brought along a regular cloth Hammock and a small tarp. With that I constructed a "pseudo" Hennessy Hammock while my wife slept in the real one. That was a real uncomfortable night for me. I was wearing an expedition weight 1 piece underwear bib overall with a fleece jacket, heavy socks and a wool hat. I slept in the Black bag while my wife slept in the green one with the gore-tex cover and space blanket. I was cold, cramped and all around uncomfortable.
Fortunately, my highly specialized military training allowed my to get a couple hours of sleep (ha ha) but I got up pretty early to cook breakfast. Temps that night were in the 40s, and my wife had the nerve to tell me how she was a tad bit on the warm side all night. An order for a 2nd Hennessy Expedition hammock soon followed that trip. A pretty blue and green one arrived for my wife shortly after.
What Would I Change?
Hmmm, at 1st I'd say nothing, but I'll try to think real hard of something. Here's what I came up with:
- [*}Make an opening like the main entrance one on the other end - just smaller. That way you could reach out to your gear without exiting the hammock.
- Put a zipper on one side of the mosquito netting. A couple days in Thailand I would have killed to have the small breeze that the netting blocked.
- Make the rain fly larger all the way around.
And that's about it.
Conclusions:
This is an excellent all around piece of equipment. Fit and finish, craftsmanship and durability are superb. Form and function flow together and simplicity is the rule. Lightweight, convenient and oh so comfortable. This is the best piece of gear I've bought in a long long time.
Thanks Hennessy for making such a great product!