Reviews > Shelters > Hammocks > Crazy Creek Crib LEX Lightweight > Brian Tannehill > Initial Report

Age: 31
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 7" (1.7 m)
Weight: 185 lb (79 kg)
Name: Brian Tannehill
Date: 18 Jun 06
Email: tannehillclan(at)gmail(dot)com
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

Backpacking Background:

I am fairly new to backpacking, but I have hunted/fished/camped all my life in East Texas, Colorado, and California. My young kids (4, 10, 12) limit me to weekend overnight camping trips, or day hikes Geocaching. I am also an avid mountain biker. Currently I live in Colorado Springs, Co at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Pike National Forest surrounds me at 9000 - 14,110 feet (2743 m - 4301 m). Snow can happen 10 months out of the year and summer is the hottest reaching 85 deg F + (29 C), the other months average 45 deg F (7 C).

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Crazy Creek
Year of Manufacture: 2006
URL: http://www.crazycreek.com/
MSRP: $ 199.00 USD
Listed Weight: 54 oz (1531 g)

The locations of my tests will mostly be in the Rocky Mountains of Pike National Forest just west of Colorado Springs. Elevations will be from 7,000 feet (2,134 m) at my house up to around 10,000 feet (3,048 m) in the local mountains. Weather at this time of the year is fairly warm. Temperatures will range from a high of mid 80's (29 C) and a low of mid 50's (13 C) through the month of July to mid 60's (18 C) for a high to mid 30's (-2 C) for the low in the month of October. The terrain is typical for the Rocky Mountain region. Very steep, rocky trails and numerous trees to hang from.

My initial thoughts and description:

This is my first real hammock besides the homemade ones I have unsuccessfully used in the past few months. My first thought was this thing is not as heavy as I expected. There are basically 4 sections to this hammock. The hammock, the poles, the tarp, and the rope to tie out the tarp. I've set the hammock up on my back porch a few times just to check it out.

This is how it came shipped to me inside the stuff sack. The blue thing is the tarp, and the green is the hammock.

The top part is all bug netting, while the bottom has a place for the sleeping pad and one of the two inside mesh pockets.

Bottom of the hammock showing the sleeping pad holder.

I have run into some problemswith the two sleeping pds I have. The first problem I have is my Therm-a-Rest sleeping pad is too wide to fit in the pad holder, while my Z Rest just folds up while trying to stuff it in there. I will keep trying to get the Z Rest in but so far I've had no luck.

I climb into the hammock from the top through a zipper that runs the length of the ridge. Another one of my concerns is the zipper. At each end of the bug neeting is a set of poles that hold the bug netting up like a tent. I'm concerned about where the zipper meets that area as it is really tight.

I can actually see the blue sleeping pad holder through the zipper in this area while I can not in the other areas.

Here is a close up of the buckle. The little blue piece I almost ripped off until after I read the instructions. It causes the rain to run off. Go figure!

Finally here is a picture of the end of the hammock. This shows the webbing, buckle, and how the end of the hammock is constructed. The webbing actually slides through the end of the hammock in a little sleeve with reinforced ends.

I have yet to set up the tarp as it has been too hot. However the tarp is supper slippery and is tough to roll back up. Should be interesting to try and figure that one out.

The weight limit of this hammock is 300 lbs (136 kg). I have placed myself and my daughter in the hammock at the same time and together we weigh in at about 220 lbs (100 kg). I have only done that for a few minutes as she squirms too much and I kick her out. I have also taken a quick cat nap in it and it is fairly comfortable. I do notice the sides tend to roll my shoulders up some and my knees are hyper-extended. Setting the hammock up right is a major concern. I'm hoping that I can get the pad in place inside the pad holder and the bottom will flatten out some.

Oh and by the way for all the hammockers out there, I have rolled out of this one already....

Some of my questions and concerns:

Is there a proper way to set up the hammock?
Will the material stretch some so the zipper is not as tight?
How easy is this thing to set up? How long does it take? Is it easier or harder than I expected?
How easy is the Crib to get in and out of?
Does it balance well? Will I fall out? LOL I've fallen out of every hammock I have used.
Does it lend itself to sleeping on my side? Stomach? At a diagonal across the bottom or with my feet off either side?
Can it be used as a quick camp chair?
How will it stand up to the wind?
Some of the old reports mentioned the lines on the hammock fraying. Has this changed any?

Test Plan:

My test plan consist of answering the above questions, and using this hammock with a few different sleeping bag configurations. I also plan to use it on the ground as a bivy. I think it will make a pretty nice one man tet/bivy. I will be using it on numerous hikes up a local place called Stanley Canyon in the Pike National Forest. Temperatures will start to drop after July so I may be moving to a bivy.

Thanks to Backpackgeartest and Crazy Creek for allowing me to participate in this test.

Brian

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Reviews > Shelters > Hammocks > Crazy Creek Crib LEX Lightweight > Brian Tannehill > Initial Report