Reviews > Shelters > Hammocks > Hennessy Explorer Ultralite A-Sym > Test Report by Thomas Vickers

Hennessy Hammock Explorer Ultralight A-sym Hammock

Initial Report - May 22 , 2008
Field Test Report - August 8, 2008

Tester Background:
I grew up in the piney woods of southeast Texas. Camping was a quick trip into the mosquito-infested woods behind the house. My style has evolved and over the last 4 or 5 years, I have begun to take a lighter weight approach to hiking gear (I still use sleeping bags and tents, just lighter versions). While I have flirted with lightweight hiking, I feel that I am more of a mid-weight hiker now. My philosophy is one of comfort, while carrying the lightest load possible.

Initial Report
May 22, 2008

Initial tester expectations:
As an owner of another version of Hennessy Hammock and the fact that I spend an awful lot of time at their website, I was pretty sure I knew what I was in for.  The website itself is full of information that makes understanding what a Hennessy Hammock is, how to use it, and comparison shopping pretty easy to do. There is everything from videos to comparison charts that makes picking and purchasing a Hennessy Hammock very easy. The only thing that I could not really tell was what the fabric was going to be like.

Tester's Description:
The Explorer Ultralight arrived neatly packed inside of a stuff sack. I was more than amazed that everything was so neatly and tightly wrapped and packed. Of course my first job was to unwrap everything and ruin the wonderful packing job that someone had done.

The hammock itself is a banana shaped piece of 30 D nylon that is tapered on each end. Each end is wrapped and extending from each wrapped end is a length of 1600 lb (726 kg)  test polyester cord.  The hammock body is topped by no-see-um netting that is supported inside by a ridgeline. There are two asymmetrical "wings" on the hammock body, one located on each side. The hammock is entered by opening a Velcro lined slit on the bottom of one end of the hammock.  The hammock also includes a silnylon fly that installs over the top of the hammock body, two lengths of webbing to wrap around trees (tree huggers) and two tapered tubes of silnylon (SnakeSkins) that are used to store the hammock when not in use. The fly has the same asymmetrical shape as the hammock body and attaches to the suspension ropes via a plastic loops and a plastic hook.  The tree huggers are used to wrap around trees and attach the suspension ropes to in order to prevent damage to trees. 

I wish I knew a better way to describe it, but the Explorer Ultralight is a bottom entry hiking hammock. It has two 'wings' that pull out (one on either side) that are designed to make sleeping easier and more comfortable.  I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but that is the basics.

Initial thoughts:
The Explorer Ultralight hammock looks very interesting.  I set it up quickly in order to take pictures, but I am really interested in seeing what the best way to set it up is.   There are instructions on setting up the hammock printed on the stuff sack (which I really like), but I haven't looked at them in any detail yet. At this point I am looking forward to seeing how it sleeps, how best to hang it, and a ton of other things that will come with use.  I feel that the Hennessy website more than prepared me for what arrived and the only questions that really need answered revolve around what it is going to be like sleeping in this hammock.

Setting up the hammock:
Other than hanging the Explorer Ultralight A-sym to take photos, I have not hung it yet in order to climb inside.  The stuff sack contains instructions on how to set up the hammock and how to lash the support ropes.  There are further instructions on how to set up the canopy and the care and maintenance on the stuff sack. One of the things that I am looking forward to testing is how well these instructions work and if I can find an easier way to set up the Explorer Ultralight. The one thing that I discovered from my initial photo hang of the hammock is that at least two and maybe four stakes are going to be required to guy out the hammock securely.  I will be testing to see if I can do this with just two stakes or if four will really be needed. 


Final thoughts:
One thing that I really like so far is that the hammock can be set up without the fly.   I will be experimenting with various configurations of hammock and fly as well as hammock without fly in order to maximize the ventilation on this hammock.  I am also interested in seeing if I can meet the three minute set up time that is listed on the website using Hennessy's instructions as well as any alternate method I can devise.

I am also happy that the Explorer Ultralight is ready to go right out of the stuff sack. Other than stakes (I used sticks) for the guy lines, everything that I needed to hang the hammock and fly were included. This is a big plus to me because I don't have to waste time or effort gathering any extra items to hang this hammock.

Things I like:
1. Hammock and fly are separate
2. Ready to go without extra gear
3. Instructions printed on stuff sack

Things I don't like:
1. I can't get the hammock back into the stuff sack the same way it came from the factory.

Field Test Report - August 8, 2008

Testing locations:
Sam Houston National Forest
Along the San Jacinto River

Conditions:
Temperature: 69 - 90 F (21 - 32 C)
Precipitation: none
Altitude: 0 - 250 ft (0 - 76 m)
Terrain: Flat and level, loose sand, forest floor, and grass

Trips:
Two nights - 5 miles (8 km) total hiking
Three nights: 15 miles (24 km) total hiking
Two nights - 5 miles (8 km) total hiking

Using it:
I have taken three trips so far with the Hennessy Hammock Explorer Ultralight A-sym Hammock.  Two of them have been two nights and one has been three nights long. All have been in hot and humid Southeast Texas where there are plenty of bugs, trees, and places to hang. There was no rain, but plenty of windy hot nights.

Setting it up:
My first trip out with the Explorer involved a short two mile (3 km) hike down to the San Jacinto River. I eventually found two trees about 15 feet (4.5 m) apart in a clear area and pitched the hammock.

I followed the instructions (or at least my interpretation of them) that came printed on the stuff sack for the hammock.  I wrapped the tree huggers around the trees and then threaded the hanging cords through the tree huggers.

I did not tie any knots in the hanging cords, instead I wrapped them around themselves three times, then put them back through the tree huggers. After doing this three times in a row I had a fairly secure "knot" that was easy to unwrap and did not allow any serious knots to form in the hanging cords. Even after hanging in the hammock for a full night, this "wrapping" allows me to take the hammock down without having to untie any overly tight knots. 

I usually do one end of the hammock first (the head end) and then hang the other end in the exact same manner. If the hammock needs any adjusting, I usually just unwrap and adjust the foot end of the Explorer until I get everything just right.

One thing that I did differently this time that I have never done before was installing the Snakeskins on the hanging cords before I attached the cords to the tree huggers.

This was easy to do since all I had to do was slide the Snakeskins over each hanging cord (one on each end of hammock) and then hang the hammock. I found out that I also had to keep the Snakeskins above the point that the fly attaches to the hammock (not like in the picture above), but that issue had a quick learning curve for me. I may be slow, but I don't do silly things more than four or five times.

Attaching the fly was easy once I got the hammock body up.  I flipped it over the top of the hammock and attached the clip to the hammock hanging cords and adjusted the fly length-wise to get the correct tension. Then I went ahead and staked out the fly and the body of the hammock at the same time.  I choose to use four stakes instead of two so that I could secure the hammock and fly separately.  I tied a figure 8 knot into the guy lines from the hammock and slipped the loop over a stake.  I don't adjust the body guy lines too much once I get them set, so tying a knot in them doesn't bother me.   The fly guy lines were secured to separate stakes and rather than tying them in a knot, I simply wrapped them tightly around the body of the stake.  That way if I had to get out in the night to make an adjustment to the fly, all I would have to do is unwrap the guy line rather than fumbling with a knot in the dark. 

Besides being learning how to use the Snakeskins correctly I also discovered that 15 feet (4.5 m) apart is not far enough for this me and this hammock.   At this distance I felt that I was a little too "bent" into a banana shape when I slept, but it was still extremely comfortable.

Sleeping:
One reason that I really like this hammock (probably any other as well) is that I can actually sleep in it. Sleeping on the ground creates painful dead spots on my shoulders and hips and that means that I have to turn over (often waking up as well) about every forty five minutes.  In the Explorer I found that even in an 'uncomfortable' pitch (trees too close) I still slept without any dead spots or pain. Rather than turning every 45 minutes, I easily slept completely through the night. Better yet, when I had to get up to answer the call of nature, I was quickly back in the Explorer and asleep for quicker than I would have been on the ground.

Another aspect of the Explorer that I like is the fact that there are no zippers to fiddle with. The hook and loop closure on the entry slit is quick and easy to use and that means that in the middle of the night there is no fumbling around for zipper pulls in order to get in and out.  I think the best way to describe the Explorer is "user friendly." It is easy to set up, easy to use, and best of all, easy to sleep in.   Hennessy seems to have taken all the fuss and muss out of setting up a shelter and using it which I feel is very important. First time users should not be intimidated by the Explorer because it is just too easy to use.

Summer fun:
Sleeping in any kind of shelter in Texas during the summer is a tricky situation. I want protection from the bugs and rain (if it rains), but that usually   means living in a portable sauna, even if I only use my shelter in the late evenings. The Explorer was often just as hot as any other shelter, but it was much easier to address this issue than in a normal shelter. 

My first line of attack was to raise or even remove the fly. This allowed any breezes that might hit me to flow through the mesh top of the hammock and cool things off. The fact that I was suspended off the ground also meant that the air circulation under the hammock kept the interior temperatures lower (or at least more bearable) than with a regular tent.   At night this meant that I cooled off quickly even if the air temperature stayed on the hot side into the early evening.  I also enjoyed the fact that despite being cooler, there were no bug attacks.  Nothing got through the entrance or the mesh top and nothing bit me through the hammock's bottom. Mosquitoes are pretty serious here and after spending seven nights in the hammock so far with no bug bites tells me that the Explorer does its job of keeping the bugs off of me. 

Taking it down:
I usually just take shelters down and stuff them in the bottom of my pack. I have used hammocks before and they get the same treatment. This test has been a bit different because I hung the hammock with the included Snakeskins and when it came time to take it down, I decided to go ahead and use them. The first thing I did was untie the guy lines and wrap them around the hammock and fly. Then I began to slide each Snakeskin toward the middle of the hammock. I didn't think that I was going to get all the hammock and its fly into these two small tubes, but it actually went very quickly and easily.

When I got the "stuffing part" done, all I had was one long and smooth "snake" that had formerly been my hammock and fly. Next I unwrapped the hanging cords from the tree huggers and wrapped the whole thing up into a small bundle that went in the bottom of my pack.

For the next part of the test I will remember to measure how big this bundle is, but it came out pretty small. Not as nice and compact as how it was originally packed into the stuff sack, but much easier and compact than I would have expected.  The next time I put the Explorer up, all I had to do was hang the 'snake' using the tree huggers and hanging cord, then pull the Snakeskins up toward the trees and the hammock magically popped back out. 

Final thoughts:
This shelter has been an eye opener for me. I am already a hammock user and know how nice it is to sleep this way, especially in the Texas heat.  This summer has been exceptionally hot here and I have still been surprised by how comfortable and at times cool this hammock can be to sleep in despite the heat.  More importantly for me, I have found that using the Snakeskins makes handling this shelter so much easier.   They make it quick and easy to take the hammock down, pack it away, and then to set up again later. I no longer have to dig and unwrap guy lines out of my pack since they get sucked right up into the Snakeskins. 

I have also enjoyed the sliding pocket that rides along the internal ridge line of the Explorer. I always hang my headlamp in this pocket and drop in any small items that I have in my pockets when I got to bed.  This means that I do not wake up with small objects poking me in the back because they migrated underneath me during the night as they worked their way out of my pockets.  Since the pocket slides, I liked to slide it all the way towards the footend of the hammock where I could dangle my feet out of the opening and refill my pockets from a seated position rather than as I lay on my back.

Likes:
1. Easy to set up/take down with Snakeskins
2. Is extremely small in pack
3. Very comfortable to sleep in

Dislikes:
1. None

Please check back in two months for the final installment of my report.

Reviews > Shelters > Hammocks > Hennessy Explorer Ultralite A-Sym > Test Report by Thomas Vickers