Hyperlight
Backpacker
A-SYM
hammock
Test Series
by
Andrew Preece
Initial Report May 16th 2008
Field Report August 16th 2008
Long Term Report Due September 2008
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Hammock set up at my home. |
Contents
Initial Report
Field Report |
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Personal Details
Name: Andrew Preece
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight: 188 lb (85 kg)
Waist: 39 in (100 cm)
Sleeve Length: 20 in(53 cm)
Chest: 42.5 in (108 cm)
Neck: 16 in (40 cm)
Email: andrew_at_teamgunnparker_dot_com
City: Perth.
Western Australia.
Australia. |
Backpacking Background
I have done a lot of hiking over the years but now carry a
hammock and
gear for over night stays of one to two nights. I normally carry
approximately 35 lb (16 kg) which includes food and water. My trips are
usually between one to two days duration mainly over weekends. I hike
all seasons with winter temperatures ranging from 39 F (4 C) to 64 F (18
C) including periods of heavy rain at times to summer conditions with
the temperature ranging from 68 F (20 C) to 95 F (35 C) and very dry. |
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Hennessy
Measurements. |
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My Measurements. |
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Weight: |
1 lb. 10 oz
(600 gm) |
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1 lbs 11.37 oz (776
gm) |
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Weight limit: |
200 lbs (91 kg) |
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Suspension System: |
1450 lb (658 kg) test
Spectra reinforced ropes with tightly braided polyester
covering. |
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Suspension
length 79 in (2 m) |
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webbing straps: |
42 in long and
1 in wide 1 5/8 oz (46 gm) |
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25.59 in (65
cm) x 1 in (25 mm) 1.13 oz (32 gm) |
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Hammock dimensions: |
100 in x 48 in
(254 cm x 122 cm) |
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102 in (259
cm) x 41 in (104 cm) |
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Hammock fabric: |
30D high
tenacity, high thread count nylon taffeta with heavy duty
ripstop 13 7/8 oz (394 gm) |
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Total body
weight (458 gm) |
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Canopy dimensions: |
a parallelogram
with - long side = 92 in (234 cm) - short side = 65 in (165 cm)
- long diagonal = 122 in (310 cm) - short diagonal = 105 in (267
cm) |
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Ridgeline
124 in (315 cm) x 49 in (124 cm) at widest point, |
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Canopy fabric: |
1.1 ounce 30 D
silicone nylon 8 1/4 oz (236 gm) |
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Weight 7.51
oz (213 gm) |
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Mesh: |
1 oz (28.35 gm)
20 D polyester No-See-Um netting |
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Stuff sack: |
5/8 oz (18 gm) |
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0.60 oz (17
gm) |
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Set
up time: |
2 minutes |
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Not tested
enough as yet |
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Packed size: |
4 in x 8 in
(100 cm x 200 cm) |
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11 in long x
16 in diameter (27.94 cm) x (40.64 cm) |
Manufacturer: Hennessy Hammocks
Place of manufacturer: China
Year of Manufacture: 2008
Manufacturer's Website:
www.hennessyhammocks.com
MSRP: US $229.95
Initial Report
May 16th 2008
When I received my hammock and took it out
of the stuff sack I was very surprised. The hammock looks much better in
the flesh than it does on the Hennessy website. The first thing that
screamed out at me was the quality of the manufacturing and the quality
of the materials used.
The hammock body is made of thirty denier, high thread count nylon
taffeta and feels like silk to touch.
Inside the stuff sack is; one complete hammock, one silnylon tarp
("Silnylon" is silicon impregnated ripstop nylon. It is extremely
waterproof, and extremely lightweight) a set of nylon webbing straps and
a set of silnylon snakeskins.
The hammock itself is comprised of two parts, one the lower part where I
will sleep and an upper part that is bug netting. The bug netting is
twenty denier polyester No-See-Um netting and has holes so small that
nothing could crawl through it I am sure. Both sections are sewn
together along the long sides of the hammock and do not separate.
The hammock body has side ties outs that pull the sides of the hammock
out. One is near where my left shoulder would be and the other is on the
opposite side near my right foot when lying in the hammock. The hammock
is designed this way so that I can lie diagonally in the hammock with my
head to the left of the centre line and my feet to the right.
What this means to a user of these hammocks, is that I am able to lie a
lot flatter in the hammock and not shaped like a banana so there is no
excess curve in my spine. This in turn means much better night’s sleep.
Another very important part of this hammock is the thin cord that runs
from the head end through to the foot end. This cord ridgeline is
important for three reasons. The first and most important is that it
sets the amount of sag that the hammock body has. Too much sag means
when I lie in the hammock my back is bent like a banana which means
a bad night’s sleep. Even worse is that if this banana bend is too much
my knees will bend backward against the normal movement of my knees
and it will be very painful.
The second reason is that if the hammock is pulled too tight when set up
the user will feel “shoulder squeeze” which means that when the hammock
is pulled too tight the sides of the hammocks are pulled in and will
squeeze your shoulders together causing a very unpleasant night’s sleep.
The third reason is that whenever I set up this hammock I know that the
amount of sag will be the same every time. It does not matter if I am on
a multi day hike or if I have just pulled the hammock out of the
cupboard after a month, when I set it up it will have just the right
amount of sag and will feel just right.
This amount of sag is preset during manufacturing and is not adjustable
by the user. |
The stuff sack.
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The silnylon tarp is designed in the shape
of a parallelogram and this is to match the asymmetrical shape of the
hammock body. So that when the tarp is setup over the hammock at the
wider shoulder area and the wider foot area the hammock body is still
covered by the tarp and stops any rain getting through to me.
The whole body and tarp is in a very nice coyote brown colour.
The webbing straps supplied are designed to be placed around the trees
that I will be hanging from and protect the tree from any damage that
may occur. The hammock body has a suspension cord line running from each
end of the hammock and is made from 1450 lb. test Spectra. This cord is
then tied or more, lashed around the webbing in such a way as to make
sure that I am able to easily untie the hammock after my weight has been
on it all night long.
The silnylon snakeskins are a cone shaped tube of silnylon that is
threaded over the suspension line when the hammock is first setup and
allows me to wrap the hammock body up in the tarp and slide the wide
mouth of this cone down over the hammock encased tarp. Then I do the
same to the opposite end of the tarp/hammock before I untie the body
from the webbing. This allows me to then wrap up the whole thing in one
long “snake” and pack it into or onto the out side of my back pack. |
The hammock side tie outs.
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Initial setup
When I first went to setup the hammock outside at the front of my house
in a couple of trees that I have and have used plenty of times before
for testing of my own hammocks I found a couple of things. First was the
webbing, it would not fit around my trees. After checking the length of
the strap and finding them to be 25.5 in (65 cm) long and then checking
the website and finding that they should be in fact 42 in (107 cm) long
I had to resort to getting a set of webbing that I have made myself for
my own hammocks.
Once I had this webbing and started to tie the hammock to the webbing I
was happy that I had checked with the Hennessy website to learn how to
do the lashing. The image and instructions on the back of the stuff sack
where not a lot of help as far as the lashing goes, but very good for
setting up of the rest of the hammock.
I had the hammock body tied to the tree when I found that the lower
ripstop material had three small holes in it, I was then worried about
getting into the hammock to try it for fear of the holes ripping and
ending up on my head.
After a couple of very short and quick emails to Hennessy’s Customer
Service they have told me they will be sending another hammock body and
replacement straps out to me. I am very happy with the amount of
service from Hennessy so far. |
The tarp side and end tie outs.
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After I had the webbing in place the rest of the setup is fairly straight
forward. I tied one end of the hammock to the webbing and then walked to
the other tree and tied the other end in place. The tarp clips onto the
plastic hooks tied to the end of a Prusik knot that is over the main
suspension line. This knot allows me to clip on the tarp then slide the
knot toward the tree and thereby tightening the tarp but not allowing
the knot to slide forward and become loose.
The A-sym tarp must align with the hammock and I found that if I clip
the tarp onto the hammock and pull out the side tie outs and it does not
align with the hammock I can just flip the tarp over and it will line up
perfectly. The tarp clips to the suspension line with a ring that clips
onto a hook on the end of the Prusik knot. There is also a little clip
that clips directly onto the suspension line that will keep the tarp and
hammock lined up. The side tie outs on the tarp are similar and also
clip to the side tie out on the hammock to ensure a good coverage.
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The inside of the opening
and the contents of the stuff sack.
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Hammock entry on the Hennessy is through a slit in the underside of the
hammock at the foot end. Entry is made by pulling apart the Omni tape
(similar to hook and loop) that is attached to each side of the slit.
Then I pull the hammock over my head and down to my waist. Then I turn
to face the foot end and sit down into the inside of the hammock. I Lift
my feet and lay back into the hammock and the slit will pull closed by
itself.
See photo above of the slit and the reinforced area of
the hammock entry.
This ends the basic hammock setup, this hammock has many different ways
that it can be used so
please check back in about two months
when I have had time to spend a few nights in the hammock and report my
findings. |
The end of the hammock and
start of the suspension line, with the inside storage pocket.
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Testing Activities
During the expected test period I will doing something a
little different. I will be attempting to section hike the full length
of the Coastal Plains trail. This trail runs from near the coast, then
inland for about 34 mi (55 km). The elevation is about 130 ft (40 m) to
330 ft (100 m)
It is now our winter and during this time I would expect a minimum
temperature of 50 F (10 C) with highs of 66 F (19 C), over the next few
months to September. Rainfall in this period would be on average 5.31 in
(135 mm) |
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Back to top |
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Field Report
August 16th 2008 |
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I received the
replacement hammock body and webbing in about three weeks which I was
very happy with as the parts had to ship to Australia where I live. The
staff at Hennessy are very good and very helpful.
I have now been using this hammock for about two months and during that
time I have used it three times out camping and two times at home to
familiarise my set up as per the instructions on the stuff sack. I would
also not want to go into the bush with a hammock not knowing how it would
perform, for my own safety's sake.
I have used it down on the flat at my house which is at an altitude of
about 82 ft (25 m) up to a spot near Mundaring called Paton which is at
about 984 ft (300 m). It has not rained during my time testing the
hammock. But the temperature has been cold, down to about 41 F (5 C)
overnight. The beauty of this hammock is that as long as I have two
trees I can hang it any where I choose.
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The webbing
The hammock is attached to the webbing using the
recommended lashing. This is basically a figure eight wrap of the cord
around one side of the webbing and the cord from the hammock. It is easy
to lash in this manner but it took me a little while to get the hang of
it at first.
I have started to notice that the ends of the webbing are looking a
little worse for wear, the lashing is not overly tight but the full
weight of the hammock with me in it is on the two loops of webbing where
it passes through the loops before I lash it in place.
After one night of sleeping I was packing up the hammock and found that
the cord had bitten into the inside of one of the loops and I had to
pull quite hard to get the webbing and cord to separate. This worried me
a little as I would hate for the cords to wear through the loops. The
outside of the cord is tightly braided polyester and I find it very
course to touch. The length of webbing between the loops is 39 in (96
cm) which means that the webbing will fit around a tree trunk that is 12
in (30 cm) at the most. Until now I have not been unable to wrap the
webbing around suitable trees in the areas I have been hiking, although
a couple of times I had to search a little for two matching trees.
I find that the lashing can be a little bit of a nuisance when I first
set it up. Because I like to have the hammock placed in the centre of
the two trees with equal cord at each end. This means lashing one side
up then the other side, then taking a look to see that the hammock body
is positioned centrally then if not, I have to undo one end and if I
have to lengthen this cord this is not too bad but If I have to tighten
it then I need to undo the other end then tighten it and go back to the
opposite end. Some times I have to go back and forth a few times. I will
be changing the lashing to another system once the trial period is up.
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The start of the lashing and the finishing half hitch.
The damage at the ends of the webbing |
The hammock body
Once the hammock is
securely attached to the trees I then slide back the snake skins to open
out the hammock.
I am undecided whether to continue to use the snake skins or not. I find
that the hammock does not pack down as small as it does in the stuff
sack but it is much easier to set it up from snake skins. I am caught
between wanting a small package in my pack and being able to have it up
in a matter of minutes.
After staking out the sides of the hammock and tarp it is all ready to
use. This can be done with stakes or some sticks I have found or even
just by tying to a near-by branch.
Entering the hammock is easy to do but a couple of
times in the beginning I set it too low to the ground and this made entry hard because I
was trying to sit down into the hammock as I would a chair, but then also
trying to bend down backward. I soon learnt to make sure to set the
webbing up high on the tree so that the bottom of the hammock is about
chair height. Once inside the hammock it is very nice, the soft feel of the
material is very nice and the hammock feels roomy to me. At five foot
ten inches (178 cm) I am not short and neither very tall but feel like I
have plenty of room. I had expected the bug netting to make me feel
closed in, maybe a little claustrophobic but this has not been the case
at all. I think the black colour of the netting and the fact that I can
see out easily makes it seem larger than perhaps it is.
Because the weather here has been cold and because
I do not have an under quilt to suit this hammock I have had to use a
closed cell foam pad to insulate my back and legs from the outside cold
air. It is just a cheap blue foam pad that does the job and keeps me
warm enough with a sleeping bag opened out over me like a quilt. I have
the bottom couple of feet zipped up to keep the bag over my feet. The
problem with using a pad on this hammock is the bottom entry I have to
stand up and pull the hammock over me and then spread the pad out
inside, then turn around and face forward and sit into the hammock. What
happens most of the time is the pad moves or bunches up under me while
getting in which
means a bit of hammock gymnastics to get it all flat again.
When this is all done the pad does not seem to move too much during the
night unlike in my own hammock. The first few times using this entry I was a little worried about the
Omni tape coming apart during the night and me falling out but it holds
very well and at no time have I had to worry about it. The tape is quite
sharp though and I have found that if I am wearing shorts or even if I
reach my arm in to get something from inside or put something inside the
tape scratches my legs and arms, not enough to mark the skin but enough
to feel it. When I have long pants on I am fine. A couple of times this
tape has pulled my woolen beanie off when I have been getting into the
hammock. |
The hammock in the snakes skins and almost opened up.
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The tarp
The tarp attaches to the suspension line with a ring on the tarp
and a hook on the suspension. One thing that has been very well done is
the hook, on the inside of the hook and a part of it is a little dimple
of plastic that firmly holds the ring in place while setting up. So if I
had the tarp and hammock packed separately I would clip this ring on to
the hook and the plastic dimple holds the ring in place so that I can
then walk to the other end of the hammock and not have to worry about
the tarp coming off the hook and falling on the ground, This is very
nice indeed. One thing I have noticed with the rings is that if I pull
back on the cord attached to the suspension line to tighten the tarp I
can pull the rings out of shape. The rings will bend out of shape quite
easily if I try to get the top ridgeline of the tarp very tight.
The tarp can be set up in a couple of different styles; one way is to
clip it to the side ties out of the hammock body and batten down the
hatches. But if the weather is nice I like to open the tarp up by tying
the cord from the sides of the tarp to one or both of my trekking poles.
This really opens out the tarp and allows me to look out through the
netting, which is surprisingly see-through.
On one of the first nights in this hammock I was making sure to lie
diagonally within it and I think I went a little too far. I had moved
during the night so much so that my shoulder was on the bug netting of
the edge of the hammock body. I was worried about it at first, but the
netting showed no sign of tearing or stretching. Of course I did move
away from the netting straight away. One thing I did notice was the
dampness of the condensation on the inside of the tarp. Because the tarp
when clipped right down is only about three inches (75mm) away from the
netting it is easy to touch the tarp through the netting and get a
little wet. I sleep at times with my hands up over my head and my arms
became a little damp one night as I moved around in the hammock. The
tarp when it becomes wet with dew or condensation becomes heavier and
can sag on the sides and come in contact with the netting. |
The hammock can be used as a chair while in camp or
as a lounger to just lay around on with out getting into the hammock.
Both ways are easy to set up. The chair is set up by releasing one of
the body tie outs at the stake and letting the cord just fall, then I
reach under the hammock to the reinforced section where the entry ends
near the middle of the hammock then flipping the side of the body over
toward the netting. Then I just hold the reinforcing section and sit
down. Sitting this way is good for lunch on the trail so that I do not
have to sit on the ground, or in camp to eat or rest or whatever. The
only problem with this method is the cord ridgeline that now passes
behind me and holds up the netting can dig into the back of my neck. In
this photo below the top of the netting can be seen directly behind my
neck.
As a lounger the set up is the same as for a chair but then I just lie
on the hammock instead of sitting. There is no worry about the ridgeline
when used in this way. |
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The hammock in seat and lounger mode.
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I can also unstake one or both sides of the hammock
and flip the sides up over the ridgeline and use the space below the
tarp for cooking, sitting out of the rain, shade from sun, anything. The
other photo here shows the hammock without the tarp attached. I can set
it up this way during the day if I need to get way from bugs and eat. Or
at night if the weather is fine and it is not going to rain I can lie
here at look up at the trees and stars. |
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The hammock flipped back over the ridgeline and with
out the tarp in place.
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So far I like this hammock a lot, it's easy to set
up and take down. It can be used in a few different ways. I like the
coyote brown colour. I really like the weight at 1 lb 10 oz (600 gm), I
love the feel of the hammock body.
I do not like so much the scratchy Omni tape. The lashing method. And
the ends of the webbing loops becoming damaged.
I will be using the hammock on my final two sections of the Coastal
Plains trail I am
trying to complete and for any other trips that may come up, and I look
forward to getting some more use with it. |
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Please bookmark this
page and check back in about two months for my long term report for more
information.
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