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Gear Reviews
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Hennessy
Supershelter
Date: December
13, 2005
Reviewer
Information:
|
Name:
|
Jim Sabiston |
| Age: |
51 |
| Height: |
6'
3" (1.90 m) |
| Weight: |
210
lb (94 kg) |
| Email: |
JimSabis(at)aol(dot)com |
| State: |
New
York |
| Country: |
USA |
Backpacking
Background:
| I've been camping since my teens. My outdoor activities
include backpacking, canoeing, sea kayaking, snowshoeing,
mountaineering and
cross country skiing. I have expanded my backpacking to include winter
mountaineering, back country skiing and ski backpacking. I have
received winter
mountaineering training with Chauvin International Climbing Guides. I
actively
study ways to backpack lighter and more efficiently. During the summer
months,
my style tends toward very light, but not quite ultralight. I use a
hammock or
tarp for warm weather, and a small four-season tent for winter trips.
Most of
my other gear is very changeable, as I am constantly experimenting with
gear
and techniques. |
Product
Information:
Specifications:
| Undercover : |
7.5 oz (213 g) |
| Stuff sack : |
1 oz (28 g) |
| Underpad : |
5.5 oz
(156 g) Dimensions
30 in X 66 in (76 cm X 168 cm) |
| Overcover* : |
3 oz (85 g) |
| Torso Pad* : |
N/A |
| Hip Pad* : |
N/A |
| Undercover : |
7.6 oz (216 g) |
| Stuff sack : |
.9 oz (22 g) |
| Underpad : |
5.6 oz (158 g) Dimensions
30 in X 66 in (76 cm X 168 cm) |
| Overcover : |
3.2 oz
(91 g) |
| Torso Pad : |
2.5 oz
(71 g) 24
in X 31 in (61 cm X 79 cm) |
| Hip Pad : |
1.1 oz (31 g) 16 in X
18.5 in (41 cm X 47 cm) |
Please refer to my Initial
Report for a detailed description of the
Supershelter components and assembly and my Field
Report for additional field
experience.
Long
Term Experience:
The
Hennessy Supershelter has been given a
thorough workout in a wide variety of conditions over the last year.
The system
has proven to be very flexible and effective at extending the weather
range
where I will now consider the hammock a viable shelter option. There
are no
appreciable wear and tear items to note, with one minor exception. One
end of
the Undercover is showing a bit of fraying around the hole where the
ridgeline
and shock cords pass through it. In fact, I suspect this may actually
be due to
a minor sewing defect which I never noticed as such. Again, this is a
minor
detail which had no impact on the use of the Supershelter.
The various bits in the Supershelter system work well together. The
coldest
temperature I was able to sleep comfortably in was about 25 F (-4 C).
One of
the things I experimented with, and enjoyed some success with, was
using the
individual bits independently to see how they worked. The two winners
here were
the Overcover and the Underpad. Both of these items had the most impact
on the
comfort range of the hammock for the least weight/complexity penalty.
They are
also the easiest to use as ‘in the field’ add-ons.
As my use of the system progressed, I noticed a tendency to leave the
Undercover, Torso Pad and Hip Pad home, at least in milder conditions.
The
Underpad goes a long way on its own to make the hammock warmer,
although it
will suffer in windy conditions without the wind blocking Undercover in
place. The
same is true for the Overcover, in that it returns good heat retention
for
minimal weight. The real beauty of these two parts of the system is
that they
can be easily installed in the field, especially so when the Undercover
is not
in the way. This leads to my main complaint involving the Supershelter:
the
number of bits and the overall complexity.
Two of the primary reasons that I use a hammock are 1) light weight,
and 2)
ease of use. My Hennessy Ultralight A-Sym is normally used with the
Hennessy
Snakeskin option. Installing the Undercover means the Snakeskin will no
longer
fit, so I am back to the stuff sack. The foam insulating pads are
supposed to
be packed separately and installed in the field. This is just a bit of
a bother
and kills the simplicity of hanging the hammock. It is even worse if I
install
the Undercover and/or the Overcover while in the field. All these bits
start
adding weight as well. Many of the hammocks advantages are thereby
diminished.
My solution, as noted above, is to focus on the two parts that give the
biggest
return for the added weight and complexity, the Overcover and the
Underpad and
keeping the hammock in the Snakeskin. This allows me to retain the
advantages
of the hammock, but have the advantages of the insulating foam and the
wind protection
of the Overcover, which are both added easily in the field if I should
need
them.
One note: Having to disconnect the side tie downs to install the
Underpad is a
pain. I came up with a very simple and convenient solution: two paper
clips. I
simply carried these in my pocket and just attached them to the side
mount
points of the Underpad and then clipped these directly to the plastic
side
rings on the hammock. This little change cut the installation time in
half and
reduced the nuisance factor to nearly zero. This should become a
permanent
design feature of the Underpad. I never tried it with the Overcover,
but it
seems it should work there as well.
Summary:
Likes:
1 - All the usual advantages of a hammock and a warm back too!
2 - Reasonably lightweight system.
3 - Hennessy's usual good quality materials and construction.
Dislikes:
1 - Set up is busier than I prefer.
Overall, I am very pleased with the cold weather performance of the
Supershelter. The system does work and it works well. That being said,
I think
the system’s utility suffers from its complexity. It occurs
to me that Hennessy
could get good results and perhaps simplify the system by developing
the
Underpad a little further. The only weakness I found in using the
Underpad is
that it benefits from the wind-blocking capability of the Undercover. I
would
like to see the Underpad enlarged a bit (both length and width) and
then with a
layer of light nylon or silnylon laminated to the outside. Lastly, a
built-in reflective
layer on the inside would be really nice. A change like this might
eliminate
the need for the Undercover in all but the coldest conditions.
Read more reviews of Hennessy gear
Read more gear reviews by jim Sabiston
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