tent/hammock maintainence questions...

[gunny]

I'm thinking about just buying an old parachute off fleabay and making my own.

[Selocta]

gunny...  you may have covered this already (pardon me if i repeat) but a big advantage of the hammock is how adaptable it is to uneven terrain...  two trees on a slope and i'm sleeping like a baby.

(try the same slope in a tent and you're either sliding or rolling)

during my last trip on the Big South Fork i used the Hennessey and it worked very well.  it now lives in my go-kit on the KLR - never leave home without it!

s...

[gunny]

nope, didn't mention that, but it is an excellent point, that's the one bad thing about a tent, finding that level spot so you don't end up off the pad. I really like the idea behind a hennesey, seems fairly easy to make one once you find the right material and of course have the proper sewing machine {I do } So I may "sew" one up and see how it works.

[stealth]

Just wanted to drop a note -

I finally got a hammock, and it is everything I have dreamed it would be...  I bought the biggest, heaviest hammock Hennessy currently makes.  I only just set it up tonight for a bit.  It was actually my intention to string it up, hop in to check it out, then take it down, but it didn't work out that way.  I didn't sleep in it as the sun was going down, and it's going to get down to 50*F tonight.  I'll pad it out with some type of insulation and try sleeping in it in a few nights, but I just wanted to quickly say, it felt great.  I'm sure I'll love it way more than a flat bed.

Note to Gunny and others who make their own stuff:  it looks pretty simple.  It's a heavy duty hammock, but there is a place on each side to pull it out a bit and stake it down, which draws the user more sideways.  These two spots are offset, so that it sortof forms a diagonal line across the hammock, making it more  flat-like.  When I get around to it, I'll take some pics of it staked down so you can see a bit of detail.

Also, it really reminded me of what a baby rocking to sleep must feel like.  It was quite relaxing...  the gentle rocking, the perfect position and support, the enclosed womb-like feeling around me...  it was almost ecstatic.  trace inducing almost...

anyway, for anyone who wants to know, my personal opinion so far is that hammocks - at least those made in this way - are fantastic.