Eagle's Nest Hammock mini-review

[Johnny Swank]

I just finished using a ENO Doublenest and slapstraps on a 10 day trip down the Cape Fear River in NC. Take all this with a grain of salt as this was my first experience with a hammock of any sort. Yeah - I sort of dive into things.

I liked the hammock overall, but would probably just get the Singlenest if I were buy it (ENO was one of my sponsors). I got tired of the excess fabric hanging in my face during the night, and could have easily gone with a narrower model.

Liked the slapstraps, but wish there was more adjustment loops. I'm still getting the hang of getting the right sag, and I often had to futz a little more than I would have liked to get things right. Also, I was using a 8x10' silnylon tarp, and this barely covered the hammock the way I was hanging it (maybe need more sag). Being able to adjust the hammock more would have been helpful in getting everything centered.

The biners ENO uses are bomber, but there has to be a lighter option. I'd probably replace them with wiregate climbing biners.

Overall it's a well-made hammock. I might would switch to some sort of homebrew treehuggers and cord to tie up with, as I could adjust that alot better. (Take into consideration that I really, really like to make my own gear) The slapstraps are fine as they are though.

I'll be putting a more extensive gear review of everything used on the trip in the next couple of weeks on our website. I'll cut n paste the pertinant stuff over here as I get things done.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Thanks, John. I;d forgotten that you were using a sponsor's hammock. Silly of me. I thought you had a Hennessy.

Have you tried a Hennessy yet? (You probably answered this, and I forgot. Early onset of premenopausal senility, I guess.)

 

[oldsparkey]

Looking at the picture they have ...

you have to sleep on your back all of the time like in the Army Jungle Hammocks, did you try to turn on one side or the other and see if it was posable to sleep that way.

There style looks to me like it would be good for a person who wants the minimum equipment when camping. LOOK OUT ..... Here comes the catch ...... BUT...... You also have to have a tarp with you if it looks like rain, then the lines for the tarp, there is no bug protection for the camper. So you have the hammock, the tarp, the lines for the tarp which is extra set up time and still no bug protection.

There are hammock manufactures who have all of those necessities included in one lightweight (Rain proof, bug proof and comfortable) package for a camper/paddler. I know this because I have purchased camping hammocks from three different manufactures for my use.

Yes,... I am aware that not all folks like the same things, especially in camping gear because we camp in different temperate and bug zones.

NOT ... Putting you on the spot or in a frying pan ..........I realize they were or are a sponsor for your trip but have you ever tried any of the other hammocks? Or are you going to try some of them since you found out hammock camping is down right comfortable?

Just asking questions and looking for impute because someone out there in cyber land reading this probably has the same questions but is to bashful to ask....

Chuck.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Old Spare Key is pretty much right - except where the posits that anyone on this net is too bashful to ask a question!

WHERE did you ever get THAT idea, Chuckie? Members here are about as bashful as a hungry python.

 

[Johnny Swank]

Hammocks

Great questions, and quite fair.

I'll first say that I'm sold on the hammock thing. Very comfy once you get the bugs worked out.

The ENO is a basic hammock by itself, but they do sell tarp, bugnets, and whatnot as accessories. If you want to buy the whole enchilada at once, they have a packege deal available.

http://www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com/ ... ystem.html

Now, for this trip I wasn't expected any bugs, and saw very few in reality. I'd get eaten alive in the summer though. I did get my sewing jones on and made a down underquilt and hammock sock like on Just Jeff's page. http://www.tothewoods.net/HomemadeGearHammockSock.html

I slept mostly on my back, but ended up on my side in the morning. It took awhile to realize that the more sag the better, as it made it easier to sleep on a diagaonal and lay flat.

Both worked very well, and I could easily see making another hammock sock with half of the material being noseeum netting for summer use. I hate zippers on gear, and there's nothing but a couple of drawstrings on the sock. I could easily pull it over me when I went to bed as much as I wanted and didn't have any condensation as long as I put up a ridgeline. I even used the hammock sock as a bivy (on top of a groundcloth) on the coldest night. I carried a marginal down summer bag, but by putting the underquilt on top of that then throwing the whole shebag into the hammock sock, I ended up with something like 4-5" of down on top of me and sweated my ass off. In retrospec, I should have put up the hammock that night to see if what kind of temps if could go down to, but I was smoked as it was, it was dark, and well, I knew for sure that sleeping on the ground with that setup would be fine.

I wouldn't have a problem reccomending the Eagles Nest products. They seem very well made and from the looks of the bugnet and tarp we have at work, would be fine for damn near anything. There's a few things I'd change, but I change/modify most of my gear anyway. Don't take that as a quality control issue - it more of a control freak issue.

Just because I like to mess with making gear, I'm probably going to sew my own Speer-type hammock with a structural ridgeline (a la Hennessy). I'll also throw together a hammocksock with netting for summer use. If I get around to it, I'll also sew a baffled quilt for putting over me instead of the down bag (the underquilt is sewn-through)

For someone who wants a turn-key setup without having to mess with all this, the Eagles Nest OneLink System, Hennessy or Clark hammocks are the way to go. I just like fooling around with my own gear. I've made our packs, stuff sacks, stove, down quilt, some clothes, and a few other things. If I were to do another trip without all the sponsorship stuff, I'd more than likely sew/make 95% of the stuff we'd use, including the boat and paddles. Yes, I'm a masochist.

Fire away with any questions. Like I said, I'll be putting up more about the gear (boat, paddles, paddling clothes, etc) on my website as I get the time this week. I just finished washing everything today and am wading through my notes and journals, other materials, and about 400 photos right now.

 

[Johnny Swank]

Hennessy

Jack - I layed down in one for a few minutes about four years ago (ex-girlfriend's hammock who was getting ready for an AT section hike). Nice setup, quality, and all that. I think having the bug netting attached all the time would get to me after awhile though. She also mentioned getting wet on her hike the first few rains until she got the bugs worked out with the way she was hanging it. User error.

One thing I wish these manufactures would do is not skimp on the tarps. I've used tarps for a bunch of hiking (3,000 something miles?) and really like having some wiggle room with the setup. An extra foot overhanging the ends would give me alot more piece of mind. Granted, Eagles Nest told me their hammocks were a bit longer than most and the 8x10 was do-able but close, so I knew all this ahead of time.

 

[Johnny Swank]

pads

While i'm blabbing on, I should mention that I carried a 36"x24" closed cell foam pad (1/4") as well as an inflable pad on this trip. I used the inflable twice, then figured that I didn't need it. I also threw in a space blanket in between the underquilt and hammock on the cooler nights. That worked like a champ.

I really think the hammock sock adds about 10 degrees to the whole setup by cutting off the wind that would normally be blowing around. That thing is a keeper for cooler weather, and I could easily see making the ends (about 24" of them) out of silnylon as some extra protection from the weather.

The setup I'd take for around freezing would be a 40x72" 1/8" pad tapered like a mummy (if I could find it-I thing Oware was selling these at one point) and a 24x26" 1/4" blue pad for under my shoulders. That, and the underquilt/space blanket would easily get me to freezing if not below. I'm even game to trying out an open cell pad (1/4") in the 40x72" width. That'd pack alot better, but you'd damn well better keep it in a drybag as you'd be carrying a big sponge.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Hennessy has one weakness, and you mentioned it. Standard tarps are too damned skimpy out on the pointy ends. EVERY catenary cut tarp I've ever seen suffers the same fate. Utility sacrificed in the name of streamlining.

Get yourself a Hennessy with a hex tarp. If you don't like it, mail it to me and I'll pay you your money.

Yeah, I'm that confident you'd like it.

 

[oldsparkey]

I was being nice when I said that the folks are bashful about asking questions ... could not really say what was going thru my mind at that time... A temporary lap in sanity is my guess.

I agree with you the better coverage over the hammock then the dryer you are going to be. Tom Hennessey has the Hex Cover for his and this is what I have for mine ... it is basically a 12 X 12 Tarp made for the hammock. It is attached by the camper at both ends of the hammocks main line and then the side's run out , way over the hammock and you have a good 18 inches over each end.

Here is mine........ In bad weather fold the hammock out of the way and sit under the rain fly.

You could do the same with yours , as you said run a center line to support a tarp and you would have it.

Chuck.

 

[Johnny Swank]

Hell, what's the fun in just buying something when you can spend twice as much money (and time) working up plans and prototypes and spend hours upon hours making the gear!

That hex tarp is pretty sweat. There's a kid that was selling the Mac Cat tarps until he went off to college that had something similar going. Now if someone was to send me a hex tarp to take a gander at and measure, I could sew the thing in a couple of days. Hmmmmmmmm :lol:

 

[Johnny Swank]

I've become a big, big fan of keeping the tarp lines and hammock seperate. I really like to be able to set everything up under the tarp and stay dry, as well as pack things up in the morning.

I attract bad weather. I'm like the kid in the Charlie Brown cartoons with the raincloud over him. 8)

 

[oldsparkey]

I attract bad weather. I'm like the kid in the Charlie Brown cartoons with the raincloud over him. 8)

Trust me ..... You are no match to what I can do with the weather. Camped in three Hurricanes and thought they were just some windy rain storms.
Never said I was smart.

Been thinking about the hammock you used, (but the single version) it might be the nut's for down here in the winter, put a rain fly over it to stay dry and just enjoy life when the bugs are not out.

A while back I got one of the back yard nylon woven hammocks to enjoy when I needed to relax.... I think the thing was $12.00 from Campmor. Down right comfortable but left a waffle design on the person using it. Was thinking about how I could make a camping hammock out of it.

Hang the hammock, rig a center line add or attach a couple of mesh bags to the center line to hold gear for the night .........and put the fly over it ..... yep,Ya have me thinking.

Make the rain fly out of some rip stop nylon, sew it together to the size and shape I want, add some end loops to the 4 corners and one on each end of the center line ........ Coat it with some Tompsons Water Seal..... Easy Camping.

I do like to make my stuff and try new things....... Much to my wife's dislike.

Chuck.

 

[Johnny Swank]

Hammock camping forum

A homemade version of that ENO hammock would be like what Ed Speers describes in his book.

There is a ton of info on homemade hammocks and gear at some of the AT hiking forums. Watch yourself, or you might get sucked into that sick world and take six months off to hike the Appalachian Trail (OK - it ain't that bad and I highly reccomend it)

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=104

http://www.hammockforums.net/

and the jumping point for all you'd want to know about hammocks

http://www.tothewoods.net/JeffsHikingPage.html

 

[Kayak Jack]

Chuck likes a hex fly. We all realize that the stock rain fly is good if the rain falls straight down. But - when the wind has it raining sideways, you get wet. Here's what I do.

On the long, pointy ends that affix to the main rope, I attach extra material. This consists of right triangles with a 1' base, and a vertical of 2' long. the hypotenuse is a bit over 2'. These are sewn onto each side of both ends, so that the pointy end is now 2 feet wide (extended by that 1' base on each side), and this extension goes up the side a couple of feet.

Now these triangles are simply tied down (to tree or ground) and will keep out wind & rain.

On my present rain fly, I did a modification of that modification. The small triangles are attached to the left had side of the fly on each end, and the right hand side has an extra 3' wide strip sewn on along it's entire length. This lets me still peak out at night to see the scenery, and allows me a covered storage area for excess gear on the other side. (I seem to specialize in excess gear.)

 

[Johnny Swank]

Any chance of a photo. I think I'm getting you, but then again, I'm not that bright.

 

[Kayak Jack]

John, I'm dumber'n a box of rocks on posting photos here. Email me your snail mail address & I'll do a sketch for you.