Do know the bottom shelters have an advantage---that non-removeable but netting has no zippers to fail and the bottom entry hammocks are usually lighter.
The bug netting will matter for someone in the deep south and obviously maybe not so much in the north....that's why in the mid lattitudes i alternate between Hennessey and Speer depending on anticipated temps.

There is something else the newbi needs to know about hammocks and that is cold-shoulder-wrap. The hammock (either type) will compress against your shoulders if you are wide enough (most men, and maybe not with some small women/kids)...some big people even get cold-hip-wrap too. So if you are only using a sleeping bag it will get compressed at the shoulders and you will get cold spots.
OK, so you want to use a thermarest pad....most people will find them 1. not wide enough to prevent shoulder wrap and 2. too easy to slide off of in the night....enter the underquilt.
Underquilts have obvious advantages. 1. they compress to small parcels and can go into the pack 2. they can offer more insulation than a thermarest but they have a downside (no pun here) too: 1. costly 2. hard to go to ground with 3. assembly time (though for me the underquilt is essentially permanently attached to the hammock, it stays on when i take it down, so on multiday hikes each night its already attached and dialed in.

Now for the survival minded you can use a taco...a piece of breathable ripstop will do, that acts like an underquilt but it has no insulation--you provide the insulation with expedient material e.g. leaves/pine needles/your clothes/ etc.

OK so you go with an underquilt-doesnt that make the sleeping bag moot? well yes it can, that is why i use top quilts, the ones i use are made by Nunatak Gear but Jacks-R-Better has them too....or you can take an old sleeping bag and make it into both bottom and top quilts--just a bit of cutting and sewing required.

Then there is the Pea Pod which as mentioned in previous post rules for winter use.

Hammocks do have other uses besides shelter....that same bug netting makes a great seign (sp?) for fishing, the hammock also makes a great stretcher.

There are many more options in hammocking...for example the pad extender by Speer, which makes the typical thermarest wider and is a cheap option but does add bulk to your backpack.

I've used a Hennessy extensively for the last 5 or 6 years, and have used it in all weather down to just under freezing. I've slept more soundly and comfortably in the hammock than in any tent, but there are some downsides.

The major one, for me in our Oregon weather, is the lack of space. If it's wet and cold, there just isn't any room to dry boots out or store a wet rainsuit overnight. This means that a separate tarp shelter needs to be carried.

A number of people have complained about the bottom entry, and not being able to adjust sleeping pads and/or rolling off same in the middle of the night. I solved that problem long ago by using a Big Agnes sleeping bag, which has no insulation on the bottom - but a full length sleeve into which a pad is inserted. Using that combination solves all sleeping pad problems.

I use that sleeping bag with a homemade sleeping pad/reflector (a mylar windshield reflector covered with fleece) on top of a RidgeRest or ThermaRest pad, and am comfortable to at least freezing. Keep in mind that I am an EXTREMELY cold sleeper, and find it is at least as tolerable as any tent I've ever slept in.

In the final analysis, hammocks aren't for everyone. If you like bivy shelters, you'll probably like a hammock. If you find them claustrophobic, a hammock probably isn't for you. What I can tell you is that I love mine!

-=[ Grant ]=-

I've lived in Georgia (Atlanta area) and currently live in SE Minnesota. The mosquitoes are much much worse here in the summer than I ever experienced in Georgia. And that's not even considering the bugs (mosquitoes, black flys, deer flys, mutant clydsdale horse flys...) up in the north woods.

Though we don't have Palmetto bugs...

I have a Hennessy hammock that I have used the past several years. It's great in the summer, and I have comfortably slept in it down to about 25 F.

In the cold, I first tried a thermarest pad in the hammock under my sleeping bag -- ended up with condensation issues because the thermarest is impervious to water.

I've had good luck with a folded wool army blanket under the sleeping bag... lets the moisture out, but counters the compression of the sleeping bag.

Any colder than 25F and I either use a tent with signifigant padding under my bag (thermarest + 2 wool blankets) or build a snow shelter.

- Peter

Fellows, I appreciate the first-hand information on Hennessy Hammocks, I am on the edge about buying one for general camping/BOB use.

I found a good deal on an original Expedition HH, the only difference I can see between it and a new ASYM is the shape of the tarp.

So my question to people who have used them is; how big a tarp do you need over a Hennessy Hammock to handle bad weather?

Is the new HH Hex-Tarp worth the money to upgrade the tarp (you also gain a better ground shelter if needed)?

Thanks,

Mike

medicine man, no zippers? true enough but neither does a speer hammock (velcro), and my home made one doesn't have velcro or a zipper. and seals fine when a body is in the hammock.

cold shoulder wrap is a problem, and this is why many folks use a wider pad; my wife uses a yoga mat. I gotta tell you, talk about non slip super insulation.

while I still use my single layer hammock, I am getting ready to make a double layer and be rid of all the pad issues.

And those yoga mats are super heavy too compared to closed cell foam or even an inflatable huh?

J, thank you for pointing that out... yes they are, but I never said they weren't. She doesn't care because it's what makes her comfortable.

Heh, heh... "mutant clydsdale horse flys...", I hate those things. Not to mention all the wood ticks and deer ticks. I read a tip about tying small, repellent-soaked, strips of cloth to each of the support ropes to keep the creepy-crawlies off the hammock. Seems to work good.

in regards the north and bugs, the mosquito is often called the Alaska State Bird-they are thick everywhere! Going over Niagra Falls in a barrel with a couple of porcupines would be less painful. Noseemums rank next. Except for Urban settings IMHO a bug net is a necessity.

I guess we were lucky. Last year we were all over Alaska, boondocking in our RV about 70% of the time, and we only had to use our headnets (which we carried everywhere) one time...