To Hennessy Hammock Owners: Snakeskin Q’s

[Brad Abrahams]

Greetings, I wanted to poll you Hennessey Hammock users on something. How do you use your Snakeskins and why?

1. I've seen them used solely on the fly, as in the videos on the Hennessey site. This makes sense as it contains a potentially wet fly in a waterproof and easy to pack package.

2. Solely on the hammock. This way in inclement weather you can quickly lash the hammock still in the snakeskin so it stays dry, then put up the tarp, then peel back the snakeskins.

3. Overtop both the tarp and the hammock. This allows for super quick and easy setup, takedown, and storage. Negative is when packing away in wet weather, the hammock will be in the same package as a potentially wet fly.

What say all of you?

Brad

[Ken Thompson]

I do it all together. I have not had wet worries as the majority of the water will shake off the fly. And when you take care rolling it all up the hammock stays dry. Makes for a tidy bundle. I always have the tarp out or up anyway.

[John Donewar]

# 3

When I was using my hammock I wrapped up the hammock inside of the rain fly. I then slid the snakeskins over the entire assembly. I coiled it and the webbing straps up together and tied the bundle neatly with main hammock support lines. This bundle went inside of my pack.

If it was raining the next time I wanted to set up camp I could tie the hammock up with the fly draped over it. This would keep my hammock dry while setting up.

If it was raining when I broke camp I'd try to "brush off" or "shake off" as much of the water as I could while rolling everything up inside of the fly. Sliding the snakeskins into position would again be the last step before untying the lines and bundling up everything.

FWIW the last time I used my hammock it had rained on us for 5 hours. Amazingly it stopped raining as we arrived at our campsite. I crawled into my hammock soaking wet and slept myself dry. There was some light rain during the night and some dew fall in the morning. There was some shaking and some brushing of the fly with a pack towel. I rolled up everything in the fly and slid the snakeskins over all.

Were I still using a hammock I'd say that # 2 appeals to me as a better way.

Party On,

Newton

[Larry M]

I found that #2 kept my hammock the driest when setting up and taking down. I also pitched my tarp separate from the hammock. The tarp was up first and down last, so I always had a place out of the rain to set up and take down camp.

[Jon Leibowitz]

The tarp "shakes" off water incredibly well when hung. And if you wrap it correctly, you keep all the wet on the outside and the hammock on the inside. I have slept all night in a Vermont downpour, wrapped that sucker up in the morning and when taking it out at night, the hammock was bone dry. Just practice wrapping it before going out – it is an art.

Ah, I miss my hammock. Hiking with my dog now, he is too big to share the hammock.

[John Almond]

The second one is probably your best bet. It makes set up of your hammock quick and easy. It also makes room under the tarp if you need shelter for cooking in non-bear country.

[john w cochran]

I use the snakeskins on the hammock, and have my tarp, an OES, in a DIY one made of tulle.

This gives me the option when setting up of leaving the tarp hung and in its skin if I thank I may need it but still want the star view. It also lets be lash it to the pack if it is very wet/damp and I don't want to put it in the pack.

[Brad Abrahams]

Excellent idea John.

Im still not sure which one I'll gravitate towards, they all have their pro's and cons

[Dale Wambaugh]

I see snakeskins as a way to keep all the strings and hardware from getting tangled up and may a quick system of deployment and stowing. I use what is called a Black Baldrick Bag (after a Blackadder sketch — see http://www.dreamshares.com/quotations/blackadder2.html) or a Bishop sack. It is simply a stuff sack with a hole in the closed end for my whoopie sling suspension to fit through. If you sew, a buttonhole will do the trick. The bag is left on when the hammock is being used. When ready to stow, the hammock is stuffed in the bag and closed, then the suspension is unclipped (a carabiner) and then I wrap the sling around the bag and clip it back on itself. You can see the deploying is just the reverse. In my case, I found a large mesh bag and simply clipped between a couple holes for the suspension opening. It allows things to dry a little too.

As with ground camping, you want to put your tarp up first to stay dry. It could be stowed in the open end of the Black Baldrick Bag, which you can't do with a snake skin and a large tarp. Some of the minimalist Hennessy tarps would fit.

Something I have wanted to develop is a storage bag that becomes a weather cover for the head end of the hammock, or perhaps two so both ends could be covered. It would be like a big funnel and held up by the ridgeline. It could be secured with a light line to the other end. The depth would be up to the maker.

Clark hammocks have fabric panels incorporated in each end with the bug screen. It would be possible to make two funnels with a bug screen between and a zipper going all the way around on the head end. The whole works could be stashed in the head end. If you pack is big enough, it could stow your top and bottom quilts too.

[John Smith]

I purchased another set of snakeskins when I bought my hammock. One set for my hammock and one set for my fly. this set up has worked great for me.

[James Tisdale]

I pitch the tarp seperately. Makes it quicker to set it up and keep my hammock and me dry setting up the hammock.

Toying with making a second set of snakeskins just for the tarp. Currently it's in a mesh bag.

[Kristofer McKenna]

I did whatever the situation called for :)

I'd typically start out with everything inside the snake skins, but if it was raining when time to pack up, the tarp stayed outside.

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