Which is better, Hennessy hammocks or Eagle's Nest Outfitters?
My friend has an ENO hammock and i love it, but my local outdoor store just started selling hennessy hammocks, too. I need a hammock because i plan on hammock camping this summer. I will be camping in the Great Smokies area (east TN), if that matters. I am a large man, about 6′3" 240 lbs, in case one brand is stronger than another. I’m new to hammocks so any info you can give me would be appreciated. however, i’m not new to camping, i’ve just always used a tent before. hammocks have just started interesting me because they are small, lightweight, and super easy to set up, plus they don’t hurt the surroundings as bad as tents. also, any tips you might have about hammock camping would be nice.
Thanks in advance!
Tagged with: eno hammock • great smokies • hammocks • hennessy • smokies area • surroundings • tent • tents • thanks in advance
Filed under: Camping Hammock
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I don’t know about ENO, but Hennesy makes a great product and is swift to deal with customer problems. We used to sell them at the gear store I used to work at in VT. AT Thru-hikers who came into our store with Hennesy problems usually had them solved quickly. Hennesy (usually the owner or his wife) would answer thier phone and just tell us to give them a new one. If we were out of stock (and often were because we sold them like hotcakes) Hennesy would send one out to the next store along the trail where the hikers would have a new one waiting for them.
I’m about your size. I never had success sleeping in hammocks. I think Hennesy makes some great hammocks, but they just aren’t for me. I prefer my tent or my bivy. I can’t fall asleep on my back and this is one reason I’ve never liked hammocks. They do have no ground impact, and if set up correctly can have very little impact on trees. My bivy weighs an ounce more than a Hennesy…so for a good night sleep, I’ll take the extra ounce. If you can use the hammock, great.
The other downside to hammocks is that they are not that great for cold weather camping. I’m no stranger to nights where the mercury drops below 45F…in summer. And the few times I used a hammock backpacking in the spring or fall I got cold at night. So that’s my $0.02.
A hammock system has many points in its favor, the comfort factor being the major one, in my opinion. If you are able to sleep in that position, not having to sleep on the hard ground in the backcountry would be a luxury worth its weight.
Although there’s something to be said for proper camp site selection, choosing soft forest duff away from usual hard packed camping spots, while others swear by Big Agnes and other insulated inflatable sleeping pads.
The hammock probably isn’t the lightest shelter for one, that being a tarp, nor the easiest to set up, and of course if you can’t find proper trees, such as in Alpine regions, you’re back on the ground. (I don’t consider a bivy a viable shelter.)
As for concern about the cold, the solution is not padding, but to alter a sleeping bag so that it goes under the hammock body and surrounds you on top and the hammock below.
This guy has more advice http://hikinghq.net/gear/hennessey_hammock.html
Hennessy all the way!
I have been hearing nothing but good about them every time I’m out hiking.