Hennessy Hammock  Expedition Asym Zip Hammock

I received this as a gift a few years ago and have gone on several backpacking trips with it. Good things: It's super easy and fast to setup and take down (once you get the hang of the knots). If you have the snakeskin's then cleaning up camp takes about 30 seconds. It's pretty lightweight compared to tents. You can hang it in a variety of areas where you just can't put a tent. I backpack a lot in the Catskills and you can camp as long as you're well off the trail, but you can't always find a spot without rocks and roots. This hammock takes that element out of looking for a campsite. You also don't have to worry about damp/muddy ground or other ground related issues with choosing a campsite. Steep slopes are no problem as long as the trees are big enough and you can find two that will set you up at the right angle (don't forget you're on a slope in the morning though). It hunkers down great in the rain, I have spent hours in it and as long as you hung the rain fly correctly you don't get hit with a drop, and don't have to worry about flooding as much or muddy ground or water seeping in through the tent seams. Maybe during monsoons you might have water running down the ropes, but I've never had this problem in heavy rains. Also if you practice you can set the rainfly up, and then set the hammock up underneath and keep everything 100% dry while you do it. Times when it's a wash: It's lightweight that's true, however I've had to carry an extra sleeping bag some nights because the convection currents make it get colder underneath. Ill sleep inside a 15F rated sleeping bag inside a 40F rated on nights when it was 32F or below and I'd be comfortable. It's not terribly cold as long as you carry the extra weight. Also you have to figure that the rainfly and some tent pegs and the snakeskins and the pouch. It's more than 2 lbs, I'd say more like 3 once you've got everything together for it. It saves on weight but you kinda have to carry more weight, so I'd say in the weight department it's a wash between this and a lightweight backpacking tent. Another time when it's a wash is if you think about the environmental impact. It's true that setting up ground tents in the same spot can degrade the forest, and this doesn't do that. However the rope and straps can hurt the bark if you're not careful. That's why despite it being more friendly to the ground foliage, there is the possibility of it hurting a tree. Kinda not so good stuff: Well you can't change you're clothes in it. (it's always the little things you forget!) Maybe if you're small and good at Yoga but I'm 6 foot 240 lbs and I look like a dying caterpillar that has been stabbed with a hot poker when I'm trying to wiggle out of my pants into a new pair. I've given up trying to maneuver around in the thing, and use it primarily just as a sleeping spot. I just change my clothes standing outside, as it takes so much less time and less cramping and pulling muscles. Also there is less chance of fitting gear inside this than any tent. I am almost maxing out the weight limit including clothes and sleeping bags and pad. There is no way I would try to hang my 40-50lb pack in here with me. I have to string that up with it's own rain protection for the night, and have to remember to bring everything into the hammock that I will need for the night. Another thing to consider is what you will do with your boots. I just leave them under me, however one time they almost washed away in a hard rain, and another time I found a lot of bugs crawling around in them. Also I was in the ADK by the marcy dam and was hitting up some of the peaks there solo. I could swear that the raccoon were messing with me and trying to walk out on the ropes in the middle of the night as I kept hearing things plucking the string, and then scurrying up the bark of the tree. I will tell you there is a definite fear-factor "get used to it" that you are going to have things walking and moving underneath you during the night. Obviously it's a thin piece of nylon and offers the same amount of physical protection as a tent which is a thin piece of nylon. However sleeping in this thing when you know stuff is crawling around under you sniffing you out and walking on your ropes in the middle of the night creeps me out. The next big problem is that since I'm a larger guy it's kind of a production for me to get into it and to get in a comfortable spot. I always take my boots off before getting in, then I have to get in the sleeping bag, zip it up wiggle all the way down. As I'm doing this I'm adding momentum to the hammock and it starts to sway, and can take up to an hour before it stops swaying. If I get uncomfortable and have to shuffle around it will start to sway again. Gotta get out to go to the bathroom? HA! The swaying isn't an enormous problem but if you do it in the dark you could get a bit seasick and want it to stop. There have been times when I've asked my camp mates to just stop me from rocking back and forth after I had gotten comfortable. A trick to getting comfortable. It seems that no matter how taught you make it, that you're always going to bow down a bit. I noticed that if I hung it with the head slightly higher, then in the middle of the night I would wake up piled by my feet. I'd have to slide back up during the whole night. If You hang it with the feet slightly higher your feet might go a bit numb if you don't move em, but at least you don't have to constantly be re-positioning yourself the whole night. You could hang it level but that's just too hard to figure out unless you get in and out and re-position it a bunch of times when setting it up. Other con: You gotta have trees. I almost took this on a hike that we went above the treeline. Also the trees have to be sturdy enough to support the hammock Some times up high in the mountains it's hard to find big enough trees that are tall enough that you can wrap this guy onto. This is why I only give 3 of 5 stars. It's a great idea, just takes some getting used to, and some changes in your camping/backpacking style.

I received this as a gift a few years ago and have gone on several backpacking trips with it. Good things: It's super easy and fast to setup and take down (once you get the hang of the knots). If you have the snakeskin's then cleaning up camp takes about 30 seconds. It's pretty lightweight compared to tents. You can hang it in a variety of areas where you just can't put a tent. I backpack a lot in the Catskills and you can camp as long as you're well off the trail, but you can't always find a spot without rocks and roots. This hammock takes that element out of looking for a campsite. You also don't have to worry about damp/muddy ground or other ground related issues with choosing a campsite. Steep slopes are no problem as long as the trees are big enough and you can find two that will set you up at the right angle (don't forget you're on a slope in the morning though). It hunkers down great in the rain, I have spent hours in it and as long as you hung the rain fly correctly you don't get hit with a drop, and don't have to worry about flooding as much or muddy ground or water seeping in through the tent seams. Maybe during monsoons you might have water running down the ropes, but I've never had this problem in heavy rains. Also if you practice you can set the rainfly up, and then set the hammock up underneath and keep everything 100% dry while you do it. Times when it's a wash: It's lightweight that's true, however I've had to carry an extra sleeping bag some nights because the convection currents make it get colder underneath. Ill sleep inside a 15F rated sleeping bag inside a 40F rated on nights when it was 32F or below and I'd be comfortable. It's not terribly cold as long as you carry the extra weight. Also you have to figure that the rainfly and some tent pegs and the snakeskins and the pouch. It's more than 2 lbs, I'd say more like 3 once you've got everything together for it. It saves on weight but you kinda have to carry more weight, so I'd say in the weight department it's a wash between this and a lightweight backpacking tent. Another time when it's a wash is if you think about the environmental impact. It's true that setting up ground tents in the same spot can degrade the forest, and this doesn't do that. However the rope and straps can hurt the bark if you're not careful. That's why despite it being more friendly to the ground foliage, there is the possibility of it hurting a tree. Kinda not so good stuff: Well you can't change you're clothes in it. (it's always the little things you forget!) Maybe if you're small and good at Yoga but I'm 6 foot 240 lbs and I look like a dying caterpillar that has been stabbed with a hot poker when I'm trying to wiggle out of my pants into a new pair. I've given up trying to maneuver around in the thing, and use it primarily just as a sleeping spot. I just change my clothes standing outside, as it takes so much less time and less cramping and pulling muscles. Also there is less chance of fitting gear inside this than any tent. I am almost maxing out the weight limit including clothes and sleeping bags and pad. There is no way I would try to hang my 40-50lb pack in here with me. I have to string that up with it's own rain protection for the night, and have to remember to bring everything into the hammock that I will need for the night. Another thing to consider is what you will do with your boots. I just leave them under me, however one time they almost washed away in a hard rain, and another time I found a lot of bugs crawling around in them. Also I was in the ADK by the marcy dam and was hitting up some of the peaks there solo. I could swear that the raccoon were messing with me and trying to walk out on the ropes in the middle of the night as I kept hearing things plucking the string, and then scurrying up the bark of the tree. I will tell you there is a definite fear-factor "get used to it" that you are going to have things walking and moving underneath you during the night. Obviously it's a thin piece of nylon and offers the same amount of physical protection as a tent which is a thin piece of nylon. However sleeping in this thing when you know stuff is crawling around under you sniffing you out and walking on your ropes in the middle of the night creeps me out. The next big problem is that since I'm a larger guy it's kind of a production for me to get into it and to get in a comfortable spot. I always take my boots off before getting in, then I have to get in the sleeping bag, zip it up wiggle all the way down. As I'm doing this I'm adding momentum to the hammock and it starts to sway, and can take up to an hour before it stops swaying. If I get uncomfortable and have to shuffle around it will start to sway again. Gotta get out to go to the bathroom? HA! The swaying isn't an enormous problem but if you do it in the dark you could get a bit seasick and want it to stop. There have been times when I've asked my camp mates to just stop me from rocking back and forth after I had gotten comfortable. A trick to getting comfortable. It seems that no matter how taught you make it, that you're always going to bow down a bit. I noticed that if I hung it with the head slightly higher, then in the middle of the night I would wake up piled by my feet. I'd have to slide back up during the whole night. If You hang it with the feet slightly higher your feet might go a bit numb if you don't move em, but at least you don't have to constantly be re-positioning yourself the whole night. You could hang it level but that's just too hard to figure out unless you get in and out and re-position it a bunch of times when setting it up. Other con: You gotta have trees. I almost took this on a hike that we went above the treeline. Also the trees have to be sturdy enough to support the hammock Some times up high in the mountains it's hard to find big enough trees that are tall enough that you can wrap this guy onto. This is why I only give 3 of 5 stars. It's a great idea, just takes some getting used to, and some changes in your camping/backpacking style.