Light Backpacking - a question to do with hammocks

[Womble]

For those of you who regularly use products like a Hennessy or similar:

When you go out with a hammock rather than a tent, what do you do with your pack at night? I don't really want to bring it in with me into the hammock, and was thinking of wrapping it in a poncho. What other alternatives have people successfully used?

Cheers

 

[giancarlo]

You can store it under the tarp on the floor under you.

If it's not a big pack and you're going very light, i guess you could suspend it under the tarp of a secondry taught line under your main ridge line (more useful for hanging up smaller items though)

 

[Womble]

Cheers Giancarlo. I'll be using an army bergen.

Hmmm... a low cord with a poncho as a bivvy, directly under the hammock sounds like it should work.

 

[Tony]

A friend of mine mentioned some sort of net the other day. It could be suspended under the main hammock and be easily reached through the slit

 

[GATOR]

I usually do one of two things. 1. Put on my pack cover and just leave it on the ground. 2. Put on my pack cover and hang it on a branch. (most packs have a loop up top) :-D

I think a poncho would work fine, but I prefer a dedicated pack cover. The reason being that should the need arise to walk around camp in the pouring rain, you or your back would end up wet. For my mountaineering pack I use a Gregory pack cover that seals up the pack very well. For my lighter packs and daypacks I just use a 3mil thick contractors trash bag cut to size.

I do tend to hang a bunch of stuf off the hammock strings though so that they're easy to get to and dry. Other more essential gear stays in the hammock's pockets with me, i.e. knife, flashlight, etc.

My biggest problem with hammock camping is what do to with muddy boots to keep them dry. Hanging them off the hammock is nice, but it ain't fun getting them off in the pouring rain. Putting them under the hammock is just where I need them in the morning but they don't really stay dry under there when it POURS.

Truth be told, I'm not much of a hammock camper any more......unless the weather is going to be really nice.

 

[Andy]

what you need is a small pulley for your boots with a knot tied close to wwhere you can reach it. you should be able to knock something togeather

 

[Stuart]

I take mine in with me and use it as a pillow but then my pack is quite small

take the bergan liner (or black plastic bag) out and put the bergan in it
then place it under the hammock

 

[JakeR]

I am very interested in Hammocks, but do they give you proper protection? I just bought a cheap one for use during the day for having a siesta!

 

[Womble]

Hennessy ones seem to. The time I've used it at night it was raining quite heaviliy and the wind was blowing, but I stayed dry and quite stable.

 

[Neil1]

I normally attach my bergen to one end of the hammock using the haul loop and a karabiner, this keeps it up-right and makes packing easier. My boots are placed up-side down on two stakes within arms reach of the hammock (easy to grab when nature calls and its very dark!)
Neil1

 

[Roving Rich]

Same as Neil, I hang my pack from the "tree hugger" (webbing loop that goes around the tree) using a karabiner off that top loop on the sack. My old pack i used to then dress in my gore tex jacket to ensure it stays dry.
The Rocket pack i'm now using (Cheers Bushblade) has its own covers stashed in the bottom.
My boot i attach with another karabiner to the ridge cord, then slide them right to the end of the hammock (hennessy), out the Velcro slit, then close the slit up around the Karabiner. They haven't got wet yet.
Cheers
Rich

 

[Stuart]

the above is what i do with my boots

if you use a v small bag and you going to take it inside the way i do it is worth noting that right up in the corners of the hennesy hammock there are loops to attach a crab to for holding your bag

 

[bushblade]

The Rocket pack i'm now using (Cheers Bushblade) has its own covers stashed in the bottom.
Rich

No problem mate, glad you like it

 

[Roving Rich]

Stuart Write

right up in the corners of the hennesy hammock there are loops to attach a crab to for holding your bag

Blyme I haven't found those yet. I'll have to mount an expedition ... to the corners of the hennessy hammock !
:-D
Rich