Jungle Hammock Advice.

[Littlesthobo]

Hi Everyone,

I'm off to Venezuela next month and hope to spend some time in the Amazon, and am trying to decide what hammock and mozzie net to buy.

If anyone can give me some feedback on what they've used then I'd greatly appreciate it.

I'm considering using either a Nomad Hammock and Nomad mozzie net or the Hennessy hammock with built in net, but am slightly concerned that as the Hennessy net doesn't enclose the bottom of the hammock that maybe mozzies can bite through this unless wearing additional clothing and or using a sleeping bag - somthing unapealing on hot tropical nights.

Any thoughts, advice or experience in this department would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ahjno]

Do a search for:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/search.php

(- Hennessey)
- DD Hammock
- Clark

 

[tobes01]

The Hennessy seals completely - open the bottom, sit down, lift your legs up and the velcro snaps shut again. I guess the chance of getting bitten through the nylon really depends on just how ferocious the local beasties really are - I could imagine a really determined mosquito managing to bite through the nylon. That has to be balanced against weight and breathability of the material - I don't know how important those are to you. I've only ever hammocked in England, so wouldn't have experience of really awful biting thingies - anyone tried a HH on the west coast of Scotland?

Tobes

 

[Lasse]

I quite like my Jungle Hammock from http://mosquitohammock.com .
Have had several comfortable nights in it and never had a mosquito getting inside trough the attached netting (has a zip on one side). The black mosquito netting can be hung, supported by two sticks and ropes, to form a bit more space and assure the netting doesn't touch you.

Enjoy Venezuela!

 

[C_Claycomb]

I don't have direct experience of the Hennessey in the jungle, but a few of the other moderators do. Stuart in particular has used his light weight Hennessey in Borneo a great deal and has been a stalwart supporter of the design over those with separate mosi nets which hang down below the hammock and require additional snap closure and similar.

However...

The mossies in Borneo most definitely DO bite through the fabric of the Hennessey Hammock. From what I have heard they will bite through just about anything that could be used for a hammock, except for Ventile! They quite happily bite through denim. The way that this has been dealt with by Stuart and the mods who went with him on expedition, was to use a light weight jungle sleeping bag. At the start of the night this is lain upon, then as the night cools it is climbed into. If you tend to sleep "warm" this could be uncomfortable and there are no pretences made it is all that comfy to begin with.

Sorry I can't give better advice. I have a Hennessey and have got used to how it hangs and how I sleep in it. If I were going to the jungle I would take it, and a light weight sleeping bag which would probably be of use for more than adding thickness to the hammock. I would also give a lot of thought to how to add some additional protection which wouldn't encourage me to sweat like a horse. I sleep warm and don't like bug bites The Hennessey can be fitted with an extra sil-nylon undercover, which might do the trick, but its expensive.

 

[tobes01]

That's a good idea - put the Supershelter under-fly on it. That means the little s*ds would have to bite through 3 layers of silnylon with a small airgap, which sounds pretty mozi-proof to me.

Btw, I'll probably be selling a hardly-used (4 nights) Hennessy Deluxe and brand new unused Supershelter in the next week or two. I love it but have been tempted by a Clark NX-250. Let me know if you're interested.

 

[He' s left the building]

You're unlikely to get bitten through the Hennessey at night in Venzuela, but there are day-biting mossies there that will bite through clothing.

I would recommend this stuff: http://www.nomadtravel.co.uk/catalog/view/bugproof-clothing-treatment which you can spray on your clothing and hammock for long lasting mossie-proofing.

I've used and abused Hennessey hammocks in the Caribbean/central America and have been very happy, but I quite fancy trying the new DD Frontline hammock with a DD 3x3m tarp, so those are my two recommendations!

 

[C_Claycomb]

Boops,
How did you get on with the as-standard asymetrical diamond shaped Hennessey fly sheet?

After much experimenting I have pretty much given up on mine and now use either the Hex-fly or a rectangular tarp of at least 3m. That little fly was just too small to live under, I always had the devil of a time trying to keep it taut and have yet to see someone else's rig where it was as tight as I reckon a tarp should be, and finally, unless I cranked the ridgeline super tight (against Hennessey's recommendation) the rain always seemed to come around the ends of the fly and reach my head or feet . All that's been in the UK and I would be very interested to know how it worked in the hammock's "natural environment".

 

[baggins]

The mosquito hammocks, as mentioned above, have the addition of a second layer underneath into which a sleeping mat or additional barrier against mozzies, can be slid in. They are a really good hammock, fairly priced and the service is very good. No affiliation, just a happy camper!

Baggins

 

[He' s left the building]

I got on fine with it, probably as I'm happy to get into the hammock and stay there for hours snoozing and not moving, never had any problems with rain getting in there (didn't even use drip-rings, simply out of the bag and straight into use)

The guys I was working with preferred the larger hex-fly, I think these were bought direct from the States and we had the option of standard-fly or larger hex-fly, I got the standard.

I did have to experiment/practise tensioning the hammock, but not the fly (found out I had to tension the hammock first and then adjust the fly, not vice-versa). If I needed the fly as shelter in the day-time (rarely as we were working during the day) then I kept the snakeskins over the hammock to keep it out of the way.

I think in the UK you would have the problem of sideways/driven rain, which you don't tend to get under a rainforest canopy (splashback from trees and the ground instead). Our Hennesseys also came with small plastic sockets which could be used on each side of the fly to hold a pop-bottle and collect rainwater, I gave mine away, but if they were used it was designed to keep the fly tight as the bottles filled.

One lad woke one morning facing the floor, he'd turned his hammock over in the night and was sleeping whilst suspended by the mossie-net, shows how strong the things are made!

 

[Buckshot]

I was fortunate enough to spend some time in the Borneo jungle under a HH hammock
The option we used was as Chris said
A jungle sleeping bag, open and lain on. I found I didn't need to cover myself but others woke up during the night and simply pulled it over them like a blanket.

I had no problems with things biting through the hammock and I don't know that anyone else did. We all suffered from being bitten but not through the hammock!!!

Love to go back...

Mark