Rain man said:
Hey Rain Man,
In very high winds it can be a little (HA!) uncomfortable if your tarp isn't big enough. Loads of people on this site mention the length of the tarp being an issue, but in my opinion the width is far more important. If the wind really picks up, you can pull the tarp right down to below the side of the hammock and this cuts out all the wind - if the hammock isn't wide enough, you are left with very little head space. The wind would have to spectacularly strong to completely rip a hammock of if you knors are tied properly - certainly strong enough to reform the tent poles in your Akto (great kit, btw, I want one...). If anything, hammocks are better in high wind because you can sleep soundly, wind proof, knowing that you will still be there in the morning and none of your kit can be masively damaged (unless a rather large tree in felled in your direction, but if that happened I don't suppose you'd be able to care much about it
)You can feel the wind through the mossie net (the rule is: if you can see through it you can feel the wind through it (I know, except glass, smart ***) ), but the net does help to slow it down to some extent, and decent hammocks are usually deep enough to block out the wind completely, especially if you sleep on your side.
If you are realy worried about wasting your money, then buy one of the cheap net hammocks first (they cost about £10). They are too short, but if you use it in good weather you'll realise how fantastically comfortable they are and be desperate to upgrade to a 'real' hammock (not hennesey, they are horrible :tongue-ti ) Better still, you could get to a meet up and get in someone elses if they are willing to let you, and maybe even use it for the night (if you come to the Spring North meet, you can use mine).
From my experience, the only times I have been uncomfortable in a hammock was when it was really hot and it was a little cramped for things to 'spread out' :cough: . I have used mine in the worst of winter squall and been much more comfortable than I would've been in a tent (waking up to the smell of stale farts is now a thing of the past
).I can't rememer who said this (I think it was Razorstrop): "Once you take to the trees, you'll never sleep on the floor again." And it really is true.
Jake.
