I had one of my awaited Kickstarter projects come in not too long ago and I have had some fun setting up up, and working out the configurations of.
This is the Go! Outfitters Hammock, which I had Wish-Lust'ed and even followed up, when the stretch goals were released.
I love hammocks, and get into them as often a I can manage. I have quite the collection these days, with the Sierra-Madre Pares hammock, and its Nube tent system. I even have a, Hummingbird mega-hammock
and a backpacking EaglesNest Outfitters hammock.
I opted for the fully kitted out version of the Go! Hammock, which includes a built in mosquito net and optional tree straps with cinch buckles. These webbing straps have a sewn loop at one end to feed through themselves, around your anchor point, be that a tree, mounted hard point or girder.The cinch buckle itself is fitted with a loop of high performance cord, which is Amsteel. Che cinch works really well, and makes adjusting the hammock a breeze. It's just a matter of strapping and cinching.
The second optional feature is the Ridgeline cord, This is a lighter cord, also Amsteel in 7/64", has larks heads knot which can be looped through either the included steel carabner or through the heavy duty cords that feed through the hammock to hook it up.
The Ridgeline lets you hook up the hammock at exactly the right tension every time, as it's length is pre-set to give the optimal positioning. It can feed through the eyelet at either end of the flyscreen, from inside to allow you to suspend the flyscreen over the line.
When the Ridgeline is fitted internally, there are three loops of the same flyscreen material the rest of the top cover is made from that are spread evenly to ensure the fly remains securely fitted, although this means that you cant shrug it off and over if you choose not to use the fly later on, without taking the hammock down to adjust.
It is also possible to run the Ridgeline outside the hammock, which drops it lower as it adds length to the hammock attachment points.There are three external loops to run the Ridgeline through so it hangs lower, which is not such a big deal, but it can give you a little more sag if thats better for you.
The zippers are probably the weakest part of the whole setup; they are a very fine toothed zip, which seems to bind up a little bit under the tension of bodies in the hammock, some adjustment is needed in order to do the zip up all the way. No big deal for me, but made it hard for Tactical baby.
The inside of the hammock is really lovely design, the asymmetrical cut of the body allows very comfortable, stable bedding. The higher sides on either edge cradle the head and feet, rather than press down on them, in the way that other more symmetrical hammocks do, when you lay cross-ways. This was again nicely demonstrated my Tactical Baby, who also loves hammocks, and hates personal boundaries.
Another really nice feature of the Go! Hammock is that it features guy line attachment points, (and includes guy lines and tent-stakes) for you to set up, to tension the flyscreen, in order to give you a nice solid setup.
There are also fly attachment points on the body of the fly as well, to give you a truly tent like experience. This was a really cool addition to my camping setup, now that I have four individual hammocks, and one really large one, I could probably host an entirely suspended camping trip.
Treetops anyone?
