Review: Go! Outfitters - Landing Pad

A well made tarp is a crucial bit of kit that every outdoors expedition could benefit from, be it rain or wind shelter, shade or just a dry and prickle free place o picnic upon. Though at times a 9  x 12 tarp may be a bit too much, especially if you're just planning for a bit of a trail hike. Then there is your gear, be it packs, cook gear, bedding or even boots at the end of a long day. If like me you prefer a slung hammock to a ground tent there is the question of what to do with your gear, if whatever fly system you have doesn't cover it. The clever people at GO! Outfitters came up with something to fit that niche, the Landing Pad.   

It’s made from durable 70D polyester, with a 1000mm waterproof polyurethane coating on the bottom and a silicone coating on the top for extra protection and easy clean up. This makes the Landing Pad extremely waterproof. 

 The Landing Pad is 137cm (54") in diameter and has eight stake loops and four sets of drawstrings with cord locks around its outer edge. It comes with a set of steel hook-style tent stakes in a draw string bag to stake it down as needed. At 137cm in diameter, the circle is big enough that 4 people could sit on it back to back or three facing inwards, if legs can be managed. Certainly big enough for a trail-side picnic or to drop bags and boots on whilst hopping into your hammock. Stake it down under your hammock for a soft place to step onto once you swing your legs over but before you put your boots on. 

The four drawstrings around the edge of the Landing Pad allow for the lips to be drawn up into a low bathtub to keep damp ground run-off out. It also allows for the whole circle be drawn up like a purse to wrap your gear in a highly water proof bag. Obviously the opening isn't covered, so don't be throwing it in a pool or leaving it under a waterfall. By pulling two opposing drawstrings the landing Pad converts into a gear hammock,  stretching 2.4m (7'10") overall with a 1m (3') hammock space. Though it can be drawn tighter doing so reduces the capacity. I would use it as an along-side sling, rather than bunk-style to keep things in reaching distance and act as a buffer.

 This drawstring rim also enables the Landing Pad to be fitted over a backpack to shelter it from the weather and could supplement a poncho to keep both you AND your gear dry.  I found it big enough to be able to wear it like a turtle-back poncho, covering my back, butt arms and back. Its even big enough that I could shelter under it like an umbrella when couched, staying totally covered. 

I found that the tan/brown material made for quite the unobtrusive "hide" when crouched down under it when just off-trail. It occurs to me that with an expanded hiking stick or appropriately padded branch you could make a small single pole shelter with the Landing  Pad, properly staked out.The Landing Pad, with stakes and stuff-sack weighs 285g (10oz) and by itself 15g (5.3oz) and packs down to a pocket sized 4cm X 13cm X 18cm (1.5" X 5" X 7").

More than compact enough to stuff in a pocket or day-pack when going for a hike to provide a clean dry spot to break on. I have two  ( one brown one charcoal grey) and they make for an easy addition to any adventure without adding excessive gear load.

Review: Go! Outfitters - Apex Camping Shelter

Here's an addition to my camping hammock collection that I really wanted to get out to you ASAP, as it was a pre-release and is being launched via Kickstarter imminently. You may recall the Go! Outfitters camping hammock that I backed and covered not too long ago, as an addition to my hammock suite, which was a fully enclosed two part hammock, with an asymmetrical cut, to allow a flatter, more comfortable sling.

The enclosing flyscreen made it an ideal hot-weather outdoors hammock, and its built in ridgeline made it fairly easy to sling a waterproof tarp, or a poncho over to add some protection from the weather if needed, but Jason and the folks behind Go! Outfitters
already had something in mind, and that has come to fruition with the Apex Camping Shelter.

Less involved than the Seirra Madre Research Nube, the Apex is essentially a stand alone, purpose built shelter tarp, designed to be used in conjunction with the Go! Hammock, but equally suitable for any hammock, or even on its own.
The Apex is made from 70D polyester with PU (polyurethane)  waterproofing, in a elongated hexagon shape, much like an animal hide, and measures 335cm (11') along the ridgeline, and 290cm (9.5') wide. This makes it both long enough to enclose the G0! Hammock, but also wide enough to drape down around it, with a sizable leeway given at the top to stand up in, giving you ease of entry and exit to the hammock.

The ridgeline seam is factory sealed with tape for additional protection not only from the weather, but also taking the strain of keeping the Apex taut as well as reducing sag or bowing.


The Apex comes with a set of 6 stakes, and 8 guy-lines for both attaching to the tree you are hammocking from, but also to stake down the sides of the tarp. It comes with 6x 240cm (8') guy-lines and 2x 455cm (15') guy-lines, which really adds versatility to your set-up. The supplied lines are from a pretty common kind of nylon cord, not my favorite, but water-resistant and light.

Along the perimeter, 20 tie-out loops have been sewn in, for maximum versatility in the way and stability of the layout, given the situation you set up in. Each tie-in loop is affixed with a large triangle of sewn in reinforcement, which was an excellent consideration. As well as the ridgeline and corner points, the edges featured an additional 3 loops per side, whilst the ground-facing long edge of the Apex has a single extra. The side loops are likely to play host to a rumored Door Kit (watch this space), and the long edge loop can be set up with additional poles to add an even roomier, canopy-like interior.

The whole Apex kit comes in its own stuff-sack, which I was sad to see wasn't sewn into the body of the tarp, which would have matched the elegant solution the Go! Hammock had, but I can see why it wasn't. Doing so would leave a sag at which ever edge it was sewn to. An engineering problem for the next version perhaps! All told, it weighs around 800g (28oz) with 225g (8oz) being guy-lines and stakes and
565g (20oz) for the tarp itself.

The Apex Camping Shelter will be coming in Forest Green and Slate Grey and really rounds out a camping hammock kit, without adding significant bulk or weight to the mix. It was super simple to set up and pack-down, and I think it will be coming with me whenever I go camping and even out on long hikes. Staying out of the weather can not only be comfortable, but in some settings, really conducive to your survival.

Check it out when it goes live on Kickstarter!

Review: Go! Outfitters Hammock

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 hammock is fitted with twin double sided zippers so you can climb in or out, and seal yourself away from flying or crawling biters. Even if you're only four.

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?

Wish Lust: GO! Outfitters - Go! Hammock

As well as my collection of flashlights, pouches and knives,  I seem to have started collecting a surprising amount of hammocks. Hammocks are great forms of hiking, camping and adventure bedding that have been used for centuries.

I keep an eye out for hammock projects on Kickstarter too, because I like to support makers, and I am always on the lookout for new designs and models. One such that is coming up is the Go! Hammock:

At 480g (17 oz) its a lighter hammock than several of the other I have and yet it measures 3.3m (132") long by a rather staggering 1.7m (70") wide. That extra width eliminates uncomfortable pressure points by distributing the user's body weight more evenly than traditional hammocks. Its generous size allows freedom to move around and makes it easy find lots of comfortable positions, even for side sleepers. In order to reduce the curved body position that's associated with hammocks, Go! Hammock is cut to allow the user to lay at a diagonal angle.

To deal with the large amounts of fabric that large hammocks like this can sometimes have overhanging the sides, the designers have added  removable fabric tensioners that pull the loose fabric out of the way. The tensioners make folds in the fabric, giving the hammock its unique shape. I am really keen to see how this looks and feels in person.
Another feature of the Go! hammock are a set of optional tree straps with cinch buckles.  These add only 300g (10.5oz).  Each 1" wide strap is 4.5m (15') long to make it easy to find a place to set up your hammock, just by looping the strap through itself and tensioning the cinch buckle. Its a clever way around the attachment point issue hammock users come up agaisnt.


The tree straps and cinch buckles and the Go! Hammock will all fit into the integrated stuff sack.

The last optional feature is the Ridgeline cord. In order for a hammock to be as comfortable as possible, it must be set up with a certain amount of sag. The Ridgeline feeds through the attachment cords at the ends of the hammock and sets the sag of the hammock for maximum comfort every time. It would also make a great place to hang gear, such as lights, socks, a mosquito net or even  to support a rainfly or tarp when hammock camping.

I'm looking forwards to see how the Kickstarter campaign runs, and hopefully I'll be able to add a Go! Hammock to my collection,  and fit out the whole family for off-the-ground sleeping and relaxing. Swinging safe above the grasping fingers of the zombie hoards, or just away from creepy-crawlies.