Cold Weather Camping
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News flash! The 4-Season system has recently been tested by British Commandos in Norway above the Arctic Circle. Here's the review:
A TEST OF THE HENNESSY HAMMOCK IN AN EXTREME COLD WEATHER ENVIRONMENT
PROBABLY THE ONLY HAMMOCK NORTH OF THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
a Review by Ben Reynolds
It’s indisputable. Hennessy Hammocks could well be the best in the world. Light, durable, comfortable and excellently engineered… perfect for warmer areas of the world, right? Well, you will have seen from the website that ever evolving design solutions are attempting to expand the boundaries of the hammock inhabitable world, from calm low lying areas and comfortable lower
latitudes, to where the silent killer reigns supreme…. cold. So, it was with Hennessy Hammock’s Explorer Ultralite Asym, along with elements of the insulated Superstructure that I found myself in Northern Norway in order to test whether the cold can be defeated by this intruder from the tropics.
THE TEST
CONDITIONS. The system was tested in the area of 68º 33’ 37.12’’N by 16º 58’.54’’E, east of Harstad, Norway. Initially mild temperatures prevailed, fluctuating around freezing, which resulted in freezing rain, sleet and snow. Though this is not the extreme cold that was later encountered, it was far more testing due to the freeze-thaw effect and moisture content of the air which accentuated the cold. Minimum temperature encountered was - 18ºC (0ºF) still air and estimated at -30ºC (-54ºF) with wind chill. Maximum precipitation encountered was 7.5cm (3 inches) of snow in 6 hrs. Click
here to read the entire review.
...CONCLUSION. The Hennessy Hammock insulation system is capable of supporting a lone traveller in extreme cold weather environments down to -12ºC (10ºF) in the format tested. This was dependent on the sleeping bag used and a bag with a lower comfort zone than that used in the test will similarly reduce the -12ºC figure. This figure will also be reduced by: (1) adding insulation to the Under Cover e.g. spare clothing/suitable vegetation, (2) use of the Over Cover, and (3) a solution to cooking which would also heat the living space...However, for those comfortable operating in extreme cold the system works in all respects other than the method in which one can cook, but there must be solutions out there.
Thanks to Ben for his detailed and informative review!
Just thought I would share these with you. My son and I went out this past
weekend in -10 degrees. Hammocks worked out great.
Bruce
Nova Scotia
Letter from SuperShelter User
Tom.
I was given the SuperShelter system a year ago as a gift and it is the best. For starters your customer service is number one. I had some issues setting it up the first time out. Yea I should have done it in the back yard but just winged it. I called your company with my cell on the trail. I ws shocked when you called me back within 15 minutes personally and explained what I was doing wrong. I had no more problems. After more than a year of heavy use it held up great. Going to order a new underpad before next winter. Considering the use and abuse of my Explorer Deluxe and the SuperShelter system it has proven extremely durable but everything has limits. I am very hard on gear and have owned my hammock for two years now sleeping inside the thing for weeks on end. The system alone keeps me cold-back-free down to about 35. Toss in my jacket and sometimes a poncho linr and I have taken single digits with a proper sleeping bag. But that is just me. Everyone is different. Once weathered a heavy snowstorm inside my SuperShelter. The wind proof bottom cuts the wind chill perfectly. Even in the summer I use the silnylon bottom. Keeps the bugs off the bottom of the hammock.
The overall comfort of the hammock is outstanding and I just want to thank you personally for making such a great product and your fantastic customer service. Thanks again for those hammock camping tips. They came in useful. Sincerely,
Kevin Renkavinsky
"Total Satisfaction!"
I purchased my first Hennessy Safari Asym Hammock back in January of this year. Living in South Carolina, I had several opportunities to use it in February and March when the weather was not too cold (i.e lower than freezing). Total Satisfaction! Seem to remember many vows of never sleeping in a tent again during those initial nights. However, several weeks ago, I decided to give it a try on a backpacking trip with the Boy Scouts. Being the CubMaster for the Pack associated with the Troop, the Boy Scouts needed some additional adult leaders for their "most strenuious backpacking trip of the year" up Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina. During the second night of our trip, at an elevation of 6,000 feet, we were hit with what was supposed to be a "potential light dusting of snow". That night, I experienced first hand how this hammock holds up in extreme conditions to include 30-40 mph winds, rain, sleet, between 6-12" of snow, and temperatures of 5 degrees F with windchill. Surprisingly - Total Satisfaction! Other than what one might call "periods of excessive rocking", I stayed relatively dry and warm!
I used my North Face bag rated at 20 degrees with a Thermarest RidgeRest foam pad. I slept in a pair of milano wool thermals. As the sleet started coming down, I decided to experiment with using an old military issue solar blanket. I placed it under my foam pad and wrapped it completely around my sleeping bag. This kept me nice and toasty. Unfortunately, the outside of my sleeping did get a little damp from the condensation that was collecting on the foil.
The downside was I had several adjustments to the rain fly to make throughout the night due to the unexpected high winds and my lack of experience in using the gear. In addition, in the morning, the half-hitch knots that I used to tie the hammock to the trees were covered in ice and frozen solid. I poured the last of my hot morning coffee to melt the ice and loosen the knots. After that, I had the entire hammock balled up in my pack within 2 minutes.
Given the weather conditions, I slept very well and stayed warm through the night. On our 8 mile trek out in the snow, I kept hearing comments from the scouts - that they had never seen anyone with a tent hammock before, especially in the snow and how they were going to have to get "one of them hammocks"! - Jim Towler
