Hennessey Hammock accross northern and down eastern africa?

[edorr808]

Would a hennessey hammock be appropriate across northern africa and then down eastern africa, or would a tent be a more sensible idea?
I'm just wondering if there are going to be enough suitable trees about or will I be spending more time on desert style terrain with a scarcity of trees. Obviously North, west and south africa are totally different in their geographical features but in general is a hammock a feasible idea?

[Walkabout]

Hi,
There is some interesting, and maybe useful to you (a start point anyway) discussion in this thread:-

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...nessey+Hammock


(At least one guy has carried both hammock and tent)

Cheers

[AliBaba]

Hammocks are nice but it’s often hard to find suitable trees.
In desert areas it will keep you away from the hot ground, if you find trees.. It’s also nice in dodgy hotels (between the window and the door).

I carried both a hammock (small type fold up like a pair of socks) and a tent for one year in Africa. I guess I slept in the hammock maybe five nights but I used it a lot during lazy days.

Other known "problems" are alcohol and girls

[photographicsafaris]

I am a big fan of H tents, and have learnt alot: Hammock tents are very cold. They have a few attractive positives and one negative (quiite apart from being bloody dangerous)

Take a decent sleeping bag. The air circulating fully around you becomes cool, the portion being compressed beneath you becomes extremely chilly. I have used an ex US army (korea) H tent for a few years, that had a soft/thick canvas bottom, then I made my own out of Nylon mesh. I still use them but have learnt alot, and always sleep with a hunting knife in my pillow.

They are ideal in the humid coastal areas, and have the added benefit of no sand in the tent, but at any altitude in the tropics above 3000ft they are very cold!
You will need a full sleeping bag, and a decent pillow.
Ensure that you pull the hammock very tight, and not let it slack for a good nights sleep.
You should have a waterproof top and ends, perhaps even one side.
I extended the flaps and have bungee'd sticks to spread the flysheet at foot and head, this keeps me dry, in all but storms. Some people peg down the "flysheet" potion to the ground, it probably works better, but is an hassel
Use a main rope to hold up the canopy between trees, and then second ropes for the ends of the hammock. this gives you an A tent and some more support for the needed height. Block and tackle pulleys are very useful here

Aside from the temperature issues I have learnt the following:

In East Africa tie them up high, enough so that you have to jump up to grab the tent to get in.

Initially I used to tie it tightly between my Landrover Bullbar and the rear of my jacknifed trailer: This very good practical idea occured twice: It turns out Lions like to play with them, and a crocodile really liked the idea of wedging itself between the warm ground and the warm soft sweetie thing above him.

I did not get a particularly good nights sleep on either occasion and have now sought to have at least 6ft between the bottom of the H tent and the ground. Luckily I have yet to encounter Elephants and I do not have a solution as to that particular issue, short of parking your bike beneath the tent (aids getting in) just remember it is there upon dismount at 06:00 or pee-pee time

Leopards have walked under mine. Snakes also find them a useful way of getting from tree A to tree B without touching the dangerous ground. An old Buffalo found it a useful place to lie up sheltered from the rain...

Over longer than one night, Ants WILL walk along the rope and onto your "H tent" as you have interrupted their chemical trail.

Make sure that you have one with a zip on the mosquito netting and do it up. Also reinforce the MOssie netting with strakes so that when you roll excitedly one night, you dont rip a big hole thought the netting, and tumble 6ft to the ground fast asleep, all because you read somewhere that you should tie it up high...

When you wake up in the morning, you will have had a good (if not chilly) nights sleep, but the adventure begins there. Midnight pee-pee's are interesting, dont sleep walk and dont get out of the tent before you look all around you, particularly that dry patch directly under you that you can only see (too late) as you jump out.

If you are still stupid enough to want to use an H tent, You will not score with a woman in your tent! if you do please contact me with full set of instructions
As a last thought remember that humans still catch the greatest portion of the worlds food in nets...

[juddadredd]

Hi Edorr,

Right my qualifications for the Hennersy are used it 80% of the time in SE/Asia in the Jungle, in the rainy season in Laos and Cambodia where it threw it down. And 20% in Cold Wet Windy England the point about them being cold is moot if you use a thermal rest underneath you, and use your jacket as a pillow easy fix and I've slept out in it in -5 weather no problems whatsoever. The termal rest will give you more then enough protection from the cold and you alter the rain fly angle to keep the rain out. I've never been cold or wet in my Hennessy, but I did also get the new huge hex fly as well.

Secondly ANTs crawling along the lines LMAO easy fix is have a cone shaped peice of plasic along the line the tip should be pointed at the hammock the ants will then not bother trying to get passed it. I also use the snakeskins which means hammock up in two minutes hammock down in the same, did I say how much I hate spiders and crawlies and they are never in my hennessy.

I love my one and like alibaba says you tend to pull up get the hammock out swing in it for a bit then fix lunch go for a walk etc but the hammock always comes out first as it's protection from the sun/wind/rain.
I have also packed a BLACKS CYGNUS tent for camping mainly around Europe as I'm tending to stay for 3-4 days in places and as such like to have the extra room for changing eating drying my kit and for entertaining But the hammock is ALWAYS put up alongside it.

If you get stuck without trees you can pitch it on the ground, thats why I started to carry the thermalrest. All in all I'd rather spend a night in the hammock then on the ground, but its personal preference at the end of the day.

Regards

Lee

[StevenD]

Can you sleap sideway's or on your belly in a hammock? Or is it only possible to sleep still on your back?

[Walkabout]

Originally Posted by StevenD

Can you sleap sideway's or on your belly in a hammock? Or is it only possible to sleep still on your back?

IMO you can sleep any way you like in a hammock, if you can sleep in one at all.

My impressions of the hammock debate to date are:-

Lots and lots of people use a tent alone.
Those using a hammock, often take along a tent as a backup.

[photographicsafaris]

You dont really sleep on your belly, sort of colapsed recovery position, but its a strain.
Mostly you sleep on your back or side, but its different and more relaxing than in a bed and you do learn to roll.

I guess the cold story was because I wasnt using a therm a rest, and using a very light weight synthetic sleeping bag.

[juddadredd]

Hi all,

I guess it's all about physics if you sleep on the cold ground in a light sleeping bag you get the heat sucked out of you, the heat from your body goes into the earth because it wants to warm up the ground to the same temp as your body, as the earth has more mass you get colder.
The same thing happens if you have a full bladder in the cold the heat goes into the wee, making your overall body colder, see that on Ray Mears so if your cold then pee.

If your in a hammock the same principle applies, you get a nice warm part above you as warm air rises (farts do as well) that is trapped by the hammocks rainfly. (if you have it low and tight like I do, unless it's warm and sunny of course).
But the thermal rest between you and the cold be it earth or air, gives you a buffer of warm air that sucks the heat out of you in a much slower way, but you will still get cold over time just slower.

Can you tell it's Raining outside and I'm killing time on the internet yet?

Lee

[thecanoeguy]

i use one of those windscreen sunshade reflector thingys ,in my hennessy hammock,the biggest one is still small and light weight and works a treat and reflecting your body heat back to you