Claytor Jungle Hammock

[Anderz]

As I get older, the ground seems to be getting harder... so I'm thinging of giving hammocking a try. Looking at the net, there seem to be two main "schools" - the flat/diagonal school represented by Hennessy etc, and the banana school represented by Clark/Claytor etc. As I live in Japan, I have problems of actually trying out something without buying it (or making it which I may very well do, Risk has a simple design I may try out on Risk's TestHammock, so I most likely have to buy and try... and I think the Hennessy system looks a bit awkward, I prefer side entry at least in theory. Which means that I'll initially look at the bananas.

Claytor's JungleHammock seems to be a good value for money and got great reviews. However, I'm a bit suspicious of the rain protection. Rain seem to be able to run down the hanging straps and get the whole thing wet which would be a big problem during the rain season which starts in a month or so...

Anyone has any experience of this? And, would it be simple to solve the problem - if there is one - with a piece of string tied to the hanging straps, well inside the tarp?

Jaa,
Anderz

[chezrad]

First, you lay flat in either one, there is no "banana" in the bunch, unless you ant to lay that way.

The way to keep water from running down the lines and getting things wet is to give it another path to follow. A shoelace tied to the suspension rope and hanging down provides water a quicl path away from the hammock. (It works like the decorative "chain" type rain diverters that some of the older Japaneese buldings have instead of downspouts.) So you have already guessed the solution to the problem.

[Anderz]

Hi, thanks. Yes, a string would divert the water but I'm not sure how effective it would be...

[Just Jeff]

I've never had a problem with it and I've been through some rainstorms in a few different models. Other folks have had some problems...cotton string works well for hammocks suspended by cords (like the HH). If you have this problem, you might want something bigger for hammocks suspended by webbing...like a bandana or sock.

Basically, you just want something to soak up the water and divert it away from the hammock...so it has to contact the entire surface area of the support.

Other things can work as isolators, too - like buckles or carabiners, depending on how you set up your system. Lots of options.

But like I said, I've never had a problem with water running down the supports.

[Anderz]

OK, thanks, I'll go try for myself...

[KnowledgeEngine]

I would say you can lay flat sure enough in a claytor. How to divert the rainwater most efficently is to pin a piece of felt to the suspension strap, and sew it in. The water will want to go straight down instead of at a angle, and the felt wicks better than the strap. Just make sure to do this under the tarp coverage and close to the suspension channell.

[PBF Support]