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The Hennessy Hammock from Hennessy Hammocks
The category of “camping shelter” includes all manner of tents and tarps, but a hammock drew the most votes. The Hennessy Hammock makes a quick and lasting impression as a very versatile and compact shelter. The first time I saw one, I knew I had to have one (I bought three that same weekend).
You get into it through an opening in the bottom. It closes up after you sit down and pull your legs in. You can lie in the hammock parallel to it—that’s a good position for reading or journal writing—but it’s cut to keep your back flat when you’re at a diagonal. You can even sleep comfortably on your side in it.
A canopy of bug mesh keeps the critters away, and a rain fly clips on to keep you dry even in a heavy wind-driven rain. Of course, you need some place to string it up. Trees are pretty handy in almost every place I’ve paddled, but they’re not the only options. It can be easier to find a place to string a hammock than it is to find flat ground for a tent.
In the tropics, I just slept in the hammock without a sleeping bag. In cooler climes, my sleeping bag didn’t provide much warmth where I was compressing the bag’s insulation. The solution was to suspend a space blanket under the hammock. Tom Hennessy, the designer, is working on a foam outer liner that will provide insulation. The various models available today weigh between 4.5 pounds and a remarkable 15 ounces and are handy enough to pack for a day-trip siesta and versatile enough to take on an expedition.
Hennessy Hammocks
888-539-2930
info@hennessyhammock.com
www.hennessyhammock.com
The Duo LED 8 from Petzl
It’s no surprise that our readers picked a headlamp for their favorite lighting. You don’t have to hold a flashlight between your teeth for too long to figure out that there should be a better way.
The Duo’s three adjustable elastic straps keep it comfortably in position on your head. The center strap supports the weight of the lamp in front and the battery case in back, so the Duo is well balanced and comfortable to wear. The lamp housing pivots 60 degrees from straight ahead for scouting to down for reading. A halogen bulb and the adjustable reflector that focuses its beam provides very good illumination at 50 yards and can even pick out definition at 75.
The cluster of eight LEDs has three settings, the lowest suitable for reading and the highest bright enough for setting up camp. The Duo LED 8 regulates the LED output to provide consistent levels of lighting as the batteries discharge. The power provided by the four AA alkaline batteries is rated to last four hours with the halogen bulb, 80 to 90 hours with the LEDs.
The Duo LED is rated waterproof to a depth of five meters. If you drop the Duo overboard, it will float in salt water but not in fresh water (it only takes a Croakie’s worth—16 square inches—of 3 mm neoprene to get it to float in fresh water).
The Duo LED’s hands-free versatility will keep it busy after the sun sets: It puts the amount of light that you need where you want it.
Petzl
801-926-1500
info@petzl.com
www.petzl.com |
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