Tarp & Hammock Clinic a BIG SUCCESS!

(AB) Toad Suck Park, Conway, AR - First of all, a giant THANK YOU to ULHIKER and PREACHA MAN for sharing their equipment and their time with us; we all know that neither of those things come cheap, and we appreciate all you fellas did.

We had a great group of folks there including: Lew, ULhiker, Preacha Man, Jay, Figg, and SeekingFun, as well as Linda, Jennifer, and Scott (I think) from the Memphis crew. (If I'm mistaken about any of that, someone please let me know and I'll apologize profusely.)

ULhiker started us off with 3 different tarp setups: A Modified A-Frame, a Flying Diamond, and a Regular A-Frame. He also enlightened a few of us with a poncho setup that could get a person out of the nasty stuff in a pinch. He also had on display his new one-man tarp, which is totally sweet!

Preacha Man then showed us several ways to hang hammocks, some tips on making your own, some ways to stay warm in a hammock, and also discussed some do's and don'ts: (Tip, don't crawl into your hammock with an ice pick in your back pocket--just trust us on this one.)

We had a lot of laughs, some great conversation, and Lew and I learned that spooning in a double rainbow tarptent is not for us. Everyone also got a handy dandy Buck pocket knife courtesy of AB!

Again, thanks to everyone who attended, especially those of you who shared your knowledge with us.

I will be posting pictures and video as soon as possible.

Congrats all, on a great clinic. I hope we have many more in the future!

Jay

Thanks Jay,

IT was a fun time and I enjoyed meeting everyone. I am loading some pics right now, so hopefuly soon I will post some too. I hope we can get together soon too.

Dwight

Thanks, Jay:
It was great to meet some more of the folks from the site, including yourself.
I had a great time.
UL

I also enjoyed the clinic. Getting to meet everyone was nice....

Lew

Preacha... love the tarp... love the hammock.. never thought I would ever sleep in another one again. HATE THE BUGS... they ate me alive last night. hahaha. NEED BUG NETTING

My wife sells Avon Skin SO Soft, It works great agains bugs. I will try to sell anything. I will try to find some bug netting and try to make you a hammock with bug netting for free. It would be fun to try to figure it out, and if I figured it out, I would have to make me one too. I am glad that you like the tarp, and the comfort of the hammock. I forgot to ask you about my camera settings, and see how to use all of them. I have to fiddle with the A-depth, ISO, and Shutter speed several times, taking LOTS of pics, until I am happy with one. It would be so much easier to know exactly what to do. I am getting better though, and your threads on cameras are great. Oh well, the good news about getting eaten alive, is that they might have ate enough to give you a good score on the backcountry challenge

Dwight

Hahahaha. good point.. I don't know if you looked at Scotts hammock but this morning I really REALLY liked it. it has a pocket dead in the center on the edge where you get in and out that can be used as a pocket for all the things in your pocket and a flashlight. It also stuffs inside this sewen in pocket. The netting is attached permenent to one side while offering a full zipper on the second side. When I asked about using a sleep bag the way you were showing us, he said he just filps his hammock upside down and dont guy out the bug net. Then its just a reg. hammock. I think this is by far the best idea one that I have seen yet. Also guys where is the spray sil. found in Walmart? I looked but I have no idea where it would be. Of course NO one in the store knows what the heck I am talking about hahaha. Thanks again Preacha

Oh about the camera.. looks like we need to do a clinic hahaha

I have no idea where it is in Wal-Mart, mine doesn't have it. I use silicone caulking mixed with Coleman white gas. The one that was thinking of making would be like Scotts, but I would add another light layer on the bottom, so that you could slide a pad into it, then the pad would insulate you and you would be set.

Dwight

Yes we talked about that too. Also adding a fleece layer under the bottom.. rather than a pad.. He got mad and threw his pad out last night hahaha... said it just did not work for him. Don't know that I would like a pad in mine.. the bug net and pocket is a good idea though. If you could velcro a fleece pad to the bottom I think that would be huge in the coolness. Though I did get into my sleep bag when the wind started to blow last night and was fine. I did notice that it was actually cooler in the hammock than the ambeant temp. Guess the wicking of the hammock from the underside with the wind is great for reducing the temp.

The pocket for the pad really helps and is more comfortable than just laying on top of it directly. oh well, there is always a learning curve when trying something new.

dwight

If hammocking when it is really cold... like maybe into the 30's or lower maybe the pad would be great as extra insulation. Otherwize I don't think I would like one. I think that it would cut down on the breathing to much. But that would be a good thing in the cold I guess. lol. I seen a pad somewhere online that the guy cut 3/8's holes all over the pad and trimed it down so it looked like a ironing board. It was one of the cheap ridged closed cell foamy's. That might be better. Also would not be quite so ridged. The pocket and the bugnet is what I am looking for though lol. Also the place to stick my 220 AC unit, TV stand and fridge with the satilite dish... hahahaha a hammock on wheals, a moter and we can drive it down the road... a RV hammock hahahaha there you go Preacha, new line of hammocks for you.