OK I tried to make this as painless as possible. I'm looking into hammocks. I read about warbonnets and enos but being such an out spoken supporter of Exped I had to check them out as well. I have to say I really like their set up on the Ergo hammock. Here's where I want the experts to chime in and give me an honest opinion on the pro's and con's of what you use and the Ergo. The video's above will give you a good idea of the product.

Let's keep on track no lean or tent comparisons just the hammocks please. BTW I found this on line for $220. so price comparisons as well.

Thanks
JB


video #1 video #2 video #3

wbbb

quote jeroldharter: "wbbb"

Warbonnet BlackBird, 1.7 double layer would be a great hammock for you JB. Exped's suspensions looks like it girdles (kills) trees.

The down side...

The Exped uses about twice the pack space as my Hennessy.
The Exped is much more finicky or time consuming to set up than my Hennessy.
Hennessy is easier to enter/exit.
I wouldn't trust the huge tarp in heavy winds.

On the up side...

Since the multiple lines hold the sides out, one is able to use a regular pad.
It was difficult to tell, but it looked as though the Exped might let you lay slightly flatter than my Hennessy.
An added benefit of the pad sleeve would be that one could stuff his pants and shirt/jacket in there for the night.

After watching the videos, I can see where one could find interest in the Exped, but after many, many nights in my Hennessy, I have to admit that I'm very happy with my hammock.

I highly doubt that you would be unhappy with the Exped. We all have our preferences, and that's why there are so many options available.
Warbonnet has its followers, Hennessy has its followers and no doubt Exped will have theirs as well.

I really like the tensioning system on the tarp. RainGear is spot on about the ropes. To be honest it looks fairly intriguing. I love my Blackbird, but it looks like a quality product. You can never really tell until you spend a few nights in it, at which point it would be easier to determine the pluses and minuses.

To me it seems overly complicated. Seems like way too many points of failure. Seemed a bit difficult to set up. Need way too large of a tarp. It sure did look comfy though.

If you live in or near the Cities JB, you could stop by and lay in one of my blackbirds or eno and get a feel for them. I really mean it. I have a hammock always set up in my basement. Its best to see how it feels before you buy it.

I have an exped ergo combi.

I absolutely love it, except that its just a tad on the short side.

There is a new version coming out this month. It's 6" longer. Should be perfect.

I'm 6'3"

I'm told that the old version is too short for anyone over 6'.

The tarp is absolutely amazing. Worth $200 by itself as a standalone piece.

Can't say enough good things about the ergo combi. But get the longer one (April 2013 version).

I also have owned an Ergo....I know longer own one. At 6'2 the hammock was much too short for me. Glad to here they are making a longer version. The design in theory really appealed to me because you are getting a bridge like lay without the need for spreader bars. ..I hate packing poles.

The bigger issue for me was the quality of construction. Im 200lbs and after my very first time gently getting into the hammock, the areas where fabric and stich met pulled apart significantly. You could clearly see daylight through the holes and they grew each time I used the hammock. It was returned very quickly.

JB - I am new to the hammocking world and have no experience with the Exped. Looks pretty neat in the videos. I got a Clark NX-150 for Christmas from my kids. I have set it up a couple of time and love it so far. They have have some nice features not found on others. That is my only experience with camping hammocks...

I have not slept in it but have laid in one for a while. I Have have my Hennessy in the BWCA for the last two years and LOVE not sleeping on the ground. If you want a flat lay the exped does lay very flat. There seems to be a lot of fiddling though to set it up. Other things to keep in mind are any extra costs involved. Being a ground dweller originally you probably have a pad to sleep on which will slide into the exped but is a pain in the butt to keep in place unless you have a double layer hammock. An underquilt is really the way to go in a hammock it makes the hammock very comfortable, but is additional cost that the exped would not have. People often forget about insulation in a hammock.

quote NickMc: "To me it seems overly complicated. Seems like way too many points of failure. Seemed a bit difficult to set up. Need way too large of a tarp. It sure did look comfy though.


If you live in or near the Cities JB, you could stop by and lay in one of my blackbirds or eno and get a feel for them. I really mean it. I have a hammock always set up in my basement. Its best to see how it feels before you buy it."

Wingnight is coming up at the end of April why don't you show up for that.

JB

looks like it would be comfortable.

I dont like the fact you have the exit/entry point at the foot end. If you have to adjust anything in the middle of the night you are getting all the way out. hope you don't have to hit the potty in a hurry!

I don't like the "suspended" bug nets. My son won a DYI hammock that had those and the bug net ripped at that point (this could have been the construction).

Tarp set up- bacause you are sleeping almost perpendicular to the ridge line, the tarp is going to need to be either massive or very oddly shaped. I am sure the tarp set up he had would be great in light rain or snow, but would not want to be in that in heavy winds....of course you don't have to worry about wind in the bwca ;)

I love hammocks, that set up just looks to me like someone said, "Hey, Hammock camping is the new cool thing. We need to design a hammock that will fit our pads."

Stick with the tried and true WBBB!

I recall a discussion of this on our Private Group Forum: "BWCA Hammocking" a few months back. Can't find it now.

Here is a discussion of the Hennesey vs. Warbonnet. Hennesey vs. Warbonnet from our BWCA Hammocking forum.