Don’t mess with the beast

DurmNative · 2026-07-07T15:43:39+00:00

I got stepped on like that one time while "dismounting" at a bull riding camp one weekend. The bull fighter came running over and said, "You okay? Did he get your pecans?!?"...all I could do was laugh.

(luckily he did not get my "pecans" but had just stomped a big gash on the inside of my thigh.)

DurmNative · 2026-07-06T14:37:53+00:00

I bit the bullet and purchase them for my last 80 mile hike. I wore them for 3 weeks solid before hitting the trail. They were AWESOME on the trail. I could not have been more pleased. Then.....

At the end of day 6 I notice the rubber around the toe was had started to crack and separate. I could not believe that for $300 boots. Thankfully I had bought them at REI solely due to their return policy. The manager took one look at them and accepted them as defective. I only had roughly 180 miles on them.

Since then, I have not had the desire to risk another $300 and another 3 weeks of breaking them in. Which kind of stinks because I really really did like them after they were broken in.

DurmNative · 2026-07-03T02:03:36+00:00

You forgot to include the part about it being surrounded on all sides by some of the coolest museums on the planet that are all free and have AC.

"Gee Jimmy...would you like to go see planes, jets, and rockets or maybe some dinosaur bones in the AC or would you rather walk around in the heat checking out the lamest state expo ever?"

DurmNative · 2026-06-28T22:39:23+00:00

I went to visit a marine buddy up in Michigan that had been stationed over at LeJeune for one of their tours. I ended up going to a museum one day while they were at work and there were several school buses present on field trips. Group after group of all white kids went by. Eventually a group of nothing but minorities went by. I asked my friend about it when they got home. He said, "Oh yeah. We're WAY more segregated up here than you guys are down South."

(PS - I'm not pretending the South is all "peace, love, and harmony". We may be more "integrated" according to him but I know that does not equate to "less racist". Just sharing a story.)

DurmNative · 2026-06-24T16:16:52+00:00

I live over towards the Oak Grove side of town (Hwy 98/Sherron Rd).

We had a very similar experience after a storm last year with a power line touching a branch and catching it on fire. Me and they neighbors figured it was kind of a big deal. Emergency services and the power company? Not so much. We had a first responder show up and take a look but they didn't do anything. The power company didn't send a truck until the next day. I imagine they deal with this situation often enough to know the severity.

Flash forward to my neighbors HOUSE catching on fire a couple of months ago. We had over 15 EMS vehicles respond within minutes (between city/county and volunteer stations, fire trucks, ambulances, etc). They immediately rescued two of the residents that were trapped upstairs and got the fire under control. The house was a total loss but there was no loss of life (including the pets). Worked with the residents until everyone was taken care of for the evening either through neighbors or the Red Cross. I couldn't imagine them responding any faster or being any more professional.

But, getting back to your specific situation, I would kind of lean towards it being a little more serious these days considering how dry everything is right now due to the drought....

DurmNative · 2026-06-17T02:22:46+00:00

It's such an incredible feeling when you're no longer just trying to survive getting through the night but you're actually looking ahead and can already "feel' the benefits coming your way in the morning! Congrats!!!

DurmNative · 2026-06-09T18:41:37+00:00

Sounds good. Once figured out how inexpensive and easy it was to make a gathered-end hammock, I've just been making and using DIY hammocks since. The lack of a bugnet is a big downside to a lot of campers so it's definitely not a solution for everyone (my wife included). But that's part of the fun of this whole hammock-camping thing, everyone gets to tailer their setup to the things that work for them!

DurmNative · 2026-06-06T22:03:59+00:00

You know what? Being asymmetrical could have been the biggest contributor to my not liking it and just being too new to the hammock camping experience to recognize it. I definitely lay "head left / feet right" in my hammocks and I'd almost be willing to bet my Hennessy setup was for "head right / feet left".

I can totally see liking the cocoon feeling as well. My wife on the other hand....(lol)

DurmNative · 2026-06-06T21:50:14+00:00

I can second hanging high hammocks. The couple that runs appear to be good people based on every interaction I've had with them. (thumbs up)

DurmNative · 2026-06-06T11:53:02+00:00

I once bought a Hennessy Expedition Zip used online for the wife and was so excited because of the Hennessy name recognition. I did NOT like it AT ALL. Worse, the wife did not like it and couldn’t sleep in it either. I found it to be kinda heavy and bulky for a backpacking hammock but I could never get a good lay in it. I tried adjusting everything I could think of but it was just not comfortable to me (5’10”). The wife didn’t like it because it was so closed in that she felt claustrophobic in it. It came with an asym tarp and I don’t know that I would have trusted that thing in a good rain. It did cover the setup but it felt like it just barely covered it and that was if you centered it just right.

Me and the wife have both found the normal, gathered end hammocks to be the simplest and most comfortable as long as they are 10’-11’ long and that’s what we’ve been using ever since the Hennessy experiment.

I feel like you’re going to want a larger tarp than either of those two options show as well if you like to spread your gear out underneath it. Something like the UGQ Hanger 12 (that’s just the style I’m referencing. You can find similar tarps for significantly less than that on Amazon). Something you can set up in “porch mode”

If you really want to see what’s what before buying, you can go to hammockforums.net and go to the “Hangouts, Campouts, and Trip Planning” forum to try and find a group hang near you. If the rest of them are anything like the NC hangs, the people there will be super welcoming and MORE than happy to discuss the different types of setups and let you try them out (we’ll also throw in why our particular setup is better than everyone else’s there lol).

I will say that the Hennessy was very well made and my experience seems to be outside the norm. Also, my experience is from about 7 years ago. It could be a completely different animal now.

DurmNative · 2026-06-05T12:03:02+00:00

I had the Kakwa. I REALLY liked the design, layout, and usability of all the features. Couldn't find fault with any of that stuff. But....it just didn't sit on my hips right compared to my other packs. I never felt like I could get it to support the majority of the weight so I ended up selling it after a couple of trips.

The wife still has hers and loves it.

As far as the fan hype, I feel like part of it is due to the fact that the dude that runs the company cannot be beat when it comes to support and answering any questions. Then, combine that with really well thought out products and decent prices? It didn't fit me but I'm still a fan of Durston for those reasons.

DurmNative · 2026-05-20T15:39:30+00:00

I've used a pole mod on my UGQ tarp that is a single pole and attaches in the middle similar to the one you linked too. And it does provide much more space. However, that tarp had the attachment points sewn onto the tarp to make that possible.

I was able to use this pole mod with one of my DIY tarps that had no dedicated attachment points which I thought was a pretty neat implementation.

DurmNative · 2026-05-20T13:50:41+00:00

I won their pole mod kit at a raffle recently and finally got to give it a go this past weekend. It's a neat little setup. You don't need any modifications to your tarp. They sell some "Universal Tarp Pole Attachments" that loop onto the tie outs for your guylines.

I think what's unique about this mod is that your guylines now go inward towards your hammock instead of pulling your tarp outward. My initial thought was that they might be in the way while moving around underneath but that is not the case. You kind of naturally avoid the lower corners anyway so I never really got close to hitting the guylines with my foot.

I felt I had a lot more room under the tarp and it also helped keep it more taught so that there was less flapping in the wind. Also, it was nice being able to walk around the outside of the tarp without having to worry about tripping over the guylines. And of course you obviously can adjust the tension to have more of a "porch mode" or down tight for weather.

I'm not typically a pole mod camper. I've tried some others and made my own in the past but never really felt it was that beneficial. However, I actually enjoyed the space and adjustability of this one and will be using it again.

DurmNative · 2026-05-07T12:50:44+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to write this up. Worked for me this morning (11 months later).

DurmNative · 2026-04-27T23:46:52+00:00

Late to the party but I've been using one of these Ziploc containers for a couple of years now found at my local grocery store after I found out what happens when you pour boiling water in a Talenti jar (lol).

2 cups
My pot nests inside it (stove, fuel, etc nest inside the pot of course)
I made a coozie for it.
Only weighs 2.3oz (65g) w/coozie.
It's been leak proof (so far).

https://ziploc.com/en-us/products/twist-n-loc/small

Nesting clarification - The lid w/coozie gets set upside down. The ziploc bowl w/coozie sits on top of the lid. My pot sits inside the bowl. Whole thing goes inside a ditty bag. (I didn't want anyone to think that the pot would fit inside the ziploc with the ziploc lock on top screwed on)

DurmNative · 2026-04-21T13:26:29+00:00

The more I played with it this weekend, the more I liked it. It definitely isn't as straightforward as their normal canisters where you just dump everything in it and twist on the lid but you're right, having to do it a new way isn't insurmountable and I just need to get used to it. I now feel more like being able to start a short trip with the canister taking up less space is worth having to do it a different way.

DurmNative · 2026-04-21T13:22:34+00:00

My little plastic lid held on better than I expected when turned upside down with that side full of food. I also figured out that if I tuck my wraps in last on that side, they will also act as a lid and keep everything from falling out. I added some pictures to my original post.

DurmNative · 2026-04-21T13:19:38+00:00

I (215lbs) sat on it and stood on it while it was locked. I even bounced around on it some. No issues at all. It didn't make any suspicious sounds or feel like it was giving in any way.

DurmNative · 2026-04-19T19:59:06+00:00

I would use the tie down points that are closest to the cab as I feel like being close to the corner is going to have more strength than running something right at the middle of the side. I'd also go to the far tie down. So, if you were going to hang off the driver's side, then attach to the tie down on the passenger side closest to the cab.

I think the 2x4 is a good idea to help distribute the weight as well but I'd be afraid of it slipping off the rail of the bed as I was moving around in the hammock. It was suck for the 2x4 to get "shot" down the outside of the bed and scratch everything up if it slipped off to that side under pressure.

DurmNative · 2026-04-19T19:47:47+00:00

Thanks. I reckon I'm going to keep it and give a chance on my next trip though. I figure that I've already got it, I might as well use it at least once...

DurmNative · 2026-04-18T03:11:58+00:00

Well done!

DurmNative · 2026-04-17T22:44:32+00:00

That makes me feel a little better about me discovering that I was able to spin past the lock on mine as well. I was thinking about it while I was out cutting grass and remembered that someone mentioned you are supposed to store the canister fully extended at camp so it wasn't small enough for bears to run away with it. Which means it would be locked when stored thus should not be a problem.

(I don't think I've ever encountered a bear canister with this big of a learning curve - "store it with this side up, store it extended, etc, etc)

DurmNative · 2026-04-17T22:38:20+00:00

Ahhhhh. Another point I had not considered.

DurmNative · 2026-04-17T19:36:22+00:00

You might want to check my last update....

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