tent scenarios

tent scenarios

t.z. | Friday, 11 August 2017

Tent scenarios

3:30 am … my left shoulder hurts caused by that big rock which crawled under the tent all by itself during the night. When I chose my campspot I did not notice it. I scanned the area I was to put the tent visually and with my feet. Heck, I even crawled around and smelled the earth. Nothing but as smooth and soft underground for my tent.

The next day was miserable because I was tired, sore and grumpy. Fishing sucked of course with such a start.

or

Cool soft spot. Brilliant sleep. However – it rained. Heavy. Good I had this super modern “let-no-water-in” tent because the soft spot I found was in a bit of ditch, which now looks like a swimming pool with a small tent in he middle ..

Have you been there? I am sure you have and like me, sort of gave up tenting … tent camping is now a last resort for me.

But than came the change — hammocking. Lawson style …



Through Paul Arden I was introduced to Wes at Lawson Hammock. He was so kind get me one of their Blue Ridge Camping Hammocks and I’ve been using it this summer. None of the above has happened and I am convinced that this tent hung between trees is a small revolution. It works much better than a traditional tent. At least for those who only need shelter for small tours and sleeping.

Lawson’s Blue Ridge Camping Hammock also keeps the bugs away and lifts me up above all the rocks, roots and other nasty things disturbing my sleep.

I am convinced – actually so much that I decided to import and sell it. Just so you know ….

So what do you need …

a Lawson Hammock (rainfly and netting is included)

2pcs 6mm thick rope, 8m each – you don´t need any shakles and fancy hammock hanging “stuff” – you can of course, but better to save that money

tent plugs/stakes & tent ropes in case you want to use the Lawson like a conventional tent. This gear can also be used to stop the hammock from swinging. Useful in very windy conditions.




this is what you need – the Lawson Hammock (Blue Ridge model shown), 2 sets of 6mm rope 8m length, tent plugs and ropes (optional)



the rope (6mm shown) is folded in half, coiled up and secured as shown. That way you just need to pull on the tag ends and are good to go.



you need trees or similar to hang the hammock – find a pair roughly 5 to 6m apart (that´s five big steps …. sort of



sling the rope at chest hight (about 1,50m) above ground. Feed a doubled loop through the eye at the middle of the rope. Sling that new loop around the tree in the opposite direction. Repeat this process 2 or three times.



repeat / continue the “knitting”



the last knit – take the rope full through the loop



that´s what the finished “rigging point” looks like

This connection is very secure as it tightens on it self under load, but is very easy to untie. Just take the rope out  through the last loop and pull. It come undone like a “knitting”.


Fastening the hammock is very simple. As you have two rope ends you can simply tie the hammock with an overhand knot. Make sure the knot sits uniform on side of the knot of the hammock´s attachment point. No shackles and other “stuff” needed. This makes the hammock´s hang very adjustable.



hammock´s attachement point



feed the ends of the rope opposing each other through the attachment loop



simple overhand knot against the hammocks attachment loop – almost to easy to be true. give it a try. You be amazed how well this works. If your rope slips you can always secure it with another shoelace type loop. It is very easy to open. Just pull both ends against the tension of the hammock



The rigged hammock. make sure the foot end is tad bit higher than the head part. That way you do not slide downwards to your feet.



Take a rest after the 5 minutes of hard work  – and test how the hammock feels... make adjustments if necessary. 



Than it´s time to fix the bugnet which is included with the hammock. It´s kept upright by tentpoles.




... feed the tent poles through the sleeves of the bug-net and clip it in place ...



and attach the small bungee ropes to the arch poles to help keep the netting tight/upright. That´s it.

 

Attaching the rain cover

There are several attachment point on the rain cover. A hook at each end, two clips at each end and velcro points which fit to their mates on the bottom of the hammock and two bungee cord loops each end.



rain cover middle attachment point



set the rain cover middle attachment point into the hammock attachment loop



rain cover attachment clip



clip the rain cover attachment clip into the second tension rope of the hammock



velcro spots on the rain cover and the hammock



bungee cord loops are slid over the bugnet poles points



rain cover rigged and opened on the front



if you are expecting very windy conditions the empty hammock can be turned upside down. To prevent this you can attach the tentropes to the ground. This makes the hammock extremely stable. You can even make ridge line with the rain covers upper points.

 


Inside the Lawson Blue Ridge

The hung tent does not feel closed-in or tippy at all. It´s roomy and ariflow is very good. There are pockets for small stuff as well as a point each end to attach a lamp or similar. Along the “bottom” there are a number of velcro attachment spots for a insulation mattress cover.



very roomy inside



velcro attachment spot



velcro attachment spot



hang your lamp …

using the Lawson in a traditional tent arrangement is very simple. Just fix the attachment point to the ground with tentplugs.



using a tentplug to fix the blue ridge on the ground



tent arrangement



mushroom … unrelated image … but he was with all the picture so …