Among hikers, backpackers, campers, Scouters, and pretty much any outdoor enthusiast, one topic seems to always spark debate: hardware devices or knots? Are you a knot purist who sees hardware devices as redundant, a waste of time (or weight), or…
After spending a few weeks reviewing the Lawson Blue Ridge Camping Hammock I felt a little like the food critic Anton Ego from the Disney®/Pixar® animated film Ratatouille when he flip-flopped on his critique of Gusteau’s restaurant. Perhaps I can appreciate his predicament…
From the Wayback Machine Grand Trunk All Terrain Hybrid Travel Hammock Review — BackpackGearTest.org The Rest of the Story. I have to tip my hat to Grand Trunk for trying something new. When I tested this hammock back in 2009, the…
From the Wayback Machine Jacks “R” Better Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock Review — BackpackGearTest.org The Rest of the Story. This review actually isn’t from that long ago; I just finished reviewing the Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock (BMBH) this spring (2013), but…
I picked up this idea from my association with the League of American Bicyclists and thought this would be a fun idea for those who like to go backpacking. So, pick up your official Backpacking Bingo card and spice up…
It’s almost been a year since I drew up these plans for a hammock bivy and I thought I might as well publish them. During this time there were a few hammock bivy projects popping up, including the Kickstarter-funded Alpine…
Sometimes, it’s the little things that matter; the attention to detail. I was testing out a hammock the other day that had a zippered bug net, but visibly missing were adequate zipper pulls. To clarify, the metal zipper tabs were…
I posted earlier on how you can use the LoopAlien with a tarp and a continuous ridge line, but a lot of folks prefer using guy lines just on the ends of the tarp’s ridge line. The LoopAlien works just…
UPDATE: Using the LoopAlien with single lines, and faster locking method. I’m a sucker for cool, little hardware gadgets for tarp and hammock rigging. Don’t get me wrong, I love knots (I’m a Scoutmaster, after all), and use them on…