When Brendon and I started camping on motorcycle trips, we really wanted to utilize what we already owned – which was was a regular two person tent that took up a whole saddle bag. Because it took up so much space we didn’t have room for an air mattress or sleeping pad. Aside from the tent, we would back just one sleeping bag. We woke up every morning sore and stiff from sleeping on the ground. There was some pretty cold nights too, the frozen ground rapidly draining our body heat. Something had to change, so we started researching our options – upgrading to a compact tent & sleeping pad OR trying a hammock.

We were initially drawn to the hammock because it looked super rad, and because it’s something different. But, finding a hammock that would fit and hold Bren’s 6’4″ height, and our combined weight of 340lbs, was no easy task. We spent a whole summer researching hammocks, talking to people and reading blogs about them. We eventually came across the Hennessy Hammock – Safari Deluxe Zip. It is designed for people up to 7′ tall and holds up to 350lbs. In our research, we didn’t find any other hammocks that would meet our weight and height requirements, and all the reviews reported great things, so we went for it.

Here is our personal review after sleeping this hammock for one year.

• You are off the ground, therefore you are more comfortable and warmer. Some might argue that it is colder because air circulates underneath you causing a cooling effect but we came from sleeping on the cold ground with no sleeping pad – which sucked our body heat. We also bought the insulation pad that slides in-between the fabric layers underneath us. In the shoulder seasons we bring a big sleeping bag suitable for negative temps, and in the summer a small quilt. *Note: We did not bring the insulation pad on our trip across Latin America
• It is lightweight and compact – great for backpacking & bike trips
• You don’t need a air mattress or pillow – saves more weight/space.
• Do not need flat/clean ground
• We’ve never gotten wet when it rains.
• You get to sleep really close to your significant other

• It takes a little longer to set up (It says 3 mins on the website but it takes us about 10 mins to set up the hammock and rainfly)
• You will need trees
• When someone has to go to the bathroom, both of us are getting up.
• You can’t put your gear inside. Not an issue for us on our bike trips but when we are backpacking it can be a pain when it rains. We usually bring a tarp and lay it under our rainfly so it isn’t a major inconvenience
• It is really difficult to change inside of it. Changing outside can be a little uncomfortable when it’s cold and/or raining.
• You get to sleep really close to your significant other

• It gets pretty pricey but is relatable to buying a lightweight, compact tent & sleeping pad. The rainfly and its snakeskins are sold separately.
• We purchased a set of longer webbing straps too. We use both of them equally as much, sometimes having to tie them together to make longer ones.
• It came with water collectors that you hang from the rainfly. We’ve used them twice. They work awesome! *You can see them in use in the second photo below.
• The question asked the most is, “Is it comfortable sleeping like a banana?:” You aren’t exactly sleeping like a banana but the answer is YES! In our opinion, it’s significantly better than sleeping like a board on the ground. We both sleep comfortably on our backs, and because I am a pillow person, sleeping in a slight curve props my head up.

I feel more connected to nature when we are sleeping in our hammock. It’s quick and easy to tuck the rainfly away so we can fall asleep looking at the stars, on a regular basis we are woken up to squirrels/chipmunks scurrying across the ropes, and when it sways in the breeze – it’s like being rocked to sleep. Overall, we are super happy with our decision to purchase a hammock. However, they aren’t for everyone.  But hopefully this helps you get a bit of an idea to what they are like.