The Hammock Experience

Slept out in my hammock last night, learning temperature limits & how well a newly purchased rain tarp sheds rain. Yes, it rained throughout the night & early this morning. Even with the downpour, everything under the tarp, (including me) stayed dry.

I had a very comfortable nights sleep, despite using an underquilt rated to only 40 degrees. By wearing a sweatshirt, socks & sweatpants, plus a toboggan cap, I was exceptionally comfortable all night long. Only where the Mummy bag, used as a top quilt, wasn't fully around my sides did I notice cold. I pulled the Mummy bag's hood over my face & head too.
But it was right when the temperature bottomed out early in the morning (36.5 F), did I wake up feeling cold on my backside & shoulders (a.k.a.CBS... cold butt syndrome) I had reached the limit of comfort the underquilt could offer. I got to admit though, I'm totally impressed.
Getting in & out of a hammock may seem tricky, but once settled in I found this to be the most comfortable sleep I've ever had camping outside in the elements.

You may never have the need to stay overnight outside, or even have a care too. But consider owning a hammock, a rain tarp, a good sleeping bag, and an underquilt. You never know when they may come in VERY handy. One thing is certain, once you experience the comfort a hammock provides you'll think twice about sleeping on the ground.

Here's the Amazon Grocery list of Hammock Gear I've come up with that has got me off the ground (pardon the pun), & into Hammock Camping.

First Up, my Hammock... 

Fox Outfitters Neolite Double Camping Hammock - A Lightweight Nylon Parachute Hammock for Backpacking, Travel, Beach, Yard. with Hammock Straps & Steel Carabiners 

This is what got me started, there was a promotion for them and I took the plunge. I was surprised how well made it is. 10'5 x 6'5 400lb capacity double parachute that comes with padded tree straps. All at a price half of what's out there that compares.

Next... The Rain Tarp

Gold Armour 12’ XL TARP Hammock Waterproof RAIN Fly Tent TARP 185" Centerline - Lightweight Ripstop Fabric - Stakes Included 

The most versatile piece of gear to get, and on a cold rainy night, the most  needed. A good tarp has to do only one thing... keep you & your gear dry. This one by Golden Armor is plenty big enough & plenty rugged enough to get the job done. What I liked most about it is the price. It offers the most bang for your buck!

Then a Bug Net...

ENO - Eagles Nest Outfitters 

Guardian Bug Net, Hammock Bug Netting

Not always needed but ALWAYS necessary when it is, understand? Unless you like getting chewed on in the night you NEED a bugnet. There are cheaper ones out there, but this ENO has kept me bug free here in a South Carolina SWAMP!

For creature comforts! Top & Bottom Quilts or Sleeping Bags...

HONEST OUTFITTERS Sleeping Bag with Compression Sack, Portable and Lightweight for 3-4 Season

It goes without saying, how a sleeping bag is necessary. I wish I could afford Goosedown, but synthetic fills offer as much insulation at far less cost. Here's a good sleeping that fills the bill for all but extreme cold.

Here's my choice of Underquilt...

Outdoor Vitals OV-Roost 40°F UnderQuilt/Sleeping Bag, Use As Ultralight UnderQuilt, Sleeping Bag, or Double Bag

It's important to understand what "CBS" (Cold Butt Syndrome) is, & how this relates to Hammocks, and most importantly, how this Underquilt came to be my choice. 

Since you're butt is literally "Hanging" in a hammock, air is passing around it, & cooling it in the night. To keep from freezing your butt off, it's necessary to insulate it from below, hence the need for a "Under Quilt", which hangs under a hammock, keeping you warm. This one... the "Roost" by Outdoor Vitals is a fantastically affordable one that meets the need for me. For you too!

There are other bits & pieces you can add to this list that make hammock camping enjoyable, but for the basics, these all fill the bill nicely & affordably. There is a wide variety of styles of every one of these items, but these are what's getting the job done for me. Every one making me able to "Hang Out" in a moments notice. 

The Hydra Light Review

I got word a water powered Flashlight was heading my way for a product review & immediately pictured a contraption with a propeller to dip in a running stream, or some penlight hooked up to a water bottle. Instead, I got the Hydra Light, a foot long, rubber-coated, yellow & black plastic cylinder, looking every inch a serious lighting device. It sported some heft to it too, but strangely, no propeller or water tank. Instead, inside it was a long white cylinder where a battery would be, with two metal ends and holes along the length of it’s sides.

End-cap with fold-out hook

The end-cap flares out forming a stable base with a recessed fold-out plastic hook to hang it upside down. (Although I doubt the hook will hold up long.)

At the business end, a clear plastic lamp bezel sports a mirrored concave top cover, and an aperture in the center. Around the single white LED inside the bezel, was more mirrored plastic.

The bezel does double duty. Slide the bezel fully extended, the light is configured as a lantern, with the bezel retracted, it becomes a directed flashlight, projecting the light out the end through the aperture.

So far, it LOOKS like a flashlight. But now what's up with this white plastic can-like tube inside, where a proper battery would be? It looked intriguing.

The fuel cell of tomorrow?

I learned it's the fuel cell that relies on a process of Ion Transfer involving oxygen as fuel. The Hydra-Light Fuel cell has a generous heft to it. It rattles, which I assume is something that somehow reacts to moisture.

I began to figure out that this ISN'T a water POWERED flashlight as the advertising implies. Instead, water is used another way, as a CONDUCTOR.

A chemical reaction occurs when two dissimilar forms of metal interact with each other. It's called ELECTROLYSIS. Simply put, molecular ions from one metal flows to another metal when a current path between the two is present. A common example of electrolysis is galvanic corrosion...how Iron becomes rusty when exposed to oxygen. All it takes is a conductor. It just so happens WATER is a conductor, and it's conductivity is greatly increased when MINERALS are dissolved in it.

It clicked...(like a light bulb over my head). In this moistened fuel cell container, enough electrical current is generated when the contents of the fuel cell is moistened and exposed to oxygen. Causing Ions to flow from one metal end-cap to the other.

Even though it only takes water to create electrical current, there's not a whole lot of electrical current being produced. There's another component in this that makes it work... a super efficient LED!

The star of the show is this LED

 LED's have revolutionized lighting. Light Emitting Diodes have become very efficient after years of development, all but replacing the incandescent light bulb. Being able to radiate bright white light from very little energy, modern LED's are now the ideal low cost, low maintenance, long-life light source.

And it's a single LED that makes the Hydra-Light happen.

Now...  Something needs pointing out.

While the Ion transfer process results in electrical current being generated, it isn't a LOT of electrical current. So, while the LED is efficiently producing light, it's not the brightest of lights. The Hydra Light isn't meant to blind, it's made to produce light just using water.

Within those narrow constraints, the Hydra Light DOES IT'S JOB LIKE NO OTHER!

The Hydra Light is ideally suited as an emergency light source, one that can provide light with just water, without ANY other technology.  I get that, and anyone who is desperately NEEDING light when ALL ELSE FAILS would get that too.

The Hydra-Light boasts of up to 100 hours of continuous service. One short dunking of the fuel cell in water is all it takes.

THAT I put it to the test.

I dipped the power cell in a glass of tap water, shook out the excess, slipped it in the Hydra Light and turned it on.  The LED immediately produced a bright blue-white light. As a flashlight it threw a very impressive beam. As a Lantern the single LED was able to light up a totally dark room to a respectable level, not super bright, but still bright enough.  Then I left the Hydra Light on and started the clock.

72 hours later (that's THREE DAYS), the light was noticeably dimmer, and it went dark while I was away at work on day four, at least 90 hours total. That's close enough for me.
Again, this is just dunking the fuel cell in water, shaking out the excess and turning the lamp on.

Again, this is just dunking the fuel cell in water, shaking out the excess and turning the lamp on.

Pretty darn impressive IMHO.

For the Hydra-light, the duration test is more of showing how long the fuel cell will conduct current until the fuel cell dries out.  Of course, normal battery powered flashlights can last 100 hours, (often brighter too). But after that, you just need to briefly re-moisten the fuel cell of the Hydra Light & the light will stay on for 100 hours more. (Do that with a regular battery flashlight)

After a few dips in water, the efficiency of the fuel cell diminishes. Still, that's remedied by simply adding salt to the water. The saltier the water, the brighter the lamp will glow. According to the maker, more fuel cells are available. But generally speaking, the whole idea of a emergency light source that can be left on a shelf for decades, & still be able to produce light after just a dip in some water, is just the thing to have when all else fails.

And for that, I TOTALLY approve.