Mark

The Backcountry Bed by Sierra Designs is not like any other sleeping bag I have seen.  I was interested in how well it would work in a hammock when I first saw it.  Sierra Designs provided a pre-production 3-season size long with 600 fill power duck DriDown for testing and review and so I had … Read more

I purchased the Warbonnet Superfly tarp in olive brown to provide cover for me while sleeping in the Blackbird XLC hammock. Warbonnet makes four hammock tarps in various shapes and sizes with the Superfly being largest. The Superfly has fully integrated doors and is available in 3 colors. If the doors were removed, the tarp … Read more

In addition to the Vulcan underquilt, Eagle‘s Nest Outfitters sent an Ignitor topquilt for review and to help out with the hammock series of articles. As with the Vulcan, I had to promise to return the Ignitor once the testing is done. For those who are not familiar, a topquilt is a zipper-less sleeping bag … Read more

I recently was able to test the Alps Mountaineering Shasta 3600 backpack. This company was started by Dennis Brune in 1993. Located in rural east central Missouri, Alps Mountaineering has a great story that you can check out on their website. The focus of the company is to produce quality products at great prices that … Read more

Eagle‘s Nest Outfitters is a well-known maker of hammocks and hammock accessories.  Their products include the Vulcan underquilt and the Ignitor topquilt. ENO kindly supplied me with a Vulcan underquilt and Ignitor topquilt, both of which I had to return after testing. ENO knows as well as anyone that with hammock camping it‘s the same … Read more

People that know me know that I love knots. I find it fascinating how many useful and fun things you can do with some rope or string and the right knot. Once in a while though, the weather is so cold the fingers get stiff, or rain is starting and a little help could be … Read more