Introducing the Hennessey hammock, the most interesting decision we've made during our preperations to leave and therefore proof positive of our eternal dullness. Instead of relying on a tent to carry our dreams safely down the spine of Italy we've bought two of these. Below are some of the reasons why we are not complete idiots destined to pay dearly for our folly.

1. It has a flysheet – if it rains, we're fine.
2. You can't fall out. - You enter through a clever slit in the bottom of the hammock which then automatically seals behind you. There is also an attached mosquito net.
3. They are designed to allow you to sleep diagonally across the hammock, making them much flatter than traditional hammocks.
4. They can be used effectively without trees – With a groundsheet and a couple of sticks, you can use it as a makeshift tent.
5. Hennessey are a very very good company. We are in the UK, and wanted these hammocks. Looking at what appeared to be the main UK stockist's site we were concerned about their returns policy, much worse than the main company website. We expressed our concerns about their UK stockist when ordering from the US, and as a result they did not charge us for international shipping, and the goods arrived in three days from Canada. I recently checked http://www.hennessy-hammocks.co.uk/index.shtml and whether as a result of our concern or not their stated returns policy has been brought in line with the US site. Their range is still smaller but I would be much more confident buying from them today than I was at time of purchase.

Now are some reasons why it's better than a tent.

1. It's lighter than all but the best and the worst tents. Two of these beat the weight of one expensive tent for two people. It beats cheap tents because it's actually waterproof.
2. It doubles as an awesome chair that you'd never be able to carry with you otherwise!
3. You never have to care about whether the ground is flat or about cleaning and combing it beforehand. It also makes the 'leave no trace' principle easier to follow. By the way, http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles.php.
4. The flysheet is flat and separate and perfectly usable as a tarp.

This is why you might not want one...

1. Because you are an idiot – OK seriously...
2. You only ever use campsites and always travel by car.
3. You hate to stow your pack more than half a meter from your person. (The hammock has space for you, you must stash your gear hung from a tree, out of arms reach.)
4. You camp regularly on bare rock above the tree-line. Under 10ºC it helps to buy their 'super shelter' system. It's rather expensive and a bit heavy. Get a sleeping bag liner and/or a rug. Life's expensive enough.
5. You might end up loving it so much it has the rather discomforting effect of turning you into a free salesperson.

I have found my hammock comfortable, but one should bear in mind that the 'Scout' model though rated up to 5'10'', was a false economy in our case. The width was just too narrow for Julia and on top of that it's actually a few grammes heavier than my 'Expedition A-sym' hammock. Below is a photo of that offending 'Scout' model.

As we use these things, hopefully we'll get back to you on how they operate in the wild and just how useful they are. For now I have high hopes, so shoot me.

J-P