Reddit reviews Grand Trunk Single Hammock: Nano 7 Premium Ultra Light made with Ripstop Nylon for Camping and Travel includes Carabiners

Thanks for the kind words /u/EatMoarToads. Enjoy your time on the Appalachian Trail! Its a beautiful area and I'm sure you'll have a great time.

I'm sure you are thoroughly prepping for the trip, but my 1 suggestion for hikers is always to look into hiking covered hammocks rather than having to bring a tent/pad/etc. This one is inexpensive and has pretty good reviews on Amazon... but there are a LOT of options out there

We'll be here arguing and speculating over Tesla whenever you get back :)

• HAMMOCK - You can surely go lighter than 800g on the hammock without a problem.
  This one is 198g but it's not the largest hammock and I have not personally used it. My current hammock is 550g with whoopie slings in place of what it came with. I think you could likely go 3-400g safely and not risk losing too much comfort.
  
  
• TARP - Mine is homemade and it sits at 440g with everything to hang it. I made it very cheaply with silnylon seconds from [Noah Lamport] (http://www.noahlamport.com/contactus.aspx) but you have to call them and talk to them. You can go smaller and have a lot less weight but I like mine. If you feel like throwing money around you can get down to 122g.
  
  
• STRAPS My homemade straps are 90(ish)g and work very well. You could go shorter for less weight but I wanted flexibility on my hang options. Google gives you lots of options near that cheaply.
  
  
• UNDERQUILT - If you want to save weight 3/4 length underquilts are probably the direction you want. 3/4 length @ 450g I just linked the first one I searched and do not have experience with it specifically. I could list tons of others but I don't think you will have too much difficulty finding options in your weight range.
  
  
• TOPQUILT advice will be similar to underquilt. Just look around and see what fits your need. You may use your current bag for the time being to save money. I personally would buy that last as the function of a topquilt vs sleeping bag isn't that far separated.
  
  
• SUSPENSION - I would probably convert whatever suspension system you get on the hammock to amsteel/dyneema for a weight savings. Its fun to make and not that expensive.
  
  I would have been more detailed but I might just have a hangover.

The Wise owl ultralight is $37.99. The hammock is small and with the suspension weighs 13oz. The straps and carabiners are on the heavy side.

The hummingbird hammock single is a little bit smaller and lighter at 5.2 oz for the hammock and 1.55 oz for the straps, but more expensive.

The outdoor vitals ultralight is a similar size but the hammock is made from a heavier and stronger fabric than the other two. Comes in the middle price wise and weighs 14oz total.

The grand trunk nano 7 comes in 7.4 oz but doesn’t include the straps.

All of these I would consider travel hammocks in the ~9’x4’ range and ~5-8 oz weight for just the hammock. They’re nice for chillin. They wouldn’t really be great to sleep in but it’s possible.

If you left when you said in this comment, then I hope the trip is going well and this may be too little to late for this trip, haha. With that said, I really like the kit. Having backpacked 2,000 miles of the Appalachian trail in two long excursions separated by the harsh 2013/2014 weather and learning my limit on whats just enough to get by on for me, here would be a few things I would change:

Switch out the balaclava for a Buff. Awesome piece of gear and very multifunctional.

Forego the 2x extra socks. One extra pair should be plenty for camp/sleep if you need them or if your daily ones get gross (doesn't sound like you're going on an extended excursion so this doesn't seem to be a concern) and I wouldn't bother with waterproof shoes or socks. As much as companies have gotten better waterproofing technology, in my experience light, breathable gear will always fare better, especially for shoes and socks - waterproof will work until you get swamp feet if they do not dry/breathe enough, or work until water gets into the shoe. Which, if you are cycling, the only recognizable reason would be rain. Its going to get in your shoes, period. Your body heat and riding on the bike will dry out regular shoes and socks just fine. I would go for the thicker soled trainers but nothing beefier than that, just to have less pedal power loss than thin soled trainers.

With that said, a good pair of gaiters (shoe covers) is worth it, and a very simple and extremely light solution can be found at

dirtygirlgaiters.com

I hiked in mesh trainers with dirty girl gaiters through 2 feet of snow for about 3 weeks. It worked very well, but I really needed about another inch of "waterproofing" (shoes that weren't technically waterproof, but had higher walls instead of mesh right down to the sole) and got another pair of trainers that worked better. No issues with wet feet after that.

I would not take that bivy, period. That style of bivy isn't multifunctional, which in my gear is something I try to employ. I would go with:

A bug bivy:
http://borahgear.com/bugbivy.html
6oz
(The one I continue to use and love is the Marmot Terra Cotta, but its a bit heavier and uses one small pole instead of a rope pullout. I can't find where anyone sells it anymore. I slept under the stars most nights I could with just a bug bivy)

And a tarp (the lighter the better, but more expensive and can be a bit more delicate. Never had an issue with cuben fiber tarps myself, 100% waterproof and LIGHT):
http://www.hammockgear.com/standard-cuben-fiber-tarp-with-doors/

This tarp is the one I use. 6.5oz not weighing the UL tie off rope or snakeskin (more on this in a second) It has doors so if I know its going to be rough weather or cutting wind you can 'batten down the hatches', tie it close to the ground and close the doors, which would keep me from having to use warmer, heavier, bulkier gear for the windchill factor. Easy to get out of even like that and can set it up in any configuration the moment calls for. Tarps have more of a learning curve but it really isn't that difficult when you start using them and don't take long to set up once you get it down.

Snakeskins for a tarp are the best thing EVER. The skins follow the ridgeline of the tarp and hold everything together. All that you have to do to put the tarp up is pull it out of the your bag, tie one end off, tie the other, then slide the snakeskins from the middle out, unfurl the tarp and tie off your corners. Nothing touches the ground and takes 3 minutes to be done.

The mesh bivy/tarp system is going to weigh just about the same, ~1lb as the bivy you're using if you use light guylines for the tarp.

HAMMOCKING:
If you are attracted to the idea of hammock camping but haven't tried, I would go that route instead of the bivy/mat/tarp. You probably won't want to comepletely overhaul your system this time being your trip is so close, but for me its the best sleeping system. Its going to weigh pretty much the same, my basic set up with the hammock, all the lines, treestraps, and tarp is somewhere at 1.5lbs, whereas the bivy you are using is 1lb and the pad is 7oz. You still would need insulation, and you may still use the pad you have (more on that later) so it may be a little bit heavier (gasp) but much more comfortable and flexible system, not needing to have a flat spot that isnt going to get wet, needing only two trees 8-14 feet apart. Use the same tarp, but have this:

Grand Trunk Nano 7 hammock (I am 5'5" and 150ish so this fits me well. You may need to find a different UL hammock that fits you if you aren't around my size) 7 oz:

Grand Trunk Nano Hammock https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002WZN77Y/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_a7ClybWE775H7

Use a whoopie sling system (NO KNOTS, easiest way to hang a hammock. Slide the rope braided through itself to achieve the right hang):

https://shop.whoopieslings.com/

(Not that you'd need it now, but I made a very simple bugnet for the hammock like seen here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Hammock-Bug-Net-Cheap/ )


I've slept in hammocks for about 1.5 years out of the last 3 whenever I discovered using them as a real sleeping system when hiking. Started hanging at home. Best sleep of my life. Best of all when camping everything is off the ground, and you can pee without even getting out of bed in the cold (as a guy) by just leaning out to one side (this takes practice xD )

For insulation you need to find out how you can be comfortable. I have a down under quilt (connects to the ropes of the hammock and cradles the hammock underneath) rated to 0 (been WARM, not just surviving, to -10 with the extra fill when I custom ordered the 0 degree bag [I had the over quilt with it as well during that time, which is like a sleeping bag with the head end opening like a blanket just past the footbox, much easier to get in and out of in a hammock]) that I also got at hammockgear.com. Its a small operation and the guy who owns it is super helpful.

You can also go with a space blanket as an underquilt. It would take a bit of taping and adding a clip to use like an underquilt, but it wouldn't take long and be very light and cheap.

Or keep your pad and use it in the hammock. Not the most ideal but it would work and still be more comfortable than the ground. I used the NeoAir Xlite, similar to the Nemo you're using, and was comfortable down to 40° with a sleeping bag liner and wool long johns and long sleeve shirt

The insulation factor is going to greatly depend on the person and where they are comfortable at, and what gear they are comfortable using. Keep in mind you can still prevent wind like you would with a bivy on the ground by tying the hammock a bit lower and tarp lower to the point that the tarp edge meets the ground.

I hope anything I've said here is useful. Definitely would like to hear how the trip goes, and whether or not your concerns were met or other concerns came up. Good luck!!