Karate Monkey for soooooo many reasons.

I always carry a short length of cord, since it can be useful in all sorts of unexpected situations. Never needed to tow anyone with it--but its good to know that I could. Thanks!

rope/cord, knife, fire, space blanket.....all on the shortlist indeed.

I bet we could quickly list 100 uses for a 6' length of cord.....ridgeline for emergency shelter, laundy line, sling, pot lid handle, tow rope, restraints 

I just grabbed that pic from the Relevate site.  Their gallery is full of pics that show bags at least that big.  I'd probably borrow one and try it first of course.

Another question....what about legs/thighs hitting the bag with every pedal stroke?  Is that an issue for anyone?

Did my first trip recently and we both had pannier setups.  The best descent of the trip involved 1/4 - 1/2 mi of highly technical riding we both cleaned without any problems.  I'm sure with a large seat packs we would have both walked it and that sounds like no-fun to me.  Different strokes I guess....

What do you do for steep technical terrain which requires getting behind the saddle?  

Having never used one and looking at this makes it seem impossible;

Go long...you there other places on the hammock you can shave the weight back off if you are concerned about that.

15% of electronics, including Garmin at Nashbar.  I had been shopping for a Edge 200 and there's not many deals to be found.  For example, REI 20% off excludes GPS units.  Enjoy!

How about asking Spot? 

SPOT LLC
300 Holiday Square Blvd.
Covington, Louisiana 70433

Customer Care:
1 (866) OK1-SPOT
1 (866) 651-7768
From outside of North America:
+1 (408) 933-4518

Anyone stumbling across this thread and looking at riding Pisgah should get this map;

http://pisgahmapcompany.com/?page_id=28

It has definitely de-throned NatGeo #780 as THE Pisgah Map.  Just a simple idea like printing the trail names on the trails instead of just a number to look up makes this one far superior. 

I am also just discovering they have a bunch of GPX files;
http://pisgahmapcompany.com/?page_id=119

(I have no financial connection to the makers of the this map)

Rode about 90 minutes last night at our city trails after a rain shower.  Pedaled from my house to the trails, and as expected these tires rolled really well on pavement.  The variation in tread height is almost nil so the ride is very smooth.  I had them pumped to the minimum recommended of 40psi and they felt hard.  Hit 30 mph on a curved downhill and never thought about the tires which is a good sign.

The single track I rode was a full mix from totally dry, damp, and mud/water puddles.  My first test was getting out of the saddle on a SS with such a lightly treaded tire and they were actually pretty decent.  Unless it was 100% mud the tires locked right up and grabbed trail.  I was surprised.  On straight sections the tires rolled just as well as expected.  I did have the rear tire mounted in reverse to maximize the grip.

The biggest negative I found was any kind of cornering.  The tread is just not there to grab and hold at all.  With that said, I didn't expect these tires to corner well and I doubt that is the main goal of this design.  One just needs to remember what tires are underneath and ride accordingly.  Maybe less tire pressure would help, but I doubt it would change significantly.

Of course I can't speak to the durability or longevity yet.  I probably won't keep them on my single speed, but I am getting a Fargo soon and I'll almost certainly make these my main tire on that bike.

Pros:  Pavement, gravel, fast, surprising real wheel grip, price
Cons: Cornering grip, misleading 2.1 labels, availability,

Ideal rider: bikepacker w/ more gravel/pavement than singletrack, XC racer, mixed terrain commuter

mbeardsl sent me a pair of Vee 8s which I received yesterday.  (Thanks!!)

Mounted them last night on my rigid SS 29er.  This bike, being rigid and SS, should give me a great feel for the traction and overall ride.  Just wanted to get something written before I ride them or forget;

These are VERY narrow 2.1 tires^.  With calipers they measured 1.9 on a WTB Speeddisc rim and 1.8(!) on a Salsa DelgadoCross rim.  The sidewalls seem solid and much sturdier than Vulpines in comparsion.  The tread is somewhere between a Crossmark and Small Block 8.  I have no doubt these will roll very well on pavement and gravel.  I'll just have to see what happens on the trail. 

http://veerubberusa.com/bicycle/Bicycle.php?name=VRB-332 (Vee &type=Power Series

^almost think they are mislabeled

I have a set of their 29er tires, seem to be good quality but only ridden for about 20 miles as I was just testing them out.  I'd be happy to send them to you if you as I won't be using them and they were free. 

I'd be happy to give them a try and would do an honest gear review in return.  My email is not hidden.  Drop me a line.

Jenson has lots of Vee Rubber 29er tires for <$30.  Anyone know anything about them?  Generally I'm a you get what you pay for guy, but I also know how the business works.  This could be the same factory producing the same tire for 2x the price.

http://www.jensonusa.com/Bicycle-Tires?o=10883&o=&o=&c=&c=C0000H01&c=&c=&c=

Thanks...I'm going to start with the cheapest option (car sunshade) and move up from there. The Gossamer pad will probably be my second option.

Did my first overnight w. my Hennessy Expedetion and LOVED the comfort of sleeping in a hammock.  I did however wake up because of the cold!  As could be expected, any part of my body on the bottom and compessing my bag got cold quickly.  I need some insulation!

Anyone use the bubble pad from Hennessy?
http://hennessyhammock.com/catalog/products/radiant_double_bubble_pad/

Thermarest would be more versatile and offer padding for the ground in the rare cases when I can't hang the hammock.

Would love to hear some thoughts & opinions from other Hennessy users.  Tx!!

I have the older model as well and I like the larger map pocket.  I mod'd mine to remove the flexible foam back and replaced it with a piece of chloroplast.  Now it doesn't bend around the stem and bars.

So I finally made it over to my LBS to try the EX-1 Disc on my Salsa Dos Niner.  Without any mods it does fit but just barely (< 5mm) over my Crossmark rear tire.  Tires with a taller tread would probably rub the bottom of the rack.  However, the stays on the rack have a decent bend, and I was able to straighten/lengthen them fairly easily.  With the minor mod I have a solid 1cm of clearance and could get a bit more if needed.  I can foresee some issues with mud, but I'll tackle that problem when it arises. 

In conclusion I would say the EX-1 is a solid budget rack that does work for 29ers without rack mounts.   

Dumb question...some of the early passages say 'Hiking Only'? 

probably not the lightest, but the hubs can be serviced by almost any shop in the world, regular/standard spokes, and the price is right!

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/WH400G00-Shimano+M525+Disc+Mavic+A317+29Er+Wheels.aspx

Answered my own question at the LBS today.  No go on 29ers.  It's really frustrating too...if the rack was just 1/2" taller it would fit just fine.   Someone at Blackburn really dropped the ball on this product.