Portaledges. Who likes what brand and why?

There are around 5-6 manufacturers of Portaledges. Which one is the easiest to put up in a tree? Where can you buy mosquito netting for Portaledges.

Does the treeboat count as a porty? That could be a fave!

Porty's are quite spendy. I made one following directions from a rock climbing magazine. Go to KMart, buy a camping cot made of an aluminum frame. Get some 5mil cord, tie it to the corners, sides...and have them meet at the top where you tie in one huge knot. Viola!

It will take some modifications/additions to make it perfect. But super cheap!

love
nick

Just a note on the reason I use a stretcher for my platform:

Stretchers are made to be supported on four legs and therefore require only 4 points of support from the webbing. Most camp cots have either six legs or 3 wide supports, which would require 6 points of suspension from the webbing, complicating the rigging and somewhat interfering with easy access.

I like the full-length straight-line support of a stretcher, but it is a bit narrow (the better to squeeze more of them in a military ambulance, I suppose).

You can get them at your local military surplus store for 20-30 dollars. Add 10-15 dollars of webbing and a little creativity and you're sleeping like a baby.

regards,
-Peter "Knothead" Hedin

I notice no one posted anything about "real" portaledges

ie- www.terragalleria.com/mountain/ mountain-image.bigw3425.html

Is it that tree climbers are too cheap to afford the real thing, or just too realistic to realize that they are unnecessary for our needs?

I use an A-5 single and a double Portaledge. They are indeed expensive. I use mine on redwood climbs or trees where single points of suspention are needed. I also prefer a stiff bottom to the more bowed Treeboat (of which I have around 8). Has anyone used a Black Diamond Portaledge? They are supposed to be easier to assemble aloft. My A-5 is not real easy to assemble aloft- but it can be done easily with practice they tell me.

Fish Products has a new "Econoledge" for $199:

http://www.fishproducts.com/catalog/portaledges.html

I just received one and I'm anxious to try it out.

Although I like the idea of a Tree Boat, I'm too tall (6'3") for the regular one. New Tribe tells me that they are going to have a Tall Boat for taller people, but then I still have a back problem that prevents me from finding comfort in a hammock-type structure. Supposedly, the assymetrical hammocks from Hennessey Hammock don't let you go into the curved position as much, but tying into it may be a problem. Treeman, do you have the mosquito netting for a Tree Boat? When I talked to them, New Tribe didn't think that it would seal enough to keep out those mosquitoes in Panama. Not having seen the net, I don't know. How do you tie in to a Tree Boat with the netting and still get a good netting seal?
If you are short(er), the Dryad (www.terrelogic.com) is very nice, and cheaper than an A5.

I'd love to hear a test report about the Econoledge!

Greetings Patrick,
I used a zippered mosquito net from New Tribe while in Panama last summer, it worked fine, I only had one time when a Black Bee got beyond the net and kindly bit and then stung me. I will be bringing it back next year, along with the featherboat. I did have one student who bought a Long Boat from New Tribe, he is over 6'4" and that style worked great for him. It was a bit harder to find the perfect location in the canopy to anchor the boat down. But all tree dwelling beings like a good challange, don't they?
See you in a couple of months.

My preferance is for a 'ledge. Having a flat surface to sleep on is much more comfy. Setting up a PL is quicker too. There are many more places to setup a PL since only one point of suspension is needed.

The down side is the expense, bulk and weight.

I sewed up a mosey net the goes over the whole PL. It has a bottom and zips up so the bugs are on the outside and I'm on the inside

If anyone is interested, I have a Pika double ledge with a cover for sale. It's only been used about five nights and is in perfect condition. I'll sell the whole thing for $475.

http://www.pikamtn.com/9bivouacgear.html

I have a link to instructions for making a PL. If I can find the link, I'll post it here.

Tom

Any problems with having your rope go under the mosquito netting? (For other readers, the mosquito netting attaches with Velcro to the body of the hammock.)
Did you make your Speer or buy it premade? Thanks, Patrick

Here's the article about the homemade PL. Be sure to look at the spreader bar that he put underneath. It's critical.

http://www.rockclimbing.com/articles/view.php?ID=124

Tom

I just received a Floating Dome 1 from www.trease.biz . I'll be checking it out over the next few days and I'll post info about set up and comfort. I'm hoping to do a side by side (by side) comparison with a Dryad and a Crazy Creek LEX hammock.

Trease look very cool! maybe more comfy than the treeboat.

That trease looks too good to be true! They have them set up with, in some pictures, 30' of what looks like 1" tubular webbing. The tent has got to sag like crazy when you put weight in it.

So who here has used one. I'd like to know more.

love
nick

I believe they use some sort of tensioning device on the support lines.