Profile

Name: solorider

Most Recent Reviews

My husband experienced hammock envy on a recent camping trip in the Black Hills of SD. After some net surfing I found a great deal on Amazon.com for a Hammock Bliss. I figured I couldn't lose on a deal like that. In using it at home, I found it to be more comfortable than our rope style hammock. The amount of material is strong and generous. I can almost wrap myself up like a mummy to keep the flying nasties off of me.

Recently, I tried it camping. Looking for the right trees was the hardest part. But, it worked well without the use of tree straps thanks to the strong cords. My only difficulty with HB was getting out of it. Chalk that up to maybe age and weight. However, I used my canoe paddle as a stretcher bar and was able to gracefully eject myself out of the Bliss.

Basic three word summary, PORTable, COMFORTable and AFFORDable.

Initial review - purchased in July 08. We traveled over 700 miles…

Initial review - purchased in July 08.
We traveled over 700 miles to WI to purchase the RAR trailer. Before leaving the dealer we found the spare tire to be flat. Unfortunately, we headed out of town a bit on the interstate looking for a gas station so we could fill the tire as the dealer did not have a compressor. To our dismay, the spare tire did not fill so we were SOL if we got a flat. We continued on to MN and stopped for the night. In the morning a motel guest pointed out that our left tire was flat. So, we had to get both tires patched before completing our trip home. We contacted the dealer and they sent out a new tire plus reimbursed us for the tire patching. The new spare did not match the other tires and the cap was cracked so we just changed the cap out. Thus our initial introduction to the RAR was a little rocky.

That being said, so far I do like the trailer. I haven't tried to conquer the art of trailer backing (let the husband do it) but I feel comfortable unhitching it and I am able to lift it with a canoe and kayak on it. I changed out the square bars for longer round bars. We can also use our Thule Ascent gear box on it. It does drive smoothly and if we don't have any more incidents with it I should be happy with it. It is a good gear solution for me as I downsized from an SUV to the smaller vehicle. Now, I can still carry all my rec toys and get decent gas mileage.

The reason for my rating it 8 so far is because of the tire issues putting us at risk and my disappointment at getting something defective right at the get go. Also, I wasn't sure if the trailer would work with my Pontiac Vibe and I contacted the company twice before making my purchase and received no return email. I also sent the company an email just letting them know about our initial experience with their trailer and how the dealer handled the matter and received no comments or apology for our difficulties. To me that shows a disinterest in their customers. Always carry your tools with you!!!

As for their advertising it as SEXY....I'd rather have it be sturdy and reliable :) .

Great canoe for a single person. Very good secondary stability. I've owned it for 4-5 years and use it on a local reservoir. It is slightly rockered for use on Class I whitewater. Mad River helped me out when I lost some seat pieces and screws - gave me a replacement kit without charge.