Hammock designs/utility for bug out bags

[CamoDeafie]

Hello; I've an account at the Hammocks Forums pending moderator approval....and I thought this might be a good place to ask here as well....
I'm not a small spring chicken, nor am I comfortable sleeping in what is essentially a bodybag.... which is the type I've seen most often for sale.......as opposed to a netting type, which is NOT comfortable. I find that I like the feel of a cot or stretcher type, but not the fact the aluminum cots will bend due to me sitting on one side instead of laying across...SO.... I've been looking at the following designs;
the TreeBoat from New Tribe; made of really really sturdy material, 1000D Cordura or similar, with a double layer?


it's made for arborists and people who climb really really tall trees (good places to be safe from bears, not good place to be safe from falls and the like..) it's also ridiculously expensive..at $260 or so I could use that money towards ammo and food instead...

the other design I'm liking is the Duluth Packs Pathfinder hammock/log cot;

it is a multipurpose design; not just a hammock/cot but also a pack and a bed roll for ground, and for carrying items...it is also very heavy, and made of canvas duck material.. and costs $225....
both of these designs are capable of holding 300-600 pounds depending on model;

SO...I've been looking at the fabric selection at my local source for cordura and camos...

I am thinking 330 Denier Cordura in Woodland would make a handy, nice simple hammock similar in design to the above two, strong enough for someone of 300 pounds or so with gear? (I am losing weight, but I'd like the added safety margin...) I would be using Polyester rope for suspension, if not polyester 1.5"-2" cargo webbing... along with climbing caribiners for the ends and tree straps;
does anyone here use a hammock for camping and hiking, along with a simple tarp or poncho? I figure it would be less hassle to carry than a tent, and be quick to set up....also; it won't depend on the ground conditions, just depends more on the terrain type (wooded versus none); I do see that people have hung hammocks between large rocks, along with fence posts and vehicles...
as for the tarp, I'm leaning towards using what I already have; camo tarps I don't mind buying another one..or making one out of ripstop nylon if I can find a vendor that makes em in 120" width rolls... (10 ft)

what are your experiences with using hammocks or similar in the wet NW? Looking to ditch weight from my 72 hour bags, and figured a hammock and a tarp would save space and weight....also looking to make an Underquilt if I need to from old rectangular sleeping bag.

Read More

 

[TapRackNGo]

I just bought a <broken link removed> . Get a good under quilt and you should be gtg. I am ditching my ground sleeping system as well.

 

[CamoDeafie]

hmm. I do have an old 30 degree sleeping bag that's sized for a youth, might make for a good torso length UQ..... the material for the hammock, the 330Cordura in camo; is $9 a yard; so at 3 yards, that's $27 without the rope or webbing or hardware...and the only additional cost would be rope/hardware/webbing, and my own time. might make it shorter than 9 feet, might not, I don't know yet. at just under 9 feet, I feel it would give me room for a small bag of gear as a pillow, or room enough to get a good flat lay. I've tried the normal solid bodied/gathered end hammocks and found that I can't get comfortable, regardless of sag, unless I have open airflow above....the ones I tried, were either too narrow (too much shoulder squeeze), or too wide (body bag like feel, with no open airflow)...but the spreader bar hammocks like the patio furniture, much more comfortable for me..though definitely not easy to pack

 

[TapRackNGo]

This guy is great shugemery - YouTube

 

[CamoDeafie]

ooo thanks for the youtube link unfortunately I'm deaf...can't quite understand the guy if I can't read his lips that well over youtube...but I can see the ideas.... the fabric store do have lighter ripstop nylon and taffeta materials....along with a certain type of diamond weave material?

 

[TapRackNGo]

This guy has Closed captioned. Click the cc button bottom right hand side of the video What&#39;s in my pack for a thru-hike. Sub 10ibs - Hammock Stuff. - YouTube

Im not familiar with making them, don't have the investment of time. But looking forward to getting out.

 

[CamoDeafie]

HOLY MOLY bad bad captioning.... you should try it sometime..... so many misypes and typos and wrong words.... ok at 2:20 of that video the caption reads "underwear so basically I don't wear underwear that reliable lighter I have" .....

I make gear; so I'm pretty familiar with making sturdy stitches in 1000D cordura and webbing for load bearing equipment.... so for hammocks, it is dependent on the stitch pattern and material; which is why I originally considered Expedition Canvas carhart brown heavy material for the hammock, but after getting a feel of the material at the store along with the others, it is WAY too heavy for me....and 1000D is probably overkill, unless I expect to hang 300 feet off the ground like the makers of Treeboats do..... so 330 uncoated to 500D is going to be more than enough for me, and it's hard wearing; which would be a good thing to me. I've been reading the Hammock forums and "Ultimate Hang" forums as well...and one thing I have noticed, I am rather partial to the bridge hammock types, like those shown in the pics I posted; and similarly, the ones used by the Officers on sailing vessels and Lawson Blue Ridge hammock, although that one is an all-in-one system with tent poles and such... but the idea is there. Might be I've been trying too large hammocks or hammocks that aren't ideal for me..... they didn't have EVERY hammock available, most were Grand Trunk and Trek Light Gear stuff. I figure that a bridge type might be a better fit for me; considering my sleeping habits; on the sides or the belly most of the time.

 

[afrank250]

Have you checked out Rainshed in downtown for fabrics

 

[CamoDeafie]

Have you checked out Rainshed in downtown for fabrics

that is my primary source of fabrics for most of my custom shooting gear projects..... on the HF; they say for my weight, 2.2 oz Taffeta would work for me, or two layers of 1.9oz (70D) Nylon Ripstop...as opposed to 330D+ Cordura nylon.

 

[CamoDeafie]

since spring is here, and the camping/outing/training season is starting up.....
here is one set up of my hammock, with a 9x12 plastic tarp;


and one with a duck hunter bivy shelter; I added the side zipper so I can get in and out

view from tree to inside;

and a version of the same set up, but without ground stake, using spreader bars;
the only thing with the above set up that I can see, is that due to being fixed at only two points, the shelter WILL rotate like a kite in wind, unless I put a stake or two on the ground...so if I have to stake it out, might as well as ditch the spreader bars and use lines to ground stakes.
I have a camo underquilt I made, and an 80s Mummy bag, Intermediate Cold that will help keep me warm in the Oregon nights. Might add bug netting to the ends to keep bugs out..might not...not sure yet.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Cammo, an easy way to drape bug netting might be to sew small rare earth magnets into the hem at strategic points and hold them in place with opposing magnets inside the tarp. That way use the net or not, your choice. Pretty cool rig. Good luck with it! SRG

 

[Hook686]

Nice, but looks rather bulky for a Bug Out Bag to carry with you. They look great for camping in cold wet conditions when you can transport your kit to your camp site. In a foot Bug Out situation I will skip this load.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Nice, but looks rather bulky for a Bug Out Bag to carry with you. They look great for camping in cold wet conditions when you can transport your kit to your camp site. In a foot Bug Out situation I will skip this load.

It isn't bulky. I can fit the entire thing into an USGI butt pack, and lash the hammock bars to the bottom..the bulkiest thing is the insulation system, which involves a USGI Intermediate Cold Weather sleeping bag....which will be replaced by a down quilt system when I can acquire one. The hammock and the tarp, whichever tarp, will also fit the small compartment of the civilian backpack shown in the duck hunter camo pictures, with room to spare, which again, leaves a lot of space for everything else if I lash the insulation to the outside of the frame in an MSS compression sack.

Alternatively, I can stuff the hammock and suspension alone into an USGI SAW ammo pouch, and stuff the duck hunter camo into another SAW ammo pouch, or roll up the 12x9 tarp and lash it to my hydration bladder with cord.
again, the bulkiest item is the insulation, which will depend on how cold the weather gets.

EDIT: So apparently, the hammock, duck hunter tarp, hardware, and stakes gives me a total weight of just around 9 pounds.....more than I thought. I decided to weight the insulation part, the camo underquilt and the USGI Intermediate Cold Mummy bag in MSS bag, it came out to 14 pounds....add that to a pack that weights 11 pounds (the Coleman Peak 1 framed ALICE Hellcat mod with the MOLLE shoulders and belt)....that tells me its almost 30 pounds without clothes, food, water.

Break down of the set up weight;
Hammock without hardware, but with suspension straps, 3 pounds.- The main reason its rather heavy, its made of 330D uncoated Cordura Nylon fabric, 3 yards of it. According to Dream Hammocks chart, this is far more beefier than I really need, (500+ pounds) at 5oz per sq yard...and it started at 60" wide.. actual size is 103 inches by 58 inches with triple stitching on the channels and rolled hems.
Duck Hunter tarp, 4 pounds.
hardware (quick links and cam buckles and stakes) 2 pounds.
the 12x9 tarp is 1 and a half pound though. I AM planning to sew up a lightweight tarp but I don't know how much silicone impregnating will add in weight....

 

[Spec.-K]

I have a Hennessey Hammock.
Probably the best design I've seen.
Check them out-
http://hennessyhammock.com/

 

[CamoDeafie]

I have a Hennessey Hammock.
Probably the best design I've seen.
Check them out-
http://hennessyhammock.com/

I am aware of HH (Hennessy Hammocks), just can't justify their costs versus making my own. Would probably make a new hammock out of lighter material when I can get it.....and see how it holds me up. This hammock though, the suspension is probably the heaviest item of the unit, due to being made of polypropylene webbing....I am probably going to replace it with cordage (Amsteel type), but I do like the fact I have the spreader bars on it, so we'll see how it lays without the spreaders, as its under 9 feet. There is the option of making Naval Clew style suspension with the quick links and Amsteel cordage which might weight the same as the webbing suspension though.....things to ponder hmm. I am tempted to get two yards of the 60" wide closed cell foam and a few yards of 1.1 ripstop and make a pad sleeve for the material.....so that I don't need to have the USGI mummy bag and underquilt all together.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Just made my lightweight 1.1 Ripstop woodland camo tarp; it is 126" ridge line, 124" wide from side to side, and in the shape of a hex, a slightly asymmetric hex.....it is very light, and packs down very small, in fact, on my Recon 72 hour pack and harness system,one of the ALICE SAW ammo pouches holds the tarp and hammock suspension and tarp lines and stakes, while the other ammo pouch holds my hammock. In the 72 hour bag, I have my water and food, along with clothes for 2-3 days of being out in the country, and on the harness, I have smaller foods and folding stove, two knives, and a compass and folded map, oh and first aid kit in the top flap pockets of the small pack. I also have the sleeping pad and a light summer weight sleeping bag lashed to the pack as well.

 

[MountainBear]

Try this sight. Expensive, but quality.

http://www.jacksrbetter.com/

 

[CamoDeafie]

Made an even smaller tarp using 4 yards of this material; <broken link removed>
while it is not true green woodland like the hex tarp above; it is waterproof to begin with...
so here are the pictures of the system; in them, I didn't modify the hammock suspension, and mounted the tarp a little higher off the hammock; but yesterday I redid the suspension and mounted tarp lower to the ground, and it covered the entire hammock just fine....the picture of the belt kit; the small pouch on the right is what holds the tarp, while the other small pouch has the tree straps and suspension parts, and the SAW ammo pouch holds the hammock. The tarp has a 9 ft ridge line, and is roughly 7 feet 4 inches wide using 55" wide material; it is quite a minimalist tarp, and could be used without the hammock as a ground based tarp with many set ups....

 

[VWTim]

I have a Hennessey Hammock.
Probably the best design I've seen.
Check them out-
http://hennessyhammock.com/

I've been using a Hennessy in my pack for 3 season use for a few years. The asymmetrical design really helps. It's the best night sleep I've ever gotten outdoors and rivals the comfort of my mattress at home. For winter I'm back on the ground with a shelter tarp. At 300#, I've never had issues or worries on the Hennessey holding up, not the lightest, but it's lasted.

 

[AMProducts]

While I'm not sure I can be much help on the hammock side, as far as the tarp goes, if you're willing to bypass the camouflage, you might want to try tyvek, I made my bivvy bag out of it, it's absolutely water repellant, and is also breathable.

Personally, I don't like the hammock route, as it takes you off the ground and exposes you to more wind, it can be a good thing compared to sleeping on the ground, but this is why I opted for a tent, and a mattress. However, in the denser forests I certainly see the merits of being off the ground, away from the water and creepy crawlies.