Would hemp fabric make a good hammock body? The quick browsing I have done has yeilded weights starting at about 4 oz./yd. So, that is twice the weight I am using with ripstop, but that is not the point. I just want to know if it would work!

Don't tell me to try it myself...'cause I'll just end up doing it! :D

Dang this one looks nice! It is twine, though.

http://www.mayanlegacy.com.au/Hemp%20Hammocks/King%20size%20Hemp%20Hammock.htm

And it brags about hemp being mold and mildew resistant!

How about this one:

http://www.ecopatio.com/shop/hemphammock.html

It is hemp fabric, although it is probably heavy.

You could make this hammock for your lil hiking buddy out of hemp!

http://toydesigningvashti.blogspot.com/2007/03/hamster-hemp-hammock.html

That's cool man.

Hemp is a really strong fabric so you probably wouldn't have issues with it ripping or anything like that. And if it's true that it's mold and mildew resistant I can't see why it wouldn't work.

My biggest concern with hemp hammock body, outside of weight, would be texture. I used to use hemp rope a lot as it was used in stage rigging for a long time. It would eventually get very smooth and soft with used and breaking in, but until then it would deliver splinters the size of small cigars and the length of of a chow's chest fur. The other problem with hemp is that it tends to get soft and sloppy from the inside. It was not unusual for a hemp rope to rot from the inside out. We would counter-twist the rope from time to time just to make sure it wasn't going to surpise us one day.

You can buy really really soft hemp fabrics now.

Two things come to mind, after thinking about this awhile...

One is what are the disadvantages to using a hammock made of woven twine? I figure most of those hammocks are made of cotton, so that is going to be avoided, but if we find out hemp is better perhaps woven hammocks could be an area we haven't fully explored yet. RamblinRev, how long did it take for the hemp rope to rot?

The other thing is durability. The heavy weight goes without saying, but perhaps we could look at it as a quality issue. My Tilley TH4 hemp hat will probably last a lifetime, so the extra few ounces are worth it to me for a hat that will be able to have many stories to tell one day!

Also, I am interested in how the fabric will stretch. Brooks leather bike saddles are made of leather, and thus, the saddles will eventually form fit to the rider. Many professional riders and serious tourers use these saddle so religiously that when they change bikes, they take the saddle from their old bike with them. These saddles eventually become things of beauty, and examples of another be-u: Beusage. http://www.ecovelo.info/2008/06/03/a-deep-patina/

Hemp rope takes a long time to rot if it is properly maintained. Theaters are rarely optimally maintained. Even so I can't remember ever having a rope holding any significant weight break on me. Most of thet experience was finding rope coiled up in a back room somewhere and using it support some minor set pieces. It could look good on the outside, but when you counter-twisted the rope there would be powdery stuff in the recesses.

Probably more "dry rot" than "mildew". Whatever the difference is.

I am sure hemp is used for hammock beds in the part of the world where tied hammocks are the norm. It is a very strong durable fiber with a high tensile strength. Ships used hemp hawsers for centuries and some may still.

HEMP is currently being used by designers in clothing. When thinking of hemp, the illegal plant, marijuana comes to mind. No, hemp fabric does not contain the narcotic chemical that, when smoked produces the "high" that smoking marijuana produces. Marijuana is from the dried flowers and leaves of the Cannabis Sativa plant. Hemp fabric is made from the stems of the plant. The stems are processed to dissolve the gum or pectin and separate the fibers which are then processed again and woven into yarns and fabric. The finest hemp for fabric is produced in Italy. Hemp fabric is like linen in both hand and appearance. Hemp fabric withstands water better than any other textile product. It wrinkles easily and should not be creased excessively to avoid wear and breakage of the fibers.

http://www.fabrics.net/hemp.asp

There would be a major problem with a camping hammock from hemp. It does not take well to creases and being packed tightly. The rope/twine fibers tend to break from the inside out. The inside of the rope experiencing more stress and tighter creases than the outsiide. For a bakyard hammock it is probably a very reasonable fabric.

On further research... burlap is often of hemp or jute. (they are not the same fiber but have similar properties.) So if you would trust burlap as a hammock bed you could probably trust hemp. I have worked with quite a bit of rotten burlap in my day. Again, it can look ok but have a very sudden catastrophic failure.

I am sure hemp is used for hammock beds in the part of the world where tied hammocks are the norm. It is a very strong durable fiber with a high tensile strength. Ships used hemp hawsers for centuries and some may still.

Thanks for the analysis RamblinRev! I am also sure that if taken care of, hemp hammocks could last for a long time. Clearly those hemp ropes used on ships went through much more than we could put it through!

So, can anyone comment on rope woven hammocks, their lay and any other concerns related to using these hammocks in a backpacking context?

Edit: Sorry we were posting at the same time...

So could the woven rope hammocks be better than the fabric for packing down over and over? Again, can you speculate as to how long this "breaking down" would take with proper care?

woven hammocks can be nice. generally the smaller the thread/string, and the smaller the holes between them the better and more expensive they are. i have one made of woven waxed cotton string. it's pretty heavy but aside from that it should be fine for camping. like all hammocks, just keep it dry and out of the dirt and it should last a long time.

Narwhalin.... I don't have enuf appropriate knowledge of the fabric to be able gauge such things. I can remember hoisting around burlap bags of sweet corn as my family would process them for freezing. Some would make it fine and others would rip open. But the individual history of each bag is either lost to my memory or I never knew it in the first place. On the whole we would probably do 6-7 burlap bags of corn in a season and I couldn't even give you a sense of how often they burst. Some things are gratefully forgotten... :)

Thank you, everyone, for your input!

I am looking around, and here are the fabrics I am finding:

2.1 oz/yd hemp/silk blend (Out of stock)
http://www.hemptraders.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_41&products_id=119

4.1 oz/yd hemp/silk
http://www.hemptraders.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_41&products_id=40

Some reasonable weight fabrics (3.6-4 oz) on this page:

http://www.envirotextile.com/chinese-hemp-fabric.htm

Here is a textile company in California that has many different fabrics 100% hemp and blends:

http://www.dongpinghemp.com/ (Go to Products, then Hemp)

I talked to them on the phone for awhile, and the lady was very helpful. She told me she had one other guy making hammocks, and that he used 16 oz. fabric for his! :eek: No way!

So, I told her that I was using ~2 oz/yd ripstop nylon, and asked her to recommend a weight comparable in hemp. She didn't know much about ripstop. However, she told me hemp is 5X greater strength for the weight compared to cotton.

Another thing I learned is about the different weaves. Muslin and Summer Cloth are the two weaves that I have seen come up that are in the weight range. Muslin is lighter and more tightly woven. Summer Cloth is heavier, but looser knit and more breathable. I think I will try to go with muslin. What do you think?

After she thought about it for awhile, the lady told me she didn't recommend the hemp/silk blends but that she had a 2.5 oz/yd hemp muslin that she thought would probably be adequate. Any thoughts?

Sounds do-able.

Cool. After thinking about this for a day, I wanted to get some input from you all on the forum on what weight I should go with if I use hemp.

The lady on the phone said hemp is 5X the strength of cotton. Does anyone have any idea of how ripstop nylon compares to cotton, so I can logically figure out what weight to use? Or, if anyone just has an opinion based on previous experience with hemp, that would be fine, too.

Also, I cannot find any hemp thread for sewing on a sewing machine. Does it exist?

I would like as much input as possible before I shell out $40+ for the fabric, so I appriciate anything you think might be helpful. Even if you think it is a bad idea to use hemp for a hammock, I think it would be helpful, so don't hold back! :)

If it was going to cost me >$40 for the fabric for the hammock body I have to ask myself why I would want to make one myself instead of buying a cotton mexican/mayan hammock already made and tested. Now of course the DIY virus is very virulent and I have no problem with that.

I think I would be interested in hemp/silk blends for a couple of reasons. both are very strong for their wieght. Raw silk, as opposed to fine silk, is a wonderful texture and can be dyed to marvalous colors. But again, I am not sure I am sufficient infected by the DIY virus to invest the money.

http://www-materials.eng.cam.ac.uk/mpsite/short/OCR/ropes/default.html

This article would seem to directly relate cotton to hemp in terms of rope. I don't know how much help it would be but then I am not an engineer type.

If it was going to cost me >$40 for the fabric for the hammock body I have to ask myself why I would want to make one myself instead of buying a cotton mexican/mayan hammock already made and tested. Now of course the DIY virus is very virulent and I have no problem with that.

I think I would be interested in hemp/silk blends for a couple of reasons. both are very strong for their wieght. Raw silk, as opposed to fine silk, is a wonderful texture and can be dyed to marvalous colors. But again, I am not sure I am sufficient infected by the DIY virus to invest the money.

Yep. It is the DIY thing, again. Plus, I am interested in making the hammock out of a natural fiber.

http://www-materials.eng.cam.ac.uk/mpsite/short/OCR/ropes/default.html

This article would seem to directly relate cotton to hemp in terms of rope. I don't know how much help it would be but then I am not an engineer type.

Very interesting...

Looks to me that hemp has a significantly higher stiffness to weight ratio compared to polyester or nylon whilst the polyester and nylon have higher strength to weight. Am I reading this right?

you should consider silk. there is info somewhere (either here or the yahoo hammockcamping group) about some people using silk (maybe risk), and i don't think it was much heavier than 1.1 or 1.9. i bet silk would win comfort wise too.

i remember looking at a website that sold it, and i don't think it was very expensive at all like you might think.

I think HC4U made a hammock out of silk. Here it is http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=278&c=4

I've been interested in using hemp for a hammock as well.

I'd want to use it in warm/tropical areas and I am more concerned about breatheablity than I am with weight or even longevity.

I've spent much time in even the finest of "Mayan" or "Mexican" style hammocks; but, never really liked how my clothing would catch on the woven lines.

Back when ships sails were made from hemp.. I wonder what the hammocks were made from? I did a quick google search and didn't find much; but, I figure the idea might spur someone else to find something I didn't.

BTW - If ever shopping for a "Mayan" hammock.. there are really three types of weave. Single, double, or triple. Triple is the most comfortable, (tighter weave) the hardest to make, and the most expensive. I gave a friend of mine a triple hammock made from sisal (natural fiber used for sailing ropes 200 years ago) for a wedding gift. It could sleep five. (Ok, two adults and 3 children) It cost me nearly $100 USD in Mexico and was no simple feat to make.. kinda like the RV version of a hammock.. :lol:

As big of fan as I am of hemp products, I don't think I'd want a hammock made of hemp. Back in the day, when women adored me and men feared me (college) I had some uber cool hemp sandals. Thought I was the bomb-diggity. However, nothing in my experience holds odor quite as well as hemp. Maybe there are different processes around these days that were not utilized back then, but experience is one heck of a teacher. I still shed a small tear when I recall the day I tossed them out. They were so bad the rats came running out of the dumpster in disgust. :scared:

While I have no research to back this up.. Linen would be an obvious choice for ship board hammocks. By the time sails were ready to be retired I suspect they were too damaged to be cut up and made into hammocks for the crew. Working of my memory, not always a good thing to do I would vote for linen.

As big of fan as I am of hemp products, I don't think I'd want a hammock made of hemp. Back in the day, when women adored me and men feared me (college) I had some uber cool hemp sandals. Thought I was the bomb-diggity. However, nothing in my experience holds odor quite as well as hemp. Maybe there are different processes around these days that were not utilized back then, but experience is one heck of a teacher. I still shed a small tear when I recall the day I tossed them out. They were so bad the rats came running out of the dumpster in disgust. :scared:


I've have a white long sleeved hemp shirt that is a favorite of mine in the tropics. It never retained odor any more than any other shirt I owned.. in fact, it has outlasted pretty much every other shirt I've owned including synthetics. It breathes better than synthetics, and dries quicker than cotton. It's super comfy.. kinda like your old sandals.

I too have the problem with the stinky feet. I think it has more to do with over loved pieces of footwear than anything else. (My stinky cannoning sandals are my retired 4 year old everyday sandals.. lol)

I'm think hemp would make a fine hammock for car camping/back yards/etc.. I just see it as bulkier and heavier than nylon.. Not so good for through hiking.. but OK if you don't have to lug it too far.

I guess I should just sew one up and become a guinea pig for the sake of us all. :lol: (Paycheck is being deposited tomorrow .. lol)

Edit: I would have to say I would rather have a synthetic hammock if the @#@$! hit the fan weather wise in a cooler climate. I think hemp and cotton are similar in this regard and would be a major drawback to anyone camping in cooler temps. In warmer areas(tropics).. I
d be interested in the advantage of increase breatheabily.

Well.. doing some research I found a 5.8oz weave and 7.5 oz "summercloth" that look promising. I'm sure a hammock made from this would be pretty overbuilt. Any input?

I could probably go lighter; but, I do weigh about 215lbs.. so maybe I shouldn't . They do have a 4.6 oz 100% hemp "linen".

There are several silk and cotton blends available; but, I'd prefer to stay away from cotton. Silk might be ok.. I'm not too worried about "roughness" as my hemp shirt is coarse, yet soft.

A link here:

http://www.hemptraders.com/index.php?cPath=21



I'm kinda leaning towards the 7.5 oz stuff for it's looser weave and better breatheablity. Also, was wondering about tread. Cotton is out(don't want it to rot).. would it be wrong/not good to use poly thread with hemp/natural fibers?

Anyways.. still considering the idea.. it would be cool.