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need hammocks
I am looking for hammocks for my family. I have 3 sons and the wife I need to outfit. They havent cought the hanging around way of life, yet. but to be honest they have only tent camped. I have the only hammock at this point but the wife does like napping in it while the boys are all fishin'.
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Budget?
Hammocks are the cheap part of this hobby. Tarps, quilts, pads, etc get expensive for one person, let alone 5. :scared: You have been warned.
Have you thought about making some no-sew hammocks? Might be the best way to gauge their future interest in the hobby and will cost you a whole bunch less than buying a commercial hammock. At least to get started.
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Yeah I am finding that out(how expensive it can get). I am pretty temp tolerant and can easly go with just a fleece and clothes down into the 60 mark but the kids are still skinny mini's so they are much more likely to get cold. I didnt honestly think of making a no-sew hammock to tes the waters with. That is actually a great idea. I have TONS of paracord around which would be more than enough for the kids. Guess you would do this by just buying cheap fabric and doing some quick folds and lashing. I could run a quick ridgeline and since i just started treating our clothes with permetherin might not even need a screen for them. Thanks for the input.
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Thomas I'm sure that bugnets of some sort are in your future.
I would consider the DIY Hammock and a bugnet sock. Encapsulating each hammock, over the needed ridgeline accessible via zipper or omni tape.
Tom
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Can you sew?
If so, adding a bugnet is no big deal. You can get lightweight mesh, depending on your bug sizes... If mosquitos are the only problem, then tulle works, if not, I've found other mesh materials that are cheap. You can sew the material to one side of the hammock, sew pockets in the mesh for weights, and drape it over a ridgeline. As suggested above, a bugnet sock is very effective. Treating the hammock/bugnet with Permethrin would help, too.
Insulation:
For the kids, a cheap way to go is a double-layer hammock with a cheap pad. For adults, it normally takes 2 pads (1 cut-up) to make a wider insulator.
For summer use, I've tied fleece blankets and suspended them under a kid-sized hammock with lightweight bungee cords with success.... It all comes down to how cold/windy it will get.
Macentyre has some great Insultex underquits that are reasonably priced.
Be sure to use some sort of 1" or wider strap to avoid damaging trees. Lots of good info on DIY hammocks can be found on risk's and JustJeff's websites:
http://imrisk.com
http://tothewoods.net
Best of luck!
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Thanks JS
I have never ran a sewing machine in my life, BUT my mother used to work for Haggar Slacks when I was a kid and knows how to sew with a machine:cool:
Says she might be rusty but could show me what I need to know to get started. I like the idea of a quick bugnet and adding pockets for weights to keep the netting pulled tight.
I am a HUGE fan of Permethrin. I have already soaked the kidsclothes, wife's clothes and my hiking clothes in the stuff. I also spray it on my hammock, backpacks and other outdoor equip(except for sock bottoms, hats, etc....)
I really do like the idea of a quick couple yards of material and a ridgeline and the whipping to finish it off. This is why I came to this forum. Before joining this site, I had no idea of how a hammock was made. Now with a few ideas and tutilage, I can go to the fabric store get a few yards of fabrics, pull out one of my rolls of 550 cord and whip up a quick hammock. Even putting a second layer to hold an underpad would be pretty simple. Any reason 550 cord would not work (at least for the kids)? I am not too worried about weight. When I take my dog for walks or go hiking on short hikes, I keep a 50lb pack so when I do go out for overnighters, carrying a full pack wont break my back.
Thanks for the input guys, I think I just talked myself into making the kids (well with you all helping)hammocks. If the kids work out, I might even make the wife a hammock as well.
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You soaked your kids, you soaked your wife, and you soaked your hiking clothes in permethrin? You're my hero! :lol: Well, that's the way I read it!
If you haven't already found it, here's the link to Imrisk's $9 hammock with no sewing! If it takes you a full 10 minutes to make one, you're goofing off. Even with a munchkin helping, it won't take more than 15 minutes or so and how cool is it for them to make their own hammock?
550 paracord will work great for the kids. Especially if you're not cranking it up super tight. A tight hammock generally isn't as comfy anyway.
Boris
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Wouldn't Claytor Jungle Hammocks be a good way to start? Bug net is built in, and the double bottom accomodates a pad, which each of your family members already has given that they've camped in tents. At $150/ea. you can outfit the wife and kids with their own net-equipped and tarp-covered hammock for $600. I've got that much invested in my Speer outfit alone.
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I think for the kids you may look at the ultralight skeeter beeter hammock. Not the big pro model.
http://websearch.cs.com/gw/boomframe...er-hammock.htm
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[QUOTE=Boris Losdindawoods;260989]You soaked your kids, you soaked your wife, and you soaked your hiking clothes in permethrin? You're my hero! :lol: Well, that's the way I read it!
Good catch on that one Boris! I guess I should have slowed down a little on that part of the post. Maybe that is why they have all been walking around twitching and complaining about funny itches.
Actually, I corrected my post so it wouldnt throw some schmuck with no sense of humor into a tailspin and have child protective services digging into my personal requirements for keeping my family bug free:laugh:
I know they would absolutely love to make them. I have 4 spools of 550 so they can even choose the color. Black, green, orange and blue. Good call! Then if they do decide to become hangers(already house apes so it would be logical)I can invest money into full systems.
@ FarStar:Good idea, Its actually cheaper than that. If you buy more than one they drop the price to 140. I have to admit, I might be a little jealous of them. I would have to send off my hammock to 2Q to get zippers put onto my hammock so I could flop in instead of "Being Birthed" from a HH.