Modified Army Jungle Hammock - Put on a Diet

I have had two of the old Army Jungle Hammocks since about 1968. I used one of them a lot for a few years and really like sleeping in it. I used a stick or something as a spreader bar and would lay in them more or less flat. I could sleep on my back or my side easy. I also had room in that hammock for a sleeping pad and a good size sleeping bag or quilt. While still in the Army I used one of them a lot during the winter - in the snow - on over-night hikes in the North Georgia Mountains.

The down side of the Jungle Hammock was the weight. It weighed 55 ounces as issued. The nice part was the total inclosed bug net attached to the Hammock.

Since those days I have made several hammocks each one getting lighter and lighter. One of the nicer hammocks was one made from silk. It was made by Ed Speer to his normal design. I have used that hammock for about 4 years.

My most recent light Hammock was one I made from Cuben Fiber. That one is really light. see thread on this forum:

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=693

I am back working on a Hammock for winter hiking and looking again at the old Army Jungle Hammock design. I have been cutting things off of it and have reduced the weight from the "Issue" weight of 55 ounces to 20.5 ounces. That does not include something carried to use as the spreader. I am using two pieces of bamboo and they weigh 3.7 ounces. If I decided to carry the bamboo sticks the total weight at this time would be 24.2 ounces.

1. Army Jungle Hammock as it was issued back around 1968 or so.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...k/MVC-001S.jpg

2. After cutting all extra material from the Hammock I went to pick it up to hang in my backyard and found one of my cats sleeping under part of it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...mock/MJH-1.jpg3.

3. Hanging in my backyard. Weight as modified and hanging is 24.2 ounces. Another one of my cats having a look.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...mock/MJH-2.jpg

4. I sewed a piece of Wal Mart Mystery Material into a second bottom to hold my Warmlight - Down Air Mattress. It is held to the Hammock by a strip of Velcro that had been used to close the bug net. It turned out a little to big so I have a bit of extra material to trim off.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...mock/MJH-3.jpg

5. This shows the bottom holding the Down Air Mattress. I need to make a few changes to the bottom piece and then I will post a weight. I may use a piece of Cuben Fiber for this and save some weight. The current bottom piece has a strip of Velcro sewed along each side. I hope to find a lighter way to attach the bottom and get rid of the Velcro.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...mock/MJH-4.jpg

Bill - What are you going to use for a tarp? And are you going to add a bug net back in? Attach it directly to the tarp rather than some sort of ridgeline?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Just Jeff

Bill - What are you going to use for a tarp? And are you going to add a bug net back in? Attach it directly to the tarp rather than some sort of ridgeline?

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Hi Jeff,

Thanks for looking.

I have several big Tarps that I can use. I also have Cuben Fiber that I bought just for a new and larger Tarp.

If you look close at the end of the hammock you can see where I left some of the material where I cut away the end panels and bug net. I am playing with this Hammock to see how it would work for winter use so a bug net isn't real important. I do plan to create some type of inclosure that might attach to the ends of the Hammock where I left the extra material. I left enough material to sew some Velcro across the ends if I want or need to and can use that to attach my ?? Cover??. How ever it works a ridge line should be how I keep it off of me. The "cover" may also get made out of Cuben Fiber to help keep the total weight down. I am still reading about Socks etc and don't have a finial design for that part yet.

For warm or warmer weather I have my Cuben Hammock and my Ed Speer Silk Hammock. The Silk Hammock has a bug net that works on a ridge line.
It is attached with a strip of Velcro along both sides. I don't like that extra weight of the Velcro for a warm weather Hammock and but I like the way the bug net works. If I was going to need a Hammock for a lot of warmer weather hiking I would use my Cuben Hammock with a bug net that drapes across a ridge line and clips or just hangs over the Hammock.

For cold weather I will trade off a bit of extra weight to be warm, dry and comfortable. I can deal a little with warm and wet but I will not trade weight for cold and wet.

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Originally Posted by gardenville

I can deal a little with warm and wet but I will not trade weight for cold and wet.

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Agreed. The cuben cover would be a lightweight solution if you could manage the condensation issues of being surrounded by it. Maybe a couple strips of bug net or DWR sewn in? If you sew the cover down on one side and use some sort of "flop over" method, you'd save the weight of one side of velcro.

I also don't like using much velcro b/c of how much it weighs.

Looking forward to your updates on this thread.

Good pictures and description of your project - thanks. It brings back memories of camping with my family in the '50s. My parents had the big tent, my sisters had the pup tent, and I got the army surplus jungle hammock. It was probably even heavier than your late '60s model.
What are the orange cords you used for the ends? I've used 120 lb. spectra and 150 lb. dacron for end cords, but had to use many more of them. I like replacing fabric with cords to save weight and provide adjustability, but the more there are the greater the possibility of tangles. Your six-cord design looks pretty good.

This should be another thread, but what tape do you use with cuben fiber? I'm using 3M 9460 in 1 " width for waterproof stuff sacks and will soon make a tarp, but I've seen another 3M tape suggested somewhere. What works for you? I sew the cuben for packs and non-waterproof stuff sacks, but I'd like a tape-only seam that's strong. The 9460 adhesive release tape turns out to be easier to work with than I expected.
David

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WVhammockmaker

What are the orange cords you used for the ends? I've used 120 lb. spectra and 150 lb. dacron for end cords, but had to use many more of them. I like replacing fabric with cords to save weight and provide adjustability, but the more there are the greater the possibility of tangles. Your six-cord design looks pretty good.

This should be another thread, but what tape do you use with cuben fiber? I'm using 3M 9460 in 1 " width for waterproof stuff sacks and will soon make a tarp, but I've seen another 3M tape suggested somewhere. What works for you? I sew the cuben for packs and non-waterproof stuff sacks, but I'd like a tape-only seam that's strong. The 9460 adhesive release tape turns out to be easier to work with than I expected.
David

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Hi David,

Thanks for your comments.

The orange cord is something from "Yale Cordage" called Pulse. It is 1/16" with 275 brake strength. The Pulse is out of production. Yale has a cord that I am trying to get more information about that might be just as good. The new cord is called "Ultrex" the 1/16" version is 800 brake strength.

I like the 6-cord arrangement but that is the way it came as issued, not my idea but I did replace the issued cord with the lighter weight orange cord. The rope to the tree is some of that 1/8" "Amsteel" stuff.

I don't use tape on my Cuben Fiber items. I sew it. The tape is like Velcro, heavy. I did try the tape once but found that I needed at least one more hand to make it work. Some folks have tried some type of glue. I might be able to work with glue. I have never had a problem sewing Cuben. When strength is necessary on something I used a 4 directional Cuben Fiber.

What a fun project! Drastic weight loss!

Modifying gear is loads of fun!

Thanks for showing us. I really enjoy seeing everyone's projects. Very inventive bunch here at HF :)