http://www.garlington.biz/Ray/SilkHammock/
Quote: Gardenville @TLB (Bill Fornshell on hammock camping)
Why silk for a hammock? That is a good question. If you have ever worn something made from silk vs Ripstop nylon you might understand. The ripstop for warm weather can be sticky and hot. I had at the time 3 hammocks made from some kind of nylon. There was some talk on the yahoo group "hammockcamping" about a different fabric for summer use. No one had a real answer. I asked about making a hammock from silk. Most folks think silk costs a lot and don't consider it. Ed said he didn't know much about silk and had no real idea if it would work. I asked if he would try one out of silk if I sent him the silk. He said yes. That has been about a year ago and the silk is holding up great. The weight of the silk I used is 1.02oz per square yard . Ed also made the bug net out of a very light weight silk gauze. The hammock with bug net and Ed's standard straps is about 14oz. This is lighter than his standard hammock and also lighter than (I think) any HH.
The silk is SO nice. It is very cool against your skin and will dry fast if it happens to get wet or needs to be washed. I now use the silk hammock year around and have sleep in it down to 29 degrees. I use any number of pads for how ever cold I expect and a good down sleeping bag or quilt. I have a new Stephenson DAM to try this winter and expect to extend the hammock sleeping range down to between 0 and 20 degrees. This is with a sleeping bag/quilt rated at the expected temp range.
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