hammock baby wrap hair-brained idea

[kg8jk]

I have been thinking a lot about ultra-lightweight backpacking and as most of you would agree, a hammock is the way to go. I have seen a few articles where people went "packless" to save weight and just tied stuff sacks to their backpack frame. It made me think of my wife's baby wrap which is just a long piece of material that you wrap around yourself to carry your baby. I wondered if you couldn't do the same with a hammock kind of giving it a dual purpose: hammock and gear carrier. I would think you could make a ruck sack for all your gear and then use the hammock to hold it to your back. Maybe even just put some flat straps on the bag that you could run the hammock through to hold it in place and not have to try and tuck it in like a baby (I think the legs sticking out help - maybe a rucksack with legs? - maybe not) It would also be easy to make a few smaller pockets to tie to the front for easy access to items you might need on the trail. Definitely not as convenient to take off and put back on and probably would be a bit sweaty in warm weather with the rip stop wrapped around you. Here is what it looks like with a baby in it:brightwrap.jpg

I suppose you could just get a small external frame pack, take off the frame and add some buckles or straps to run the hammock through and just tie it on.

Maybe just another one of my hair-brained ideas. My poor wife rolls her eyes a lot 'cause I am a bit of a crack-pot.

Dirk

[larrybourgeois]

Hmmm. Looks like an active and creative mind at work, to me. Let us know if you take this idea any further dude. lb

[bowl-maker]

I would concern me to use my sleep system as a load-bearing backpacking system.

[GadgetUK437]

Fun idea, but I prefer to keep my sleeping gear away from the rain.

[JasonACraft]

I love my moby wrap, but man, it's all shoulder pressure

[Valley Scout]

Might be interesting for those who want to go ultra light, not sure I would go that road. I'd be interested in hearing about it. I do remember seeing someone years ago who used one of the old net type hammocks as a carry bag, then set it up as his camp chair on site. He wasn't going ultra light, but it runs along the same logic as you propose.

[TNhunter]

Would need to have some lashings or some other way to tie things in. I'd hate to lose something while hiking.

[oldpappy]

Kind of along this line, I've used this 'swag and dilly' method trout fishing.
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ght=swag+dilly
My swag (bedroll) was my hammock, UQ, TQ and sleep/extra clothing rolled up in my tyvek sock.
My dilly bag (I used a stuff sack at 1st, then changed to use a day pack) had cook pot, food, small 1st aid/toiletries, rain cover, ect.
The tree hugger straps were used the to carry it.

Worked well, but when I used the day pack as the a bigger dilly bag, I put too much stuff in it and it got a little clunky.

[TallPaul]

Reminds me of Grandma Gatewood

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Gatewood

[WalksIn2Trees]

I love my moby wrap, but man, it's all shoulder pressure

This was my first thought: but how many miles does she carry the baby with it? Plus, there's no compression system needed for babies (can't imagine why)
I know that this is how it was done in many cultures prior to modern baby carriers, but babies aren't gear, and this wasn't how those same cultures carried gear. I do know that the frame pack style baby carrier that I used for my daughter on day trips was great, we had a wrap like that too, but we didn't use it for any serious distances