Noob

[olly_roberts]

Ahoy Hammockers!
Hows it hanging?

having had a browse of yours, and a few others websites, while researching the best type of overnighting for a mountain bike rider, i am very interested in having a bash at making my own hammock!

just one or two questions

What type of ripstop should i use? are there different grades? will most nylon hold me (I'm 6'5" but only 72 Kilo, 11 stone in imperial)

another thing i was going to comment on is that, on my travels, people have said it is easy to get cold in a hammock, due to the flow of air underneath the hammock

has anyone ever considered sewing a layer of myler (super tough space blanket foil) into the base of a hammock, to refelct the heat fromt he person, back up, through the user, and into the airspace in the 'tent/tarp' bit of the hammock

is there a leverage factor on the hammock, ie:, if i way 11stone, will the weight applied to each end be 5 and a half stone? or does it increase?)

what size of hammock would i use? how much material would i want (at 6'5")

cheers!, looking forward to my zero residual presence adventures!

Olly

[slowhike]

welcome to HF olly.
you'll get different opinions on how successively the space blanket works, but here's a thread where it was discussed. a few post #s i saw it talked about in that thread were 15, 16, 26, 38.
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...=space+blanket
for a DIY hammock, you'll want to find nylon or pollyester that weighs about 1.9ozs per sq yard, or a little heaver.
i'll see if i can find a thread were the formula was given for determining a fabric's weight. ...tim

[Cannibal]

i'll see if i can find a thread were the formula was given for determining a fabric's weight. ...tim

When I asked this question, the easiest method I was told about is simply measuring one square yard of material then putting it on the scale. Simple! I will admit to wanting to learn the "burn" method; fire is FUN!

Welcome to the gang olly. I'm going to start giving all my weights in "stones"; just sounds more earthy.

One comment on the space blanket; if you are a sweater, don't bother unless it's really cold. I get a lot of persperation when using a space blanket, but that is just me; you may get totally different results. However, like the blue Walmart pad they are cheap so play, play, play away!

"zero residual presence adventures" Must be what they call "stealth camping" across the pond; I like it!

[GrizzlyAdams]

Welcome to the gang olly. I'm going to start giving all my weights in "stones"; just sounds more earthy.

There's 14 lbs to a stone. Is that too much math for you?

"zero residual presence adventures" Must be what they call "stealth camping" across the pond; I like it!

Dang, I wished I'd said that! However, the "residual" part makes me think it is translated into US as "leave no trace". But for steath camping we could try give it tweak to "zero detectable presence adventures".

opaquely,
Grizz

[olly_roberts]

zero residual presence does indeed refer to leaving no trace.
i dunno where i heard it, i think it was on mission impossible or something.
sounded classy though.
for stealth camping what would i use?.... hmmm.... "minimised detectable presence" i think, as zero would require being invisible and not smelling!
5Ss i seem to remember,
shape, sillohete, shine, sound, smell....

So anyway,
I'm looking for a comfy place to kip after a days biking, and dont fancy forking out for a trailer to carry a tent, or the campsite fees (as flat smooth land is at a premium here in the little island of uk, and a campsite, renting a plot of grass 7ft by 4ft can be up to 8 quid a night!)
my plan is, while the weather is nice, to make a basic open hammock an tarp, and take it from there as needs develop. adding to a base is easier than changing something which has already been over engineered right?
im thinking;

> 9ft of ripstop, gathered up at a slight angle perhaps? (so, as you look at the sheet flat, the bundles end up at 11 o clock and 5 o clock, if you see what i mean)

> 2 'strops' (loops of load bearing webbing) to loop round the trees,

> a good length of non elasastic cord strong enough to support the hammock between the strops

> a basic tarp, made of an old tent flysheet perhaps, with supporting cords at each end, and lines to peg it down

sound ok?
what major problems has anyone come across?

[Cannibal]

There's 14 lbs to a stone. Is that too much math for you? Grizz

Oh I soooo had that one coming!

9 ft. of ripstop seems short to me. How tall are you? Remember you need to allow for whipping, knot, or whatever. Basic rule is the longer, the better for comfort.

You might check out the DIY forum for some documentation on making one or visit Just Jeff's site or Risk's site. All are great resources and will save you some time and mistakes! Be sure to keep us posted.

[slowhike]

yep, it seems that a lot of the DIY hammock makers try to end up with a hammock that's 10' (or close).
if you're whipping the ends, 10' of fabric would be fine because it doesn't take away from the length.
but if you plan to tie the ends of the hammock, you may want to start with 12' of fabric.

about the fabric weight... if you're buying it on line, chances are the source will tell you what the weights are.
jeff has several good sources listed on his site where you can buy 1.9 oz ripstop. but i'm not sure how they are about shipping over seas.
speer hammocks sells hammock fabric & webbing for the supports as well as hammock kits.
and tarps too. the tarp wil need to be a little longer than the hammock ends when it's hanging.