Help!! Long Hammock For Tall Folks!!!

[regultr]

I’m on the forum – which means I’ve completely given up on myself to find what I’m looking for and I’m turning to all those of you who are granola-eatin’ and true hammock campers out there.

I am 6’6” and 250 pounds. I've been trying to find a hammock which would fit me for several months now and have wasted a ton of money on several options which just didn’t work. Thus far, I’ve purchased a HH Explorer Deluxe A-Sym and a Tom Claytor Jungle Hammock. I've also tried a Speer, Eagle’s Nest, and a Bliss. Right now I’m looking at something called “The Skeeter Beater Pro” which is 10.5’ long from The Travel Hammock, but I didn’t want to buy it before I got the opinion of others who knew more about this industry than my shallow experience.

Essentially, I am looking for an all-in-one system (ie. hammock, mosquito netting, and tarp) which can hold my big frame and also not cost me a ton on weight (although at this point that is my last concern).

So far, I liked the HH the best, not because I thought it was made of the best materials or the strongest, but it was just the easiest and most sensible thing as I didn’t need a wholly separate ridge line and it came with straps which didn’t mess with the trees. Set-up was a cinch and I could tell that if it were merely longer it would be my best option. After playing with the HH, I became instantly biased with a strong distaste for an additional ridge line hook-up as I figured out quick that I needed to set the hammock fairly high on the tree and make it very tight as my weight pulled it down quite a bit. With this in mind, putting on a separate ridgeline to raise the mosquito netting was actually too high out of my reach to make it practical and it was just "one more thing" to deal with.

So guys, WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS? I’m not skilled with the needle and the thread and my wife is merely domesticated to the extent that she understands only how to use our satellite dish. Please help me find something that works as I’m driving myself crazy (and bankrupt) by buying a bunch of stuff which doesn’t work.

THANKS!!!

[Shadowmoss]

Hmmm. You could buy the ripstop nylon (uncoated), enough to make a 12' hammock and advertise for someone to sew two layers together (12' long x width of the fabric), a lot of full service dry-cleaners will do some sewing. Then take some plastic zip ties (wire ties) and set up the ends like shown in many of the tutorials here. The double bottom would help with holding your weight and keep mosquitoes from biting through. Also have the seamstress sew velcro down the long sides of the top piece to add a mosquito net, or, depending on if you are spending a fortune paying someone to make your hammock, you can just buy a commercial bug net.

Maybe you could make a deal with someone here to buy materials for 2 hammocks and they could make one for you and one for themselves?

I'm brainstorming, as you can tell...

Welcome to the forums.

[TDunc]

6'3'' 260 pds

I, like Shadowmoss, suggest just the same. I make my own but you can find lots of places to sew it for you for a few dollars.

The last two I have made have started with 10'3'' of material at 62" wide. My finished hammock is 9'6" from end to end and I am very comfortable. I did try several to get the best feel for me. I also use a ridgeline in mine.

Make sure you are trying a little looser hang with some of the ones you have tried already. I have found that tighter is worse for me.

But again. Experiment and see what works best for you. Good Luck.

[FanaticFringer]

I bet a hammock around 80" wide (like a ENO double or Treklight) and 12' long between whipping would really be comfy at your size.

[Hector]

Hennessey has a "Survivor" hammock which is supposed to be for up to 7' tall folks. You might talk to them about it.

[T-BACK]

I'm 6'4 and 260lbs. I tried a lot of off the shelf hammocks also. I was never really comfortable until I started making my own. I now have one that is 10' long. A single layer of 1.9oz ripstop will easily hold your weight. I have a removable 1.1oz bottom layer to foil the skeeters in the summer and I flip it over on top of me as a wind block in the winter. We each have our own comfort zone, good luck finding yours.