introduction

[Rat]

Welcome Andre, sounds like you have a good plan. Practice first then put it into practice. Tons of info and very helpfull people here.

Mataharihiker, good to finally see you on the Hammock Forums I have gleaned wisdom from your posts over at Backpacker for a long time. I know you have been hammocking for some time, but welcome to the official hang-out of hammock addicts

Lots of cool stuff, ideas and opinions here, even if you have to suffer through advanced mathematics from time to time.

[andre66]

Thanks for the welcome guys, love the site, spent most of my work shift last night reading as much as i could, Don't worry i wasn't slacking at work, i'm an OFA 3 so unless someone gets injured, my time is pretty much my own.
Welcome to Matahari, i'm sure i'll learn a lot from your posts.
Green therapy, i love the rain and am looking forward to being high and dry in my HH!
Andre

[nogods]

welcome to the club andre - so many new people are joining the forum since i joined just a month ago that in another month I'll be a "senior" member...lol

As for color of hammock, who really cares? Comfort first and then convenience, then maybe color. Car sellers will tell you that they make the largest profit on customers whose first priority is color, and the least on customers who respond to the color question with "i don't care".

which reminds me - i saw a deer hunting program on Spike TV. The deer hunter was dressed in complete green-brown camo with an orange hat and orange vest. He obviously didn't know that deer are color blind and a camo orange would have allowed him to blend into the trees as far as the deer were concerned and still be obvious to his fellow hunters. But a bright orange vest over a camo jacket seems to defeat the purpose of the camo.

and while we are discussing off topic matters - i have this odd situation where my cold water faucet is passing warm water.....

[mataharihiker]

Thanks for the welcome...I've already had a blast over here reading the posts from the mathematicians and engineers...I also appreciate the civility you all show towards each other even with differing opinions...it's a nice change...learning new things keeps you young!

[Rapt]

andre,

You can dye that hammock a much better colour if you want to ... There's some links available. Its actually pretty easy. All you need is 1)Cheap RIT dye, 2)vinegar, 3)water, 4)a pot (not aluminum) that you and your wife won't mind never cooking with again, (you can pick up cheap ones at second hand stores) that's big enough to hold your hammock and about 45 minutes to an hour.

Put two cups of vinegar in the pot, put in the RIT dye and enough water to cover your hammock in the pot. Heat until just about boiling (a low simmer).

Put in your hammock, make sure its well soaked in the dye and stir gently now and then while keeping temperature just below boiling... Stir every few minutes for 20-30 minutes, or until its a colour you like. Be aware than dark colours can't easily be dyed "lighter" but you can probably darken them.

Remove from heat, drain dye, wash hammock to remove excess dye, let dry.

And you're done!

[mataharihiker]

About dyeing hammocks...I've been dyeing stuff for centuries...

With light hammock material, I would not use the stove-top method and boiling water but this method:

http://www.ritdye.com/Sink+or+Bucket.34.lasso

do NOT dye it any shade of navy blue unless you camp where mosquitoes do not exist...of all the colors, mosquitoes are attracted most to dark blues....

[Rapt]

Does that method work for nylon? Usually that requires the extra acid (vinegar) and heat (stove top). But I haven't tried the method you linked to.

[mataharihiker]

I think I'd use the extra vinegar you use for nylon...it wouldn't hurt and would probably help hold the color...I'd do as you originally suggested but would be afraid that the water would boil on the stove and maybe affect nylon...where are our engineering experts when we need them?

[Rapt]

Engineering "experts"

Nylon is prone to absorbing water, which affects its strength and stretch until it dries out again (ask the guys who hang from nylon webbing in the rain)

But yes prolonged high temperatures could(would?) affect the nylon if the water really got boiling or the fabric got left alone too long to stick to the pot bottom...

My hot water heater puts out water at about 150 F so its probably hot enough anyway. I may do some "testing" to see how this works.

[kohburn]

My hot water heater puts out water at about 150 F so its probably hot enough anyway. I may do some "testing" to see how this works.

plumbing code must be different in canada, I can have 180* water in my tank but am required to have an anti-scald valve on its output to limit temp to 120* for safety.