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  1. #1

    Suggestions for the next hammock please

    Greetings all,

    First off, a special thanks to Angry Sparrow for sorting out my signup issues. I've been pouring through forums trying to come up with a hammock to fit my needs but still a little lost.

    Currently I've been using a HH Expedition Asym for the last two years and it has worked a charm. I use the Hammock for camping during my offroad motorcyle rides throughout southeast Asia.



    What I would really like to do is get a lighter weight set-up that packs smaller than the Expedition. The HH Hyperlite is the obvious next choice from HH. I have looked at other vendors but have not seen other options for a ready made liteweight system that has the bug netting sewn in. What are the recommended other options for me to peruse if anyone could be so kind?

    I was really interested in Sgt. Rocks under a pound sticky thread but my desire to have the netting part of the hammock and not having sewing skills or tooling makes me want to stick to a premade unit. Any suggestions?

    Another question, I'm a midget (5'5" @ 140 pounds) so another option is to put together my own smaller hammock to save additional weight, sadly as mentioned I have neither the skill or tools to put it together. Are there any companys or people that could put together a system for me if given specs??

    Thanks in advance for any advice.

  2. #2
    Senior Member bigbamaguy's Avatar
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    Check out the Blackbird at warbonnetoutdoors.com...........they are very comfortable and come in several different material weights and have an attached bugnet. Brandon, the owner of the company, has gotten nothing but positive reviews for customer service and quality craftsmanship.
    Par Si Vis Pace Para Bellum

  3. #3
    gunner76's Avatar
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    I also recommend the BlackBird. My wife is 5ft 3 and has a BB 1.0 double that she loves
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

  4. #4
    Herder of Cats OutandBack's Avatar
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    Since your mode of transportation is gas powered why is weight an issue?
    I would think packable size would be more of a concern do to limited space on the bike.

    You should also consider a lighter rig will not be as tough. The HH exped is pretty bullet proof. As for replacing the HH with a Blk Bird. I see no weight savings or pack-ability advantages.

    Would love to see more picture of your bike/hammock adventure. Do you have any posted?

  5. #5
    Senior Member wirerat123's Avatar
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    Get the sub ultralight hammock setup in the thread, buy a roll of Grosgrain and 3 yards of skeeter netting. Take it to a tailor, and they'll likely put it all together to your specifications fairly cheap. While you are at it, have them put in a tie out or two on the sides.

    Betcha still come out barely over a pound. But with the reduced length on the hammock you will lose some comfort.

    I'm with the others though, either get a Blackbird, or the Hennessy Hyperlight. The Blackbird will not come with a tarp though. Once you get a tarp and such to go with the Blackbird, it's not going to pack up any smaller than the HH Expedition Asym, and the weight savings to cost ratio will be seriously diminished.

    This is just my own personal opinion, but the HH Hyperlight is the best bang for the buck setup you can buy in the hammock world.

    HH Hyperlight - $230 with everything you need. 1lb 10oz.

    WB Blackbird 1.0 single layer - $160 - 1lb 4oz
    The Bigmambajamba costs the same as the edge tarp, so sacrifice the 3oz for that tarp and get a nice amount of more coverage.
    Bigmambajamba silnylon - $85 - 13oz

    Warbonnet setup - $245 - 2lbs 1oz The Warbonnet setup will have some advantages.

    But if you order a Hyperlight soon, you'll get a free scout and snake skins for both hammocks. That alone is $140 worth of gear.

    I'm just saying...

    Ultimately, you'll need to weigh the pluses and minuses of all of them.
    Fulfillment is living a life that makes the lives of others worth living.
    DIY is addicting and fulfilling!
    "If guns kill people, then pencils mispell words, cars cause people to drink and drive, and spoons made Rosie O'donnell fat."

  6. #6
    Senior Member Festus Hagen's Avatar
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    A cheaper option would be the Grand Trunk Skeeter Beeter Advertised at 20 ounces, not sure the actual weight, but I'm thinking it's within ounces of the Hyperlight. I have the non-bugnet version (Grand Trunk Ultralight) and like it a lot, some folks like them less. I'm a non-midget though, I weigh 230-ish pounds and have no issues sleeping all night in the Ultralight, so I suspect you'd be fine in the SB. As you can see it's much cheaper than HH or WB choices, but you do need a tarp and for sure you'll want better suspension.

    I wonder if Grand Trunk has considered a bugnet Nano, and I wonder if it would suck anyways due to the small dimensions of that hammock?

  7. #7
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    An apples to apples comparison between the HH Hyperlite and the WB Single Layer 1.1 Blackbird, would be to use the new Warbonnet Asym Diamond Tarp during your comparison. It gives a little more coverage than the HH tarps, but is a closer match.

    Weight will be within 3oz of the HH Hyperlite system and cost about $10 more. That $10 buys a whole lot of extra comfort and functionality IMO. But, you know what they say about opinions.
    Trust nobody!

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by team FTB View Post
    Greetings all,

    First off, a special thanks to Angry Sparrow for sorting out my signup issues. I've been pouring through forums trying to come up with a hammock to fit my needs but still a little lost.

    Currently I've been using a HH Expedition Asym for the last two years and it has worked a charm. I use the Hammock for camping during my offroad motorcyle rides throughout southeast Asia.



    What I would really like to do is get a lighter weight set-up that packs smaller than the Expedition. The HH Hyperlite is the obvious next choice from HH. I have looked at other vendors but have not seen other options for a ready made liteweight system that has the bug netting sewn in. What are the recommended other options for me to peruse if anyone could be so kind?

    I was really interested in Sgt. Rocks under a pound sticky thread but my desire to have the netting part of the hammock and not having sewing skills or tooling makes me want to stick to a premade unit. Any suggestions?

    Another question, I'm a midget (5'5" @ 140 pounds) so another option is to put together my own smaller hammock to save additional weight, sadly as mentioned I have neither the skill or tools to put it together. Are there any companys or people that could put together a system for me if given specs??

    Thanks in advance for any advice.
    First, if you are going to stick around you are required to start a thread in the trip forums with lots of pics of your hammock and KTM!!!

    Second, if you went the "do it yourself" route you could save some serious weight by shortening the set up to your minimum hammock length. That is what I will be playing with when I get back to sewing over the holidays. If you could save a foot on each end it would make for a lighter and smaller package.

    Third, you live in Thailand and can't find anyone that can sew for you? You gotta be kidding. If you live near any military installations I am guessing you could find someone if not many shops doing uniform alterations off post that will do anything you ask them to do. That doesn't even touch the amount of production that I can think of going on in Thailand that involves material and sewing.

    Good luck and keep the pics coming.
    Last edited by TNRat; 12-10-2010 at 10:10. Reason: Duh moment. No US installations in Thailand currently.
    Home is where you hang it.

  9. #9
    Fist of all, thank you for the responses, greatly appreciated.

    Bigbamaguy and Gunner76 - Yep read a lot of good stuff about the Warbonnet products. Sadly they don't have one that offers me any improvements in terms of weight or packability over my HH Exped. I do think the gear shelf is a great idea but for me the only thing I keep inside my hammock is an IPOD and headlamp and the internal HH mesh sleeve pocket on the ridgeline is only 1/4 full with that, haha.

    Outandback - Good question on why I'm concerned with weight on a motorcycle. If I was on a road bike or my riding consisted primarily of asphalt roads and easy fire roads then it would not be such a concern. However I enjoy technical offroading and a lot of times you are wrestling the bike through the jungle. It gets tiring and anything you can do to lessen your load brings smiles, just in the same way it does to a thru hiker.



    Since I'm a scrawny 140 pounds and 5'5" I need all the help I can get wrestling my motorcycle, haha. Also the more I can keep the weight of the bike centered and low the better the bike handles and helps pull my face into more smiles. These are the reasons I would like less weight and better packability if possible.

    Sorry, I just signed up to the forum so no trip reports posted as of yet but hope to change that in the future.

    Wirerat123 - Awesome post, thank you. So far the HH Hyperlite is winning the war. More time shall be spent in the DIY forum to see what it takes to get it down to a pound. Anything more than that at it just makes more sense I guess to get the 1 Lb. 10 Oz. HH Hyperlite. Once again awesome post, very informative, thank you.


    Festus and Cannibal - Appreciate the feedback on options. One concern I have is I'm comfortable in the HH and I do not have a chance to try before I buy so I really appreciate others opinions on the brands so I can make an informed decision. I was thinking the same thing......what about a bugnetted Nano, why is it not out there yet? haha. Cannibal if i can get the Warbonnet down to HH hyperlight weights I would trade over since I have heard so many good things about the WB. However if I can put together a one pound wonder Hammock DIY that's even more tempting, haha.

    TNrat - Haha, sorry not too many pics of the Hammock since my friends like the KTM pics better, haha. However in all the pics of the KTM be consoled that in the bags is the beloved HH Exped Asym.

    When I lay in my HH Exped I feel i could easily cut a foot off each end and still be quite comfortable. I need to do more research into how much weight that would save. Anybody know this or where to find these answers? At 5'5" there are not that many advantages to being short so I'm happy to find one here in hammock land

    I stated i can't sew but as you stated i could get things sewn up here cheap if I know what needs to be done. I'll be back in the states in two months so I'll be Hammock/material hunting then. Just need to put the time into finding out what will work for me.

    Since I'm versed in the HH Asym's is it much adjustment to sleep in non Asym hammocks? Can you still lay on an angle as comfortable? Am I wrong or do you also save weight with a tailored Asym cut of the Hammock versus a rectangle hammock?

    Apologies for all the newbie questions and thanks again for the guidance.
    Keep the ideas coming please.

    Cheers,

    Justin
    Last edited by team FTB; 12-10-2010 at 11:19.

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