Busy Month for DIY or My First Hammock Rig

**lustreking** · 05-04-2011, 08:26

After a lot of research on this forum, I realized the hammock camping isn't as heavy or expensive as I had originally thought. I finally got started on it last month. My goals were to make this weigh less than my current tenting rig, and to do it as inexpensively as possible. Here's what I made. (Click the pictures for a larger version)

Gathered end hammock following Knotty's directions, whoopie slings, adjustable ridgeline, ridgeline organizer, Papa Smurf style bug sock, 10x7 tarp, snake skins for the tarp, and a bishop bag with a pocket for the suspension:

Here's the tarp deployed as an asym diamond. It's two $9.88 5x7 PU coated nylon tarps from Walmart. I attached them together with a flat felled seam, seam sealed it, and had a 10x7 tarp finished in about a half an hour. The tarp, in snake skins, with a continuous 1.75mm zing it ridge line is 17.5 oz. Not ultralight by any means, but it was less than $25.

Finally, here is my 2 layer (with a nestable 3rd layer) 2/3 IX underquilt:

Everything above weighs 44.9 oz, and cost less than $120, so I think that I successfully achieved both of my goals. It's very cool to know that I made it all. I'll be using my sleeping bag as a top quilt, but I do have a bunch of down, ripstop, and noseeum, so when I work up the nerve to work with the down, I'll make a top quilt.

My first hang will be this weekend, and I'm very excited!

Thanks to everyone that inspired me or provided plans. Questions, comments, concerns?

-S

**krugd** · 05-04-2011, 09:18

Looks like you've been busy. You've got a nice setup there for the price. And a 10x7 tarp finished in about a half an hour has to be some type of a record.

I hope you enjoy your hang this weekend. If you are like the rest of us you will come home with lots of ideas for making your stuff better!

**chickenwing** · 05-04-2011, 09:32

congratulations on the DIY projects. Looks like you will be very well geared up for your outing. Have a great trip!

**lustreking** · 05-09-2011, 09:00

Success! My first hang was great. My thermometer doesn't have a max/min function, so the lowest temp that I saw was 42ºF, but it may have gone lower. I didn't get to sew the tabs on my third layer of my UQ, so I just set it on top of the other two layers. I think it just bunched up under me throughout the night and didn't do much. My body stayed nice and warm though. The only issue was that I had trouble positioning the foam pad under my feet, and a couple times throughout the night, it moved, or I moved and my feet got cold until I repositioned it. I also ripped my tulle bug sock, so I think that tulle may be too delicate for me. I'm probably going to make dejoha's HUG out of noseeum, to end up with a more durable net, without much of a weight penalty.

Long story short, I'm very happy with all the stuff that I made, and I slept much better than I ever had on the ground the past couple years. I think you guys have another convert!

**Mancat** · 05-09-2011, 12:06

Make sure you sew webbing tie outs on your tarp. I have the same tarp and used it without them and in a heavy wind one of the grommets pulled out.

**lustreking** · 05-09-2011, 15:22

Originally Posted by Mancat

Make sure you sew webbing tie outs on your tarp. I have the same tarp and used it without them and in a heavy wind one of the grommets pulled out.

Definitely! It was fairly easy to pull the grommets out of the hems that I cut off. I have all the stuff I need to add proper tie outs, I just didn't have time before this weekend.