UK Hammocks

[olzeke]

I won a UK Hammock at the Oregon Hang in June, and have yet to get it into the field. It does not have a net, but my WBBB does, so that has seen the use this Summer. I have had the opportunity, due to our Summer hot spell recently, to hang the UK Hammock in my basement for 4 nights of blissful sleep. This is my report, based on that experience. It is a Woodsman double layer 1.9 in black.

Upon opening the hammock, I noticed several things, including the fine workmanship on the sewing. It also does not come with any suspension, so I added a set of whoopie slings. This went easily, as Mat send along a 2 Meter piece of Amsteel on each end, and I just took them off and replaced them with the whoopies.

UK Hammocks also come with an adjustable ridgeline, so I took care to run the whoopie through the one end that had a loop built in, and then tied off the ridgeline to the whoopie on the other end. I set the ridgeline to be about 108 inches so it would closely mimic my WBBB. I still use a pad for under me, and on the WBBB there are 2 openings between the double layers. On the UK Hammock, there is but one opening. This threw me off, as I was searching for an opening on both sides of the one end, only to discover it on the other end. Doh!

Once I had the whoopies on, the ridgeline set, and, my pad in place, I crawled in, feeling the sumptuousness of the fabric. I really like the way it feels and hangs. It does not have a footbox, but I found that it doesn't need one, mostly due to the width of the hammock. I found my flat lie easily, and took no time at all in dropping off to sleep.

After recently hiking on the JMT for 6 days, using my WBBB, and then returning home to being driven to the basement to sleep, I find that I like this hammock a great deal. It has no net, so it will not see duty during bug season, but it does fine otherwise. I look forward to star gazing from it come Fall.

I did not weigh it before setting it up, but if that is an important item to someone, I will take it down and weigh it for them.

[olzeke]

I failed to mention that, for those who live in Europe, this is a very good choice. Shipping will be less from the UK, and the hammocks are very nice!

[olzeke]

OK, so now I have had many nights in the basement with this hammock, and still find it comfortable. I will correct my initial observation about it not needing a footbox, as I now find it a bit short for my 6' 1" frame. I still find the sweet spot just fine, but I am at the limits of the hammock for sleeping crosswise. I still use a pad under me, but have changed from a Thermarest Prolite 4 to a Neo Air. Both pads only inflated about 1/2 way. 77 x 25 inch pads take up most of the hammock. There is some fabric at the sides, but not much.