Hi everyone

[bry961]

I've been purusing over the forums for a couple days now after being directed to the forums from just jeffs build your own hammock page and my roomate.

After knowing nothing about hammocking I am really starting to believe that this is something I can really get into. Already I am a huge outdoors fan...camping, and fishing are really my bread and butter and backpacking is just something that has come up this year but had always been something I wanted to do.

I really want to customize my own hammock but I am somewhat concerned about what material to use for the body, I am a stocky guy at 6' 250lb and want to know what material you guys think will best work for me? Furthermore, thanks for the insight gained from reading the forums guys it has helped alot.

[headchange4u]

Welcome to the forums bry961.


1.9oz ripstop should be fine for your height and weight. I prefer untreated material for a hammock body, but some people use a material with a DWR treatment for a little bit of added weather protection. Totally waterproof fabrics are not recommended for hammock bodies.

Here are some sources for fabric.

OWF
Thru-Hiker
Quest Outfitters

[Darby]

Welcome to the forum. Understand this; there is no vaccine for the DIY bug. I doubt any of us would use it anyway

[bry961]

I appreciate it guys thanks alot

[fin]

Welcome to the Forums!

You might want to try perusing the $1 bin at Walmart for material. You can pick up 100% polyester pretty easily, which is what I'd recommend for your first DIY as it's easy to sew and it's strong, cheap, and it lays flatter than nylon. You may even get lucky and find some ripstop poly at Walmart, which is gold for hammocks IMO. Once you get the DIY thing down and test a couple of mods, splurge on some good ripstop nylon and make a real hammock.

[Narwhalin]

Welcome to the Forums!

You might want to try perusing the $1 bin at Walmart for material. You can pick up 100% polyester pretty easily, which is what I'd recommend for your first DIY as it's easy to sew and it's strong, cheap, and it lays flatter than nylon. You may even get lucky and find some ripstop poly at Walmart, which is gold for hammocks IMO. Once you get the DIY thing down and test a couple of mods, splurge on some good ripstop nylon and make a real hammock.

I agree with you FishinFinn.

You mentioned wanting to "customize" the hammock. What better material to use than $1/yd. to figure out what you are doing. Then, when you find a style you like, you can make it out of the real stuff.

[speyguy]

Yeah, welcome to the forum. Along with Jeff's and Risk's sites, I've found it to be a great wealth of DIY and general hammocking knowledge. Although I've never found the Holly Grail (silnylon) at Walmart, I have found lots of good $1 per yd nylon there for some hammocks. Lately, I found a couple of different lightweight rip stop nylons. The DIY thing can really grab you. Plus, I can't think of too many things that are easier to make than hammocks and tarps.