Well I went out for a camping/wheeling/drinking/shooting trip out in the Sierras two weekends ago and decided to get my feet wet with hammock camping instead of the usual tent (which I brought along just in case). After the trip I have some mixed feelings, but I was generally pleased with how everything came together. I brought two hammocks, one was a 'Nam style jungle hammock with a heavy canvas bottom and the other was my Travel Hammock made from parachute nylon.
I've lurked for a bit on these forums, gathering information on experiences and reading reviews and in fact got my Travel Hammock for a great price from Costco based on information I found on here (thanks guys) Lots of very knowledgeable people, good to know you're out there.
Not too long ago I picked up a good deal of fabric from the local Wal-Mart bargain bin for not much money at all and based on water and breath tests appears to be just the stuff I need to make my own camping hammock, which is a project on hold while we move into our new house. That aside, I figured I wanted to try both the jungle style hammock I had gotten for a steal and I'd been itching to hang in my travel hammock on the trail since I brought it home (backyard doesn't count) so when the opportunity to go camping came up I had to jump.
The jungle hammock is a $20 heavy canvas bottom, no-see-um mesh with a tent-like roof style deal I found online at Cheaper than Dirt. I got it at just the right time as I'd eyeballed it before at $25 many times but really never ordered it, then when I saw it at $20 and I had other stuff to buy, well... the rest is history. BTW, they have great deals on 650# paracord if you're looking for it.
Anyway, I used the jungle hammock for my camp hammock and hung the travel hammock outside of my campsite at a more remote and exponentially more scenic location.
Here's camp:
Here's the other site:
I found hanging in the travel hammock to be super comfortable and the hang was very stable feeling as I was enveloped into the folds of the fabric, whereas the jungle hammock felt more tippy as it was a much narrower hammock and since the ropes on the ends of it were integrated looped through these rings, it had a tendency to have a constantly shifting center of gravity which I found immensely annoying.
Crazy as it sounds, I found the jungle hammock to have a stiff feeling whereas the travel hammock was soft are more comfortable, though the jungle hammock was not necessarily uncomfortable. I don't know that I really like that whole metal ring method that the 'nam hammock had, but I suspect that with more hang time it will be something I'll either learn to love or learn to work with.
At any rate, I'm looking forward to getting settled into our new place and working on that hammock of my own.
Happy hanging
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