Looking for a long term Hammock!

[VERDUG0]

I'm looking for a hammock, but I'm unaware of all the products out there, so I'm asking you to help me trim down the choice.

Here's the context:
-I will sleep in it several months in row
-I want a large one: the amazonas Moskito Traveller is right
-but a light one: around 200g/ 7 ounces
-50$ is fine

I never slept a whole night in a gathered end, only in scale lines.
What's the difference? could you get me some topics on this forum about that? couldn't find but I'm interested.

I'm aware that with a very light hammock, for a long terme use, I'll need to be careful.
I'm not new to long term hammocking.

I'm thinking about the BIAS Wewemi; the wider one.

I'm all eyes.

[hutzelbein]

I'm not sure what you are looking for: a hammock with or without a (possibly integrated) mosquito net?

A hammock WITH net will most certainly be heavier than 200g and be more expensive than 50$. Unless you go at least partially DIY. There's also the question of your weight. The heavier you are, the heavier your hammock will have to be to support your weight.

I would think that pretty much every hammock is not a disposable product but meant to be used for several months. The question is, is it comfy enough that you really want to sleep in it night after night, for several months?

What do you want to use your hammock for? Hiking? Car camping? Stationary?

You write that you are not new to long term hammocking, but don't know what a gathered end hammock is - so what have you used up to now? A hammock with spreader bars?

For the kind of weight and money you list, there are not too many choices. And all are without mosquito netting, afaik. You already listed BIAS. Be aware that the price they show is for the bare-bones hammock - one layer, no mods, no suspension. You will have to spend additional money on the suspension.

There are also the generic parachute hammocks, like ENO, Grand Trunk etc. They look pretty much all the same, but under different brand names. Not sure if they're sub 200g, though.

[VERDUG0]

Hello,

As I said, I went full timer several times, so it's not a problem of me with hammock, it'd rather be: Me with which hammock?

I used fishing net hammocks with a spreader bar and a parachute nylon with scale lines. My amazonas is really comfortable, but near 500g.
Never used a gathered end hammock a whole night, so I'm a bit suspicious about the comfort.

The activity would be: travelling; hiking, stationary.
I do not need a mosquito net.
I do not need double layer.
I do not need modifications of any kind.

On my weight range of 200g / 7 Oz, I can't have net, nor double layer.

I'm 6'~, 80 kilo.

What does people think about scale lines vs gathered ends? I see mostly GE here.

Do you think a widest BIAS wewemi can be comfortable enough for that application?

[hutzelbein]

I don't understand what you mean by "scale lines". But maybe my English is too limited.

I would suggest to read a lot more in this forum, as your questions seem to be fairly basic, although you say that you are a long-term hammock user.

To the best of my knowledge, hammocks can be roughly divided into the following categories:

• gathered end
  This is the original style hammock: a piece of net or cloth gathered at the ends (hence "gathered end"). I'd say, at least 80% of the camping hammocks on the market are gathered end.
• spreader bar
  A piece of net or cloth connected to spreader bars to keep the hammock open and create an illusion of a hanging bed / flat lay. Due to the spreader bar much more narrow than gathered end hammocks. The typical garden hammock, that is considered by most too uncomfortable to sleep in. Good for napping, but little else. Due to the bars the center of gravity is very high, making the hammock tippy. It's also difficult to achieve a flat lay.
• bridge style
  A type of hammock that works similar to a suspension bridge (examples are the Warbonnet Ridgerunner, Eureka Chrysalis, JacksRBetter Bear Mountain Bridge). It provides a very flat lay - flatter than most gathered ends.
• hybrids
  All kinds of mixes between the types listed above.

I don't know if there are light weight spreader bar hammocks suitable for camping. Bridge hammocks are on the heavier side as well. Afaik most bridge hammocks are heavier than 700g. If you want 200g or less, this pretty much only leaves a gathered end hammock. BTW - I would categorize the Amazonas hammock as a gathered end type hammock. Albeit pretty bad quality.

With your price and weight limit, you will probably have to go with BIAS. Or DIY. But maybe somebody else knows a different hammock that would fit the bill.

[hutzelbein]

Just to make sure - you are talking about this hammock: Amazonas Moskito-Traveller?

Amazonas lists the dimensions as 220cm x 140cm, which roughly translates to 7.2 feet x 55 inches. I can hardly believe that the hammock is less than 8 feet - I would assume they only measure the cloth part. Most manufacturers measure the length from gathered end to gathered end. There are only a few camping hammocks with lengths under 9 feet. Most would be between 10 and 11 feet. Reading this forum, it seems that the majority of hammock users seems to consider 11 feet hammocks as the most comfortable ones. My most comfy hammock is the 10 feet WB Blackbird, though - which only goes to show that comfort is subjective.

However, considering the Amazonas measurements, I dare say that all of the BIAS hammocks should be more than comfortable for you. I think the longer the hammock, the narrower it can be. The shorter it is, the wider is should be. But as always, there are exceptions.

If you are not sure, buy 11 feet of cheap nylon cloth; gather the ends; hang it, test it. The most basic BIAS hammock is little more than that. They sew channels at the ends (as in the link in my first post), and pull a dyneema loop through it. But you could just as well just tie the ends.

[Boston]

Are you adverse to DIY?

Make a gathered end hammock that is 48" wide x 10ft long with a foot box out of 1.1oz/sqyrd ripstop nylon (search on here for "ghost hammock" - similar concept). It'll be well under 7 oz for the body, and comfortable, and cheap.

[outbackpacker3]

When you say 7 oz is that just the hammock or are you thinking the suspension/rigging mosquito net and the other stuff with the hammock? If you just want a 7 oz hammock by all mean make your own it's pretty easy and that's what I'm doing with a gathered end one question though you may want to consider is that depending on your weight you might want 1.9 oz nylon instead of 1.1 oz for the long term durability.

If you want a net and suspension included in the 7oz limit that's going to be pretty difficult.

[VERDUG0]

@hutzelbein: My Amazonas MT is a scale line hammock, it has no gathered end, but it has an eye; like most hammocks do.
The BIAS wewemi is a gathered end.

Just to make sure - you are talking about this hammock: Amazonas Moskito-Traveller?

It is that hammock. Dimensions are thoses of the bedding, not including the scale lines.

Are you adverse to DIY?

No I'm not at all. I'm planning on buying a sewing machine.
Thanks for the incredible base of ressources on this forum.
I'm searching on this too.

one question though you may want to consider is that depending on your weight you might want 1.9 oz nylon instead of 1.1 oz for the long term durability.

If you want a net and suspension included in the 7oz limit that's going to be pretty difficult.

I'm 175 pounds. I know that's not the ideal weight for a ultra light hammock (for long term at least I guess).

Yes, I'm stubbornly aiming 7Oz max.
I'm not inclunding my strapping system, and will need no net.

I'm just "anxious" (can't find another word event if that one doesn't really suits) about two things:
- never slept in a gathered end hammock. But judging on a video about the wide wewemi, it seems to be wide enough even for me (I'm spreading like an octopus )
- never used an UL hammock, kind of worry about durability (although I'll will take care of it!)

Thanks guys.

[LegoFox]

Are you adverse to DIY?

Make a gathered end hammock that is 48" wide x 10ft long with a foot box out of 1.1oz/sqyrd ripstop nylon (search on here for "ghost hammock" - similar concept). It'll be well under 7 oz for the body, and comfortable, and cheap.

Yes! Hammocks are a cake to sew...and you would have yourself a custom sized hammock with the lightest practical material for very very cheap. You could even hand sew it with dental floss

[hutzelbein]

@hutzelbein: My Amazonas MT is a scale line hammock, it has no gathered end, but it has an eye; like most hammocks do.

I see. In my eyes, it's the same thing. In a woven hammock, the lines at the ends are the warp threads that are part of the woven cloth. The weaver simply stops with the filling thread. So in theory, you still have a rectangular piece of cloth (with missing filling threads in both ends), that it gathered in the ends - not by sewing a channel, but by knotting the warp threads into an eye. I'm sure my vocabulary is lacking, but I hope it's somewhat understandable.

I don't really understand why a camping hammock made out of a rectangular piece of cloth is imitating a woven hammock - I don't see any advantage in attaching strings. The strings just get tangled, and I would imagine that they are also a weak point, seeing that they are sewn to the "hammock bed". Maybe it's cheaper for the manufacturer. At least I have only seen that kind of style in the cheapest of camping hammocks. Be aware that I'm not talking about e.g. the Exped Ergo - here, the concept seems to be different from a gathered end hammock, and the strings are there to provide the special cut, that would probably be difficult to achieve otherwise.

In any case, I don't think that there's a difference between what you call a scale lines hammock and a gathered end hammock.