Hammock for taller guy and weight ratings

[GoProGator]

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to the forums and hammocking in general, although I have been backpacking for a while now. I won't bore you with my life story though

Anyway I bought the yukon outfitters bug net hammock that is on Woot.com all the time. While I enjoyed the design and setup, I didn't realize how much of a penalty having an 8ft 9in hammock would have on my 6'2 frame. Quite a bit of shoulder squeeze with not much diagonal lay. With that in mind I'm looking to upgrade. I am looking to keep weight down as much as possible for A) comfort and B) a knee injury.

With that in mind I have a few questions.

1. Is 11 ft normally the standard for taller people? Could I get away with a 10ft with a footbox?

2. How accurate are nylon weight ratings? I was thinking of going with either a single layer or double from simplylightdesigns.com (or any budget hammock out there, I'm a poor student fresh out of college ).

I weigh in a bit over 200 but can get up to 225 or so during the year (bodybuilding type competitions). Their rating for the 1.6 is only 200 lbs and 225 for the 1.9. I wonder if anyone has experienced a "loss in performance" (lol), as they describe it, by going over these limits? I'm considering just going with the double 1.1 so I could slip a pad in since that is rated to 350 lbs although it obviously increases the weight as well.

Sorry for the novel, but thanks in advance for any replies and all the great threads already on here

[lostagain]

Welcome to the dark side! You're going to find more info and options here than you can possibly comprehend.

So, to your questions:
1) no, and yes.
2) they're fairly accurate, but the "loss of performance" refers to long term use. As with any fabric the more you stretch it, the more likely it is to fail over time.

I'm 6'1 and have found that I fit just fine in a hammock that is at least 10.5 w/o a foot box. With one I could probably get away with a 10 footer. The key is the width. an 8' hammock that's (say) 5' wide, once you get it hung right you don't have enough length to get comfortable on an angle. Since you're 6'2 you're already longer than the width that can be supported by the short length. IOW you don't get the full 5' width since the ahmmock is "bent" along the length, reducing the effective width by about 6 to 8" on either side of an angle. (Nothing scientific about the above, just my observations and experience).

So, I can recommend a Hammeck which is 10.5' long and will support up to 225 in a single layer. Dave and his mom are great to work with. I think it's about $50 or so, and if that's too expensive go for a Grand Trunk Single on Ebay or Amazon.

Happy hanging!

[JP_dog]

Dude, Tableclothsfactory.com is totally poor college student material. Get a crinkle taffeta table cloth of desired dimensions and go the whipped route (no sewing), buy a suspension from Dutch or another of our vendors and you will probably spend less than a 'cheap' mass produced model. Then you can add an inexpensive bug net as needed and spend some dough on a good tarp.


Btw, welcome from Anchorage Alaska!

[GoProGator]

Hey guys thanks a lot for the responses!

Since I already have a suspension I think I might grab a 60x126 taffeta cloth (thanks for the tip JP). Would that be strong enough to hold someone in the 210 lbs range? Will cutting the material weaken the edges at those points? I hear taffeta is heavier per yd but I can deal with that for now if it isn't a huge difference. I'll definitely want to upgrade to something 11ft or so and double layer if I continue to use pads like I do now.

And lostagain I see what you mean on width. Basically more width lets you lay on a greater angle to the length but the shorter the length in the more it is restricting the ability to stretch out that width (especially in a gathered end with all the tension on the sides. I think that is an equal problem with the yukon. It doesn't seem to wide but the short length make the sides tight as a bowstring making more than a few degrees of angle impossible.

At least this will be a great setup for friends but I now embark on that quest for the perfect combination of light and comortable :P

[honeybakedhammock]

I have a db72 11ft dl taffeta, I cant imagine anyone not being comfortable in this hammock. It is huge and can hold 250+lbs easy. Check out Dream-Hammocks comfort ratings.

http://www.dreamhammock.com/ComfortRating.html

[Timberrr]

I'm 6-2 & 175# and I'm a side sleeper. I have bursitis so I can't take shoulder squeeze. So I understand where you're coming from.
If you haven't tried a bridge hammock yet, you're in for a treat. My personal choice is the Chrysalis if you can find one. The Ridge Runner is also a top choice.
Good luck.

[ShadNuke]

I asked the same questions the other day also, but didn't get this kind of response lol. The works for me also, but I am going to try out a DD Hammock, and work from there. I was assured that it will hold up to 400 pounds, and will easily hold me, at 6'5 and 250ish pounds. They have a great track record, and are relatively affordable, so it may be worth looking into it, if you don't want to go the DIY route right away. The way I look at it, if I buy one and don't fit, I can let the wife and kids use it, while I make one for myself