davidrip
04-11-2015, 21:06
Sorry I don't have pics yet, but I wanted to at least briefly describe my first full hammock system setup along with some observations and questions for all you experienced people.
I'm calling this system the ghetto hammock system, trying to see how well I can make a dirt cheap system work. Here are the components:
126" x 60" crinkle taffeta from tableclothsfactory.com
Joined to 2 6' x 1" polypro straps from questoutfitters.com using double sheet bend, then Shug's hitch to the trees
Cordage for tarp ridgeline, guylines, drip lines, and misc. from True Value. I think it is 1/8" polypro braided, but not sure. It was cheap.
Leftover stakes from low quality tent someone gave me for Christmas. Typical thin, cylindrical design with hook. Not too hard to bend with my hands.
Typical 8' x 10' cheap blue all-purpose tarp with grommets
Stansport double bugnet (not made for hammocks, more for hanging over a sleeping area on the ground)
$50 20F rated synthetic mummy bag (which I already had) used as a top quilt
Blue Walmart CCF pad
Reflectix pad (under the CCF pad) with wings taped on the sides along the torso area
Before you freak out, yeah, I know I should have gotten polyester straps with a high breaking strength. Oh well. Too late, and they're working kinda okay for now.
Overall, the system seems to sort of work. The one major failure, which I have seen discussed in the forum before, was that one of my tarps had a grommet rip right out on an especially windy day. On that day, I was also trying to hang the continuous ridgeline above the tarp with the tarp in a diamond fashion, so a lot of tension and the weight of the whole tarp were working on that grommet in the wind. For a while, I was first using the A frame tarp orientation, but the main problem there was that it wasn't covering the ends of the hammock, so the ends got soaked in the rain and eventually it drizzled down the hammock into the middle too. The diamond orientation was able to easily cover the hammock, and drip lines helped a lot with avoiding run-off, but not perfectly. My guess is drip lines work better on cord suspension than on strap suspension. But it was good enough.
I still have to figure out the best thing to do with the Stansport bugnet. It was only $15, and it can hang off a ridgeline either entirely over it or from a center attachment point, but the wind was blowing it all over the place if it picked up. I'm considering converting it to a Fronkey style. I may at least be able to gather the fabric around each end of the hammock and whip it in place, letting the rest hang around me.
I wanted to test the CCF pad doubled up with the Reflectix pad during the cold nights of winter (I'm in Massachusetts), but didn't get a chance. I tried it for a couple hours the other night (a bit of a chilly night, but didn't take a measurement), and the doubled up pads along with the sleeping bag as a top quilt kept me plenty warm. But it was a bit hard getting in and out with the pads in the right place, and they weren't as quite as comfortable to lay on as the hammock without pads. The Reflectix wings probably added warmth, but they were difficult to maneuver. I recently removed them.
I'm 5'9" and 230 lbs. The size of the tablecloth hammock works for me, but I imagine bigger (both longer and wider) would be nicer. I know it's hard to get a perfect lay without a structural ridgeline, but I'm not worrying about that yet.
The stakes fail pretty easily in especially windy weather or over many days. They sometimes got bent in the ground or got ripped out entirely, but I still use them. For the guylines, I attached them to the grommets using a taut line hitch (for adjusting) with extra half hitches and a slippery knot at the end. I attached them to the stakes using the marlin spike hitch, which I think is an awesome knot.
I had fun experimenting with different knots on the tarp continuous ridgeline. For the first side, I've alternated between a square knot, a taut line hitch, and a bowline (all with a slippery half hitch to finish it). For the other side, I tried something I saw online (was it Derek Hansen?) of a marlin spike hitch before looping around the tree, then feeding the end through the marlin's loop and tugging back on it to tighten with this makeshift pulley system. Then topping off with a slippery half hitch. I loved how easy it set up, but take down was hard if I left it there for a while because the marlin tightened up on the end going through it. I hope I can show a pic later to describe what I mean. Any ideas for no-hardware solutions for continuous ridgelines would be appreciated.
The main issues that made it difficult to sleep through the night were to some extent the discomfort of sleeping on pads and to a greater extent my insomnia and the constant flapping noises of the tarp. Do high-end tarps make that much noise in the wind? Anyone else been bothered by tarp noise, and if so, how did you deal with it? Anyone still use pads and learned a few tricks to make them a bit more comfortable?
For anyone interested, my whole setup cost me about $65, excluding the sleeping bag, and there are a couple places I could have trimmed down on that cost. I'm pretty excited with this low cost to get my whole family outfitted and do a all-hammocks overnighter this summer. The girls have the two shades of pink tablecloths.
I'm calling this system the ghetto hammock system, trying to see how well I can make a dirt cheap system work. Here are the components:
126" x 60" crinkle taffeta from tableclothsfactory.com
Joined to 2 6' x 1" polypro straps from questoutfitters.com using double sheet bend, then Shug's hitch to the trees
Cordage for tarp ridgeline, guylines, drip lines, and misc. from True Value. I think it is 1/8" polypro braided, but not sure. It was cheap.
Leftover stakes from low quality tent someone gave me for Christmas. Typical thin, cylindrical design with hook. Not too hard to bend with my hands.
Typical 8' x 10' cheap blue all-purpose tarp with grommets
Stansport double bugnet (not made for hammocks, more for hanging over a sleeping area on the ground)
$50 20F rated synthetic mummy bag (which I already had) used as a top quilt
Blue Walmart CCF pad
Reflectix pad (under the CCF pad) with wings taped on the sides along the torso area
Before you freak out, yeah, I know I should have gotten polyester straps with a high breaking strength. Oh well. Too late, and they're working kinda okay for now.
Overall, the system seems to sort of work. The one major failure, which I have seen discussed in the forum before, was that one of my tarps had a grommet rip right out on an especially windy day. On that day, I was also trying to hang the continuous ridgeline above the tarp with the tarp in a diamond fashion, so a lot of tension and the weight of the whole tarp were working on that grommet in the wind. For a while, I was first using the A frame tarp orientation, but the main problem there was that it wasn't covering the ends of the hammock, so the ends got soaked in the rain and eventually it drizzled down the hammock into the middle too. The diamond orientation was able to easily cover the hammock, and drip lines helped a lot with avoiding run-off, but not perfectly. My guess is drip lines work better on cord suspension than on strap suspension. But it was good enough.
I still have to figure out the best thing to do with the Stansport bugnet. It was only $15, and it can hang off a ridgeline either entirely over it or from a center attachment point, but the wind was blowing it all over the place if it picked up. I'm considering converting it to a Fronkey style. I may at least be able to gather the fabric around each end of the hammock and whip it in place, letting the rest hang around me.
I wanted to test the CCF pad doubled up with the Reflectix pad during the cold nights of winter (I'm in Massachusetts), but didn't get a chance. I tried it for a couple hours the other night (a bit of a chilly night, but didn't take a measurement), and the doubled up pads along with the sleeping bag as a top quilt kept me plenty warm. But it was a bit hard getting in and out with the pads in the right place, and they weren't as quite as comfortable to lay on as the hammock without pads. The Reflectix wings probably added warmth, but they were difficult to maneuver. I recently removed them.
I'm 5'9" and 230 lbs. The size of the tablecloth hammock works for me, but I imagine bigger (both longer and wider) would be nicer. I know it's hard to get a perfect lay without a structural ridgeline, but I'm not worrying about that yet.
The stakes fail pretty easily in especially windy weather or over many days. They sometimes got bent in the ground or got ripped out entirely, but I still use them. For the guylines, I attached them to the grommets using a taut line hitch (for adjusting) with extra half hitches and a slippery knot at the end. I attached them to the stakes using the marlin spike hitch, which I think is an awesome knot.
I had fun experimenting with different knots on the tarp continuous ridgeline. For the first side, I've alternated between a square knot, a taut line hitch, and a bowline (all with a slippery half hitch to finish it). For the other side, I tried something I saw online (was it Derek Hansen?) of a marlin spike hitch before looping around the tree, then feeding the end through the marlin's loop and tugging back on it to tighten with this makeshift pulley system. Then topping off with a slippery half hitch. I loved how easy it set up, but take down was hard if I left it there for a while because the marlin tightened up on the end going through it. I hope I can show a pic later to describe what I mean. Any ideas for no-hardware solutions for continuous ridgelines would be appreciated.
The main issues that made it difficult to sleep through the night were to some extent the discomfort of sleeping on pads and to a greater extent my insomnia and the constant flapping noises of the tarp. Do high-end tarps make that much noise in the wind? Anyone else been bothered by tarp noise, and if so, how did you deal with it? Anyone still use pads and learned a few tricks to make them a bit more comfortable?
For anyone interested, my whole setup cost me about $65, excluding the sleeping bag, and there are a couple places I could have trimmed down on that cost. I'm pretty excited with this low cost to get my whole family outfitted and do a all-hammocks overnighter this summer. The girls have the two shades of pink tablecloths.