View Full Version : A hammock for two, to travel through Asia!
Hello all!
I'm new on this site, just presented myself here (https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php/110501-Hello-from-France-New-York!?p=1462850#post1462850).
I am about to travel through Asia (Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Nepal and India) with my girlfriend. We will be gone for about a year. We were about to leave with a tent, but it is pretty heavy, about 6 1/2 lbs.
I was also worried about my back, that is pretty fragile. So when I found out about hammocks, it seemed like a great idea. Thing is, despite my research, I'm still quite confused!
First, I'm looking for a hammock where my girlfriend and I could sleep. I'm 5 feet 10 and about 185lbs (1m80 and 85kg for non US), and she's 5 feet 9 and 116lbs (1M75 and 53kg). So basically I'm looking for a hammock that can safely hold 400lbs.
So far it seems the only two that fit the bill are the ENO DoubleNest, and the Trek Light Double Hammock. Am I missing anything? I seem to remember I saw something that looked like the ENO, but had more accessories for the same price, too, but I can't remember the name.
Most of the reviews I read about these hammocks are about people sleeping alone in these, though. Does anyone have used these hammocks to sleep with a partner?
We're also watching our budget pretty closely, and it seems some of the accessories get pretty expensive pretty fast, too. Luckily, my girlfriend is a costume designer, so we are considering going the DIY route for some things, like the tarp. Maybe even the hammock, if it allows us to customize it how we'd like (we would definitely benefit a bug net in Asia...). Does anyone have done this? How hard, and more importantly, safe, is this?
Also, last question (sorry for the long post), since we don't know where we'll be sleeping yet, we're thinking about safety. A tent would allow us to take our bags with us (I will carry professional photography equipment). How do you deal with the bag? Just let it next to the hammock, or take it with you?
This seems like a great community, and I really want to convince my girlfriend a hammock is a way to go, but I want to make sure it is! :D
Thank you all.
The Clark vertex is a 2 person hammock, check out clark jungle hammocks.
http://www.junglehammock.com/product/vertex-with-weathershield
SilvrSurfr
05-26-2015, 14:15
Good luck on the hammock for two; it's more of a marketing tool than something that people would find comfortable for more than 20 minutes. You'll probably get five people max who'll say it's great. ENO is notorious for marketing the two-person hammock.
I personally find their hammocks to be too short and too heavy. The closest you'll get to a true two-person hammock is the Clark Vertex (which costs and weighs a ton). But again, good luck!
ditto the others :)
IMHO get each of yourself a hammock and get these so you can hang next to each other and share a common anchor point on each end so you can both be between the same two trees etc...
http://www.dutchwaregear.com/double-hammock-whoopie-hooks-pair.html
there are a few threads here on the forum about using these which should get you some great ideas and allow both of you to hang in comfort and share a tarp as shown in some posts here
ton of other info in the DIY section here about everything from bug nets to underquilts
dkurfiss
05-26-2015, 14:50
two people = two hammocks! Double in hammock world only really means it can hold the weight but you will not be anything close to comfortable with two people sleeping in 1 hammock.
As for your bag/pack, I hang mine from the hammock ridge line so as to keep insects and animals out of it at night. It also keeps it out of any moisture that might accumulate under the tarp.
noekei,
Wow! Traveling for a whole year? When do you plan to leave for your trip? How many nights will you sleep in you hammockS prior to leaving? How much money have you set aside to equip yourselves with hammock set-ups?
You will need 2 hammocks without question. There is a fairly short but steep learning curve to getting a comfortable sleep in a hammock and it might include changing hammocks a few times before you find the correct one for yourself. Double this effort to find the hammock that will be correct for your girlfriend.
It seems like you are leaving soon? It took me months of experimentation to find a set-up with which I'd be willing to travel the world. I wish you luck but, suspect you might be better served to find a lighter tent.
Thank you everyone for all the info! I have reading and more research to do.
I guess I will follow your advice and we'll give with two hammocks. I read the clark jungle hammock review somewhere but it seemed huge! And also extremely expensive.
I'm living for Asia next october, however before that I'll travel a bit through the US, it's going to be a "test" trip with my girlfriend to see which gear we need, use, and what works and what doesn't. And even before that, we just thought about testing the hammocks with a nap in Central Park!
As for the budget, I hoped 200$ for both of us would be enough. We found in a French store a while back a camping hammock with bug net, not too heavy (about 800g, 28oz) for like 30-40 euros. Might actually be the cheapest option, but we're looking around to see if we can get better quality. Since the DIY route IS an option, I guess with that kind of budget we could build some nice stuff. Building an Hennessy hammock doesn't sound too complicated when you build corsets and such all year long!
As for how many nights, the hammock will be our back up plan when we have no couchsurfing/hotel option. We hope it won't be too many nights, but it might. Mystery! We just want to feel at least a bit ready if this happens.
One other question that bugs me though, is the advantage of a hammock in an urban environment as opposed to a tent. I'm leaning toward a hammock for comfort, but a hammock will need somewhere where we can suspend it. That said, our tent needs soft ground as well. Since we won't always be "camping" per se, we're running through some logistics puzzles! But I guess it's part of the fun.
Did anyone travel through Asia with a hammock here?
not in asia
spent a year in Central America teaching diving on Utila but I also travelled some and of course all my students were back packers :) mostly Euro folks
but most had/used hammocks hostles had places to hang and often homes had decks and used upright lanai supports etc or elevated homes under neath palm trees and or whatever you can find
even many rooms you rent had hooks to hang or use the beds which sometimes were sketchy at best :) but the room gave you a place to set your bag down and have some privacy
in many situations hammocks work better cause you can hang over existing things example on a porch using the upright columns and folks can still get by and does not have the larger foot print
from being a guy who used to travel a lot like that I would say hit up the forums and see where you are going and what folks are doing etc.....
Great info, thanks!
Central America (and South) are definitely in our to-do list as well, it seems great!
hutzelbein
06-09-2015, 05:17
neokei, spend some time reading the forums. There are plenty of hammock options, other than the big brands you quoted. And most would be lighter, too. And don't just look at the weight and the price, but also at the hammock dimensions. I haven't seen a big brand hammock that was cheap, light and comfortable. Get hammocks that are 10'-11' long (unless you know what you are doing).
Dutchwaregear hammocks are pretty popular, lightweight and not expensive. Buttinasling sells 11' hammocks. So do plenty of other cottage gear makers (check the vendor section).
Since you are travelling with your girlfriend, I also would consider simply picking up a lighter tent. Hammocks are not as easy to use as tents (= there is a learning curve), and you also need a lot of new gear (at least the hammocks, bug nets and tarps, and probably underquilts, too). If the only problem in your set-up is the heavy tent, check out Tarptent.com and other UL tent makers. There are some great lightweight options that won't break the bank.
Hey everyone, thank you all for your advices.
I read a lot more on hammocks and I decided to go the DIY route: it's cheaper, we could have it our way, and it's easy to keep it relatively lightweight.
We'll be building two 11inches hammocks. One is single layer (for her) with polyD 1.2, mine is double layer, polyD 1.2 and nylonD 1.6. Ideally we would want to be able to at least seat or nap in my hammock, while we would sleep in our own personnal hammock.
We're building the tarp with some 1.1oz ripstop nylon.
I made a big spreadshit with all the info: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_MFESpUOETmC3XzG2EF70aKR8-yDv90okrmGWnSBbtM/pubhtml
I'll create a thread in the DIY section, but does anyone has any remark already?
Thank you!
SilvrSurfr
06-10-2015, 12:24
Ripstop nylon will not work very well for a tarp. You should go with silnyon or silpoly.
Oh, I thought ripstop nylon and silnylon was the same thing. Thanks, I'll look it up!
silnylon is the waterproof version of ripstop. silpoly is like it, but doesn't really stretch like the nylon will when it gets wet.
daneaustin3
06-10-2015, 12:38
You can do a complete set up diy for each of you for about $300 each. That would be hammock, uq,tq, tarp and bugnet. It would get you down to about 35* F. I have a whole list of stuff and sources for it. Shoot me a pm and I can send it to you.
you could use lash-it or zing-it for the tarp ridgeline and tie outs instead of amsteel it is the same material but thinner, can still be spliced just like the amsteel the 2.2mm is easier to splice, but the 1.75mm can be spliced with practice (a number Zero (or number 1) double pointed knitting needle, and a Dritz loop turner work well)
You can do a complete set up diy for each of you for about $300 each. That would be hammock, uq,tq, tarp and bugnet. It would get you down to about 35* F. I have a whole list of stuff and sources for it. Shoot me a pm and I can send it to you.
Well we're actually building the whole thing for less than 350$, but I'm curious about your set up!
you could use lash-it or zing-it for the tarp ridgeline and tie outs instead of amsteel it is the same material but thinner, can still be spliced just like the amsteel the 2.2mm is easier to splice, but the 1.75mm can be spliced with practice (a number Zero (or number 1) double pointed knitting needle, and a Dritz loop turner work well)
Interesting. I just took the amsteel because it was the same material as the whoopie slings to be honest. They'll be used as ridgeline for the tarp, tie outs for the tarp and at the extremities of the hammock, as well as other rope related things (trying our bags to trees, things like this).
gunner76
06-10-2015, 16:39
11inches hammocks.
You must be really short :lol:
recommend you find a group hang in your area to check out various different rigs.
best of luck on your trip
You must be really short :lol:
recommend you find a group hang in your area to check out various different rigs.
best of luck on your trip
Hahaha, I'm terrible with the imperial system!
Interesting. I just took the amsteel because it was the same material as the whoopie slings to be honest. They'll be used as ridgeline for the tarp, tie outs for the tarp and at the extremities of the hammock, as well as other rope related things (trying our bags to trees, things like this).
Lash-it or Zing-it (different colors same stuff) isn't as strong as the amsteel because it is thinner, the 1.75mm is rated around 500lbs and the 2.2mm around 650lbs. way more than you need for ridgeline and tie outs. (7/64 amsteel is rated around 1600lbs)
amsteel is great for the whoopie slings, lash-it/zing-it wouldn't be strong enough for that though. (it could hold, but no safety margin)
mototraveler
06-12-2015, 01:57
Hello all!
I am about to travel through Asia (Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Nepal and India) with my girlfriend. We will be gone for about a year. We were about to leave with a tent, but it is pretty heavy, about 6 1/2 lbs.
I am an avid motorcycle rider/traveler and like to go to out of the way places, I love camping both in a hammock and a tent in the bush far away from civilization in Australia where I'm from but when I'm traveling in India, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar I stay in cheap hotels not only are they cheap and plentiful they are fairly safe and secure.
If I were you I would leave the hammock and the tent at home as you will not get much use for either of them, mostly because you will not find many spots to hang or erect a tent as most land is owned and not available. As far as security goes I would not walk away from my gear unless it was locked in a room. Even when I'm on the road I don't leave my bike unattended.
No need to worry it a fabulous world out there but common sense goes a long way.
You must have many stories to tell, that's awesome.
Honestly we're taking the hammock as a precaution in case we don't find a hotel or somewhere to stay, and for the occasional hike in the middle of nowhere. I'm a photographer and I like going into pretty remote places, so I'm pretty sure we'll hike at some point.
And yeah, as far as our gear is concerned, we're trying to look as far away from tourists as possible, and even then, we'll be very careful. I'll have good camera gear, a laptop... I'll definitely hold on to it all.
Thank you so much for the tips!
TreeDangle
06-15-2015, 22:08
I would try to use my hammock inside jungle huts & budget hotels as it:
A). Gets you off the flea ridden mattresses, and
B). Keeps the mozzies (cockroaches, lizards and snakes) away with the bug net.
Not often possible due to lack of secure mounting points.
I would not recommend a double hammock - I assume you would roll together and it may get very hot (that should be phrased better, but you know what I mean)
That's a great advice! We would definitely do that if we can.
And while we intend on getting... hot, we're each making our own hammock, for comfort's sake, yes.
We actually started already! I started a thread about it, since we miserably failed so far: https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php/111461-DIY-PolyD-1-2-hammock-Fail-(Picture-heavy)?p=1473543#post1473543