Amazonas Byer Moskito Hammock
Cool hammock, nicely built, mosketo net on one side, flip it over reg. hammock... only down fall it does not come with straps to put it up:scared:. I got the micro light hanging kit for the hammock....
all and all good hammock for the price which was 39.99 w/o straps, or tarp.:shades::laugh::laugh::laugh:
keep the strings on the ends
Don't cut off the strings on the ends. For those who don't own this hammock, you need to know that each end has about 30 strings attached at the ends that terminate in a loop to which you attach your suspension. THose strings allow the hammock to spread out very nicely. I'm not sure how the weight compares, but if you made a hammock in fabric that was as long as the Moskito including the strings on each end, I bet the fabric would weigh more, and you wouldn't need that extra length. I had a couple of these and cut the strings off one to test using it with whoopies pulled through the gathered ends where the strings would have attached. THis prevented the hammock from spreading out and it was constricting. I now use an unmolested original Moskito and attach whoopies to each loop end of the strings in a larkshead, and then marlin spike hitch to straps. Very comfortable hammock with sturdy bug net. I think it's 15 ounces. My Grand Trunk Nano 7 is less comfortable and in bug season I have to use a bug sock which adds weight and is not as comfortable as the net on the Moskito. Experiment. Unless you're really extra tall and extra wide, I think you'll like the Moskito quite a bit. I do.
10 Attachment(s)
My DIY: Byer Moskito Hammock + Funky Forest Tarp
Well, I finally got my Grand Trunk Funky Forest Tarp ($29.95 @ bargainoutfitters.com) and spent the afternoon figuring out how to hang it. There are no instructions accompanying the product.
The tarp comes in a stuff sack with cinch and mini-carabiner. There's another cinch sack with six surprisingly light stakes. They're probably aluminum, but they're much lighter than the lightweight aluminum stakes I currently own.
The tarp came with six tie-out cords (the packaging said I was getting six 14' tie-outs, but they were actually 7 ft. long) with a flimsy plastic doohickey with two holes that one would expect you would use to tension the tarp/cord. My old Coleman tent has the same tensioners. However, the rope is too slippery, or too small in diameter, for the tensioners to work, so I just wrapped the cord around the tensioner a couple of times.
The first thing I did was measure the tarp on the diagonal since I was concerned it wasn't a true 10' x 10' tarp, which should yield a 14' ridgeline. Sure enough the ridgeline was 14 feet so I'm happy about that. Anything shorter wasn't going to work too well with my Byer Moskito Hammock.
I know whoopie slings aren't great for hanging tarps, but I used a couple anyway just to see how the tarp hung. I was in a hurry because a thunderstorm was coming in. I attached the whoopies to the grosgrain loops on the ridgeline. However, that seemed to put strain on the center seam running down the diagonal. I decided to try hanging it below a ridgeline, feeding the rope through the five grosgrain loops sewn into the center seam/ridgeline.
I then built a couple of quickie prusik loops to tension the tarp along the ridgeline. I like the way the tarp hangs below a ridgeline rope much better.
The whoopies I use on my Byer Moskito Hammock, as well as the annoying twenty ropes that spread the hammock out, were covered by the tarp, but I decided I wanted more tarp coverage so there was no way the ropes/whoopies would get rain on them, dripping down and soaking the hammock. Therefore I used another Amsteel Blue whoopie and a soft shackle to make an adjustable ridgeline for the hammock. This shortened up the hang of the hammock, bringing the twenty ropes and whoopies further under the tarp, giving me a warmer fuzzy about staying dry.
I also ran the ridgeline through the two hoops on the mosquito net, and it now stays off the face much better than it did with the mosquito net suspension cord that came with the Byer. I also get a much sturdier ridgeline for hanging stuff using carabiners or soft shackles.
The tarp takes up a pretty big footprint so I tried drawing in the tie-outs to take up less width. This seems to work pretty well and not only shortens the width of the footprint, but might provide better wind and blowing rain protection.
Since I still had two grosgrain loops on each end that weren't utilized, I pulled these together with a soft shackle. It seems like this might come in handy during blowing rain. Oh, the corners of the tarp have grommets, but I'm not touching those.
I sure hope it rains like crazy so I can see if this tarp leaks. I'm probably going to seam seal it anyway just to be sure. Assuming it keeps me dry, then I'm overall pretty happy with the DIY setup of Funky Forest Tarp, Byer Moskito Hammock and whoopie sling suspension. Total cost so far:
Two 8 ft. Amsteel Blue whoopie slings = $8.40
One 10 ft. Amsteel Blue adjustable ridgeline = $4.20
One 3.5 inch Amsteel Blue soft shackle: $1.00
Two 8 ft. tree huggers = $5.20
One Byer Moskito Hammock = $35.00
One Grand Trunk Funky Forest Tarp = $35.00
Cheap ridgeline nylon rope = $3.00
Total $91.80
What could possibly go wrong...
Flirting with disaster.....loved that tune! ;) Well anyways, last night I made myself 10 mini-whoppies from mason line:
1) the fixed loop was made around to the hammock body without removing the existing suspension, thoughts of disaster and all :scared:
2) attached the adjustable ends to a carabiner, the mini whoppie has enough adjustment to extend the existing length by 12" and shorten by 6".
3) hung the hammock in place snugged the whoopies and all seemed well. It supported my weight, and just needed fine tuning with the whoopies. I was not up for that challenge last night so I slept on the MT using the stock suspension.
I am comfortable the proof of concept is sound, and think I'll order lashit to complete the project. The stock suspension seems to stretch and boy does it hold water! I think the lashit will not absorb water so if it were to get wet you could snap the suspension which would remove the majority of water held between the fibers, which is what seems to take place with the amsteel I've used. And there are now 10 strands as opposed to 20, that's gotta mean less tangles! And since lashit is spliceable, I'm thinking a few horizontal runs thru the vertical should yield a spider web like structure and basically eliminate tangles and save weight! Now I just have to decide how to deal with the ring, which I am leaning toward an SMC ring but a carabiner has real appeal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SilvrSurfr
You're messing with disaster by removing the web of strings - I haven't heard any success stories. You may as well buy some ripstop nylon and make your own hammock, 'cause once you cut the strings off that's pretty much all you'll have left - that some bugnet fabric you might be able to reuse.