Material vs length - Thoughts?

**SGT Rock** · 06-02-2015, 13:14

This is something I recently started thinking through in my mind and thought that there would be no better group of people to bounce this thought off of. So here it is:

In the past, hammocks like the Nano7 are made with ~1.1 or 1.0 and are very stretchy. I've made hammocks that are of this light material and they are stretch, to the point that it is hard to get a good lay in them. People going with this level fabric often go double layer just because it stretches too much for them otherwise.

These hammocks (I assume) are being built with the "standard" philosophy of +/-4 yards of material (I think some are as short as 10') to make them. If you take it as a given that the material is going to stretch, the more material, the longer the overall stretch.

When I built my latest Ghost II back in 2013, I considered it a throw away test bed of a shoulder box concept (here is the video)

One of the reasons I expected this to just be a testbed was this material was too light and stretchy even for me. But I ended up loving this hammock and have used it exclusively for the last 2+ years have been totally surprised by it. I have modified it some over the years, one thing was taking a couple of inches off the end when tweaking the design.

So with slightly less than 3 yards of this material feeling more like a regular hammock how does that happen? Yes, the "foot box" does help with that, but maybe there is something else going on. I've recently been thinking that if people made their ~1.1 to 1.0 ounce hammocks with less material, maybe the shorter the material, the less it can stretch.

What this might mean is if you are going to try building a single layer hammock with very light stuff, maybe you need to go shorter with the body to make it work right?

I don't know, I thought maybe some others may have already looked down this path and would have some insights.

**ksbcrocks** · 06-02-2015, 13:47

I like where you're going with that thought. I kind of like my shorter hammocks to be stretchier though, and be pitched a little tighter. Helps stretch out the fabric and get it where it needs to be i think.

What about using a 1.1 ounce fabric that doesn't stretch? I've been using an 11' hammock made of RBTRs poly ripstop for a few months now and I like it a lot. The first time I sat down in it I was amazed at how little it stretches. http://ripstopbytheroll.com/collecti...z-poly-ripstop

I haven't tried a short hammock made out of this material yet, but maybe it's worth a shot. I could probably just whip one of the ends of my 11 footer short to test it out.

**SGT Rock** · 06-02-2015, 14:04

I'd love to try some of that stuff. Maybe a purchase is in my future LOL.

Back when I tried making a cuben hammock, a 9'x4' body was laying on a sheet of plywood it was so flat and stiff. It don't last long either, maybe the extra stress that the body was under caused it since cuben stretches very, VERY little.

**ShooTa** · 06-02-2015, 17:29

this combined with the argon67 in the DIY section, and the new Wider fabrics could be very interesting wide and short with lots of comfort would give a very small package..

**MAD777** · 06-02-2015, 17:42

A very interesting question Sgt Rock. Your theory makes a lot of sense. I purchased that same material in that group buy a couple of years ago, but I was afraid a single layer wouldn't hold up my 200 pounds. I'm glad to hear that it is serving you well. I did make a double layer hammock from it for use in frigid winter weather when I would want to supplement the underquilt with a pad.

I'm trying to find the time to make some hammocks out of these new poly fabrics that are lightweight but has a little stretch. Perhaps that is the latest way to trim weight without sacrificing support.

**SilvrSurfr** · 06-02-2015, 17:59

Glad to hear you're having luck with 1.0 and 1.1 oz. hammocks. Like Dream Hammock, I gave up on them for hammock use. I guess I'm not disciplined enough to use the lighter fabrics. I have been having good luck with 1.4 oz. Poly D.

**Snowball** · 06-03-2015, 14:21

I think how the fabric stretch depends on several factors.
1. The persons weight (nothing new about that).
2. The persons length.
3. How the person is build. There is a big difference if a person is but heavy or if the weight is more evenly distributed.
4. The angle the person lay in the hammock. Most of the fabrics I have tried stretches the most diagonally. Depending on preference it can be a benefit or a downside. If wider material was available we could eliminate this factor to some degree by cutting accordingly. However the downside would be the edge would be the stretchy part to some degree depending on the hem type.

I would love to go lighter but I have to confess I am a chicken! I made a hammock in 1.1 oz some time ago but I only tried it at home a few times then it became an under quilt protector instead. Too much stretch for my taste. BTW I am 194 lbs and just over6’. Sadly the personal data, length and weight are often left out when people describe a project. I think it’s important to know before coping any project. It will give a clue it it’s the path to take or not.
I have also been wondering how does a stretchy hammock work with an under quilt? Even if the stretch isn’t a comfort factor it may be if the UQ don’t fit properly? I have seen videos where the persons but was so low because of stretch I expected the hammock to fail fast.
I think the shortest hammock I have made was around 9 ½ and it did not work for me. Could be it was because it had no stretch (some kind of unspecified polyester liner).

**SGT Rock** · 06-03-2015, 16:24

Originally Posted by Snowball

I think how the fabric stretch depends on several factors.
1.The persons weight (nothing new about that).
2.The persons length.
3.How the person is build. There is a big difference if a person is but heavy or if the weight is more evenly distributed.
4.The angle the person lay in the hammock. Most of the fabrics I have tried stretches the most diagonally. Depending on preference it can be a benefit or a downside. If wider material was available we could eliminate this factor to some degree by cutting accordingly. However the downside would be the edge would be the stretchy part to some degree depending on the hem type.

I would love to go lighter but I have to confess I am a chicken! I made a hammock in 1.1 oz some time ago but I only tried it at home a few times then it became an under quilt protector instead. Too much stretch for my taste. BTW I am 194 lbs and just over6’. Sadly the personal data, length and weight are often left out when people describe a project. I think it’s important to know before coping any project. It will give a clue it it’s the path to take or not.
I have also been wondering how does a stretchy hammock work with an under quilt? Even if the stretch isn’t a comfort factor it may be if the UQ don’t fit properly? I have seen videos where the persons but was so low because of stretch I expected the hammock to fail fast.
I think the shortest hammock I have made was around 9 ½ and it did not work for me. Could be it was because it had no stretch (some kind of unspecified polyester liner).

Good points. For the record I am 5'8" and 180.

**xxl_hanger** · 06-03-2015, 17:13

I have not much experience with stretchy hammocks and cannot compare the quality of certain lightweight hammock fabrics, but I noticed the following:

I found it relatively easy to measure and to sew 1.9oz ripstop nylon fabric correctly and I found (with my little experience) a nice lay in my DIY 1.9oz DL hammock which is 11.5ft long (I'm 6'5" tall and not the lightest). Both layers are made with the same ripstop nylon because I didn't want to get stretch differences between the layers. When I started to sew a lightweight 1.1oz ripstop nylon fabric for the top-cover of this hammock I got serious problems. The fabric was so heavily stretchy that I could not measure it correctly. All my measurements where more or less wrong and the final result was that my top-cover was about 2 inches too short. I had to make a flat felled seam to correct this problem.

Another recognition. I sewed a second top-cover for this hammock. Again with 1.9oz ripstop nylon. It was much easier too sew and I noticed the following. The temperature under this second top-cover was noticeable higher than under the first lightweight top-cover. When I realized this I asked me the following question: Why do people build lightweight hammocks and spend then a lot of money to get it warm in the hammock?

**SGT Rock** · 06-03-2015, 18:47

Originally Posted by xxl_hanger

I have not much experience with stretchy hammocks and cannot compare the quality of certain lightweight hammock fabrics, but I noticed the following:

I found it relatively easy to measure and to sew 1.9oz ripstop nylon fabric correctly and I found (with my little experience) a nice lay in my DIY 1.9oz DL hammock which is 11.5ft long (I'm 6'5" tall and not the lightest). Both layers are made with the same ripstop nylon because I didn't want to get stretch differences between the layers. When I started to sew a lightweight 1.1oz ripstop nylon fabric for the top-cover of this hammock I got serious problems. The fabric was so heavily stretchy that I could not measure it correctly. All my measurements where more or less wrong and the final result was that my top-cover was about 2 inches too short. I had to make a flat felled seam to correct this problem.

Another recognition. I sewed a second top-cover for this hammock. Again with 1.9oz ripstop nylon. It was much easier too sew and I noticed the following. The temperature under this second top-cover was noticeable higher than under the first lightweight top-cover. When I realized this I asked me the following question: Why do people build lightweight hammocks and spend then a lot of money to get it warm in the hammock?

I don't know that we spend any more money than anyone else with a hammock LOL.