Insulated Hammock Weakness

**Just Jeff** · 05-16-2007, 20:19

So I've been using my DownHammock for a while now, and I've found a weakness that I should have predicted but never thought about it.

As I've used it over time, the hammock body's material stretches. But the shell doesn't stretch...so the loft right under my butt is getting thinner. It's still plenty warm for most temps, but I can definitely tell a difference from when it was new.

But seriously, this is so easy to make that sewing a new version every year wouldn't bother me. That'll give me an excuse to tinker with the design, too!

**angrysparrow** · 05-16-2007, 20:26

Originally Posted by Just Jeff

So I've been using my DownHammock for a while now, and I've found a weakness that I should have predicted but never thought about it.

As I've used it over time, the hammock body's material stretches. But the shell doesn't stretch...so the loft right under my butt is getting thinner. It's still plenty warm for most temps, but I can definitely tell a difference from when it was new.

But seriously, this is so easy to make that sewing a new version every year wouldn't bother me. That'll give me an excuse to tinker with the design, too!

Maybe you should start taking your used non-insulated hammocks and converting them to downhammocks once they are used to the point of stretch-in? The hammock would then be pre-stretched and should not compress the loft as much. As an added benefit it would be a good excuse to then make another non-insulated one.

**Just Jeff** · 05-16-2007, 20:37

Yeah - that's a good idea. I probably have 5-6 of them laying around already...none of them are green, though. Good reason for a new green one!

**Jazilla** · 05-17-2007, 07:40

Jeff, where do you get all this material from?

**headchange4u** · 05-17-2007, 08:04

Jeff raided and pillaged every Wal Mart in his path like an angry Viking warrior when he moved from California to North Carolina a few months ago. No fabric dept was safe. Children still shudder when his name is mentioned.

And you will know him by the trail of the thread...........

**1022** · 07-12-2012, 11:33

I've been really intrigued by the idea of your downhammock, and have been trying to think of ways to keep the down in place, without compressing it when the hammock stretches. I would love to never mess with the rigging on an underquilt again :-)

What if... you built this as a Dual Layer hammock with the insulation under the second layer ( this way any stiching would not go all the way through to the inside of the hammock), my idea is to use noseeum mesh as baffles, in a grid pattern say 3' square baffle grids. I would not make the very "thick" maybe 1.5", since the shell material will hang down in the middle of each baffle Then a light shell material same as the hammock body to the noseeum baffles. I recognize that this will be alot of baffle sewing, but I hope that the individual cells keep the down where you need it, since we're making this complicated you could even vary the baffle height / thickness towards the center of the hammock to account for the strech of the hammock body. Really you could vary the baffle cell size too since you are working in all three dimensions. You could wait to finish the edges of the outer shell, below the insulation cells, and test the lay of the hammock to make sure that there is insulation coverage where you need it, this would allow you to add more at the edges (assuming you leave the bottom shell oversized while you are building)

I feel like both horizontal and lengthwise baffles are the answer, 3" grid may be too small, it is just my first thought.

**kayak karl** · 07-12-2012, 11:44

i know some have worked on this idea since '07. there might be some more resent threads that will help.
kk

WV · 07-12-2012, 12:06

1022, I suggest you come to the Fall MAHHA. I'll probably have several different (very different) insulated hammocks there, and we can compare notes. In the meantime, work on your own design.