DIY Multicam Epsilon Integrated-Net Hammock
You can't have everything in life. Trade-offs abound. With the acceptance of this inevitable fact, we succeed when we maximize the advantages our choices afford us while minimizing the disadvantages.
After building quite a few double-layer hammocks, several weeks ago I decided to try my first-ever DIY single-layer hammock. I designed and built it with the aforementioned philosophy in mind, balancing light weight and small pack size with comfort, versatility, and durability.
From the start, there were going to be certain immutable features in the design of this hammock:
1) It was going to be in Multicam!That meant using a single layer of either 1.9 oz ripstop nylon or 1.55 oz Epsilon (a truly amazing fabric that is versatile enough to use for almost any hammock gear application where breathable fabric is suitable).
2) It would include bug protection of some kind, either fully integrated or removable.
3) It would be lighter in weight than my go-to 11-foot DIY gathered-end double-layer netless, which weighs in at a robust 20 ounces.
Here was my result...
Type: Single-layer gathered-end integrated-net camping hammock with four (4) side pull-out loops
Materials: 1.55 oz Multicam Epsilon nylon, 0.9 oz Chocolate Brown NoSeeUm mesh, 3/8" poly grosgrain ribbon, 7/64" Amsteel Blue, Mara 70 poly thread
Dimensions: 132" long x 58" wide
Weight: 17.1 oz (785 grams)
Design Notes:
1) To maximize light weight, going with the slightly more expensive Epsilon fabric for the hammock body was a no-brainer. After a conversation with HF member Firesong of Canada's Little Shop of Hammocks, based on what I learned from his experience using Epsilon in SL applications, I decided my conservatively estimated load capacity of 225-250 pounds was sound, and since I only weigh 175, I wouldn't be maxing it out anyway. This worked in my favor, because I dislike fairly strongly having stretch in the hammock body. I knew I was going to have to live with a little stretch in a lightweight single-layer hammock compared to my DLs, but I thought the Epsilon would still deliver an adequate level of comfort regardless.
2) My favorite camping hammock is my ultradeluxe, fully customized Simply Light Designs Trail Lair DL, which features a fully integrated retractable bug net. Jared's Trail Lair design uses a standard rectangular gathered-end hammock body with side tie-outs at the knee and shoulder, mated to symmetrical hexagon-shaped zippered NoSeeUm bug net; the net is attached at the head end with a superlong wraparound 2-way zipper that allows it to retract fully and stow in its own peak bag. I like zippered entries on any bug net, either integrated or add-on, and I wasn't willing to give that up for bug protection more akin to Dutch's Half-Wit design, but I did want to save weight over the net design on my Trail Lair. The design I finally developed copied Jared's hex-shaped net, allowing for diagonal lay in either direction, but I attached it directly to the body on one side of the hammock and used a full-length #3 coil zipper with 2-way pulls on the other, similar to Dream Hammock's Darien design. Thus, I was able to shave grams and still maintain my "sovereign airspace" free from biting insects by finding the middle ground among these available options. (In truth, I see more logic in an integrated-net hammock having a double-layer body to keep it 100% bug-proof; that is, why have an attached full-enclosure net if your flimsy single layer hammock lets mosquitoes bite you on the back while you sleep? That said, in a world of trade-offs, since I was planning on having some manner of additional protection under me in this hammock (e.g., clothing, underquilt, pad, etc.), I was OK with this compromise.)
3) Using a single layer of 1.55 oz fabric, I was virtually guaranteed from the outset of this project to come in under my 20-ounce weight limit based on my benchmark 1.9/1.1 netless hammock. Taking the aforementioned opportunities to save weight where possible while adding the desired features, I attempted to shoot for a one-pound finished hammock, and I came pretty close at only 7% over my goal. (Using any ultralight hammock fabric of 1.35 ounces or lighter with this same design would have easily gotten me under the 1-pound mark. Serious gram weenies choosing 1.0 ROBIC XL (cut to the same standard-width dimensions) and 0.67 oz mesh could flirt with the 3/4-pound mark at the expense of durability...)
To build this hammock, I cut a full-width 144" blank for the body, and roll-hemmed the two long sides with a single row of stitches. Approximately 23" off the midpoint of each long side I attached and bar-tacked one of four side tie-out loops made frome a 7" length of 3/8" grosgrain ribbon. Then I made double-layer sewn end channels on each end. To accomplish this I folded the fabric in from each end approximately 4" and then folded that double layer in again approximately 2" more. Then I laid down three rows of stitching without pinning or otherwise securing anything, starting with the edge of the channel nearest the center of the hammock. NB: As one might anticipate, the stack of four layers of fabric can definitely shift on you if you're not careful. To combat this tendency, I used a 12" ruler (a soft, slightly flexible one) inside the channel to keep the inner layers taut and in position, and I slid it along as I sewed the first row. I also made sure the starting edge of the channel was straight and square, and I used a piece of masking tape on the bed of sewing machine (running parallel to the line of stitches I was sewing) as a guide to help keep things precisely in line. (Using all of these strategies -- which I pretty much just dreamed up over the course of repeated attempts at building different hammocks with sewn channels -- in concert has worked really well for me to date.) This completed the sewing on the hammock body itself.
To make the hexagonal bug net, I started with the dimensions I knew were fixed; my ridge line length was to be 110", the width of the 0.9 oz NoSeeUm netting was 54", and the distance between the side tie-outs was 46". Then I used a little trigonometry to determine the relative placement of the vertices and the angles between them, which will vary with the width of the netting, the distance between your tie-outs, and your ridge line length. Next I roll-hemmed the entire perimeter of the mesh panel for strength. (NB: This style of bug net (6 sides) differs from the parallelogram nets (4 sides) used by Hennessy, Dream Hammock, and others, in that it does not mandate a dedicated lay to one side or the other, and the method of determining the shape does not require one to fit and pin the mesh in a test hang prior to cutting (i.e., a la Xtrekker).) I truncated the ends of the netting perpendicular to the hammock ridge line path a few inches from each end and attached small hemmed Epsilon triangles with flat-felled seams to allow for minor variation in the final ridge line length when the net was sewn on.
To assemble the hammock and zippered net in final configuration, I sewed an 11-foot length of #3 coil zipper with a pair of opposed double-tab zipper pulls mounted to one of the long edges of the hammock body, starting at the midpoint and working in either direction toward the ends to equalize any stretch that might occur. I used a teeth up/teeth out orientation for the zipper, and I sewed it to the roll hem of the hammock body with a single row of long stitches. With the zipper anchored to the body in the correct location, I attached the opposite side of the zipper tape to one side of the bug net, again starting from the midpoint and working toward each end, careful to see that the corners of the bug net were lining up with each of the four grosgrain tie-outs. I tried to make a small radius to the zipper at each corner of the net to promote smooth action. With the hard part (the zippered side) complete. I zipped the net open and stitched the remaining loose side of the bug net directly to the roll hem of the hammock body on the opposite side, again working from the center to the ends and double-checking my alignment at the corners. To finish off the hammock, I made a simple two-pleat accordion-style fold in each of the fabric triangle caps at the end of the bug net and sandwiched them between the ends of the hammock body roll hems immediately adjacent to each gathered end channel with a sturdy 2" bar-tack, closing up the ends for 100% bug-proof enclosure.
I slept in this hammock out on my property the night I completed it, and spent every night in it for the next two weeks, just to put it thoroughly through its paces. It performed admirably. The construction was sturdy, and the Epsilon fabric showed absolutely no signs of stress while proving really quite comfortable in a single-layer design with minimal stretch at my weight and virtually no shoulder squeeze. The zippered bug net worked flawlessly; the single-row seams held up to fifteen straight days and nights of entry and exit, and I didn't really mind that egress was dedicated to just one (zippered) side of the hammock.
All in all, with my best-case weight and pack size goals nearly achieved and all desired features included, I have been extremely happy with this design and look forward to using this hammock for many years to come. Please feel free to inquire or comment below regarding this DIY project, and thanks for reading.
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Originally Posted by MetalBeeps
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