Hey everyone,
So here's my first post besides introducing myself. I'm new to hammocking but I love my gear and had most of what I needed already. One of the things I already had was a Sea to Summit Pyramid Net Single bugnet. I used this as part of my tarp shelter system for sleeping on the ground (yuck).
I quickly realized I could probably make it work for the hammock as well. The only things I did to it was add a couple mini S-biners and some small metal clips that are normally used for clipping your name badge to your shirt. You can get the Nite Ize #1 S-biners on Amazon.com or a bunch of other gear websites. The metal clips can be found at OfficeMax in packs of 10 for about $4
I removed the piece of cord that comes tied to the peak of the net and replaced it with an S-biner.
I used a couple of the metal clips with the plastic button strap still attached to help hold up the netting.
The Pyramid net is offset so that the peak is closer to the head end to allow more room to sit up. On mine they identify the head end with red tie out points, and the foot end with blue tie outs. These little loops are meant for stakes to hold the net out around you on the ground.
Now you have to take opposite corners of the pyramid out to each descender ring (or whatever suspension point you have at the end of the hammock). This allows the net to make the length of the hammock. I use S-biners to identify the correct corners and clip them to the rings.
Then I took 2 metal clips (with the plastic strap removed) at each end to clip the netting around the ends of the hammock. The pyramid net has about 6 inches of extra material thats meant to tuck under you on the ground, so this is perfect for wrapping around the ends.
I take the material and roll it together a little bit as I clip it to seal it up better.
The opposite corners that didn't clip to the rings hang around you.
I put clips on these ties outs so that I can pull the hanging corners up around the bottom of me and clip to the opposite side. This really helps wrap the netting around you.
Here you can see the view from inside. The netting bunches around the ends pretty well.
Lastly I grab a stick laying around and use it to prop the netting out a little bit more. I lay the stick on the hammock ridgeline, and the rough ends of it help the netting to stay and hold it up. Even with some deliberate shaking I can't make it fall. The netting it pretty tough so as long as you aren't a gorilla about it, you don't have to worry about tearing it.
The stick even stays in when I get in and out.
So thats about it. Some minor modifications and bam, easy bugnet. I like having it loose hanging like this for a few reasons. First, I can either roll it up and clip it out of my way. Or just toss it over to one side of the hammock and still sit/lay in the hammock. Second, it makes it quick and easy to get in and out while using the netting. Also I can slip my hand out between the hammock and netting to grab things on the ground near me like a water bottle.
I haven't tried this because I don't have my UQ yet (just ordered it), but I think once I have the UQ hung and tight to the bottom of the hammock, I should be able to just tuck the netting between the hammock material and UQ to help seal it even better. I'll update you on this once I get the UQ.
Final stats:
Sea to Summit Pyramid Net Single (w/ Insect shield treatment) $40 [The non-treated version is a little less money]
S-Biners ~$2 each x3
Metal clips $4
Total weight with stuff sack: 7.8oz
Probably not the lightest, but its easy and cheap. And Hikerman2000 hasn't custom made me one yet
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