Site seems to be downOriginally Posted by MAD777
Site seems to be down
"I wish I had a swing like that in my back yard"
The diy hennessy hammock works for me, I used 1.9 ripstop, a zipper and screen from an old tent and amsteel blue to make woopies. I made the tree straps from 2 inch webbing, just sewed a loop on one end and use a truckers hitch on the other with a toggle.
You can get a cheap tarp that works well for 10.00 @ wal-mart. It is called a backpackers tarp. It is 5 x 7 silicone coated non-ripstop nylon and is big enough to keep you dry in light rain. Stretch it along the bias from corner to corner lengthwise and tie out from corner to corner width wise, this makes an asymmetrical tarp that fits perfectly over the DIY hennessy.
Buy or make your own whoopie slings, these work awesome.
I made a down under quilt and a synthetic insulation under quilt. The down one proved to be the best as far as weight, warmth, and compression goes and was the easiest to sew.
I used the shock cord from the old tent poles to make the suspension for the quilts along with loops to connect my tie out ropes to my hammock and tarp.
"I wish I had a swing like that in my back yard"
When is your trip? Do you have time to make a bunch of gear or do you need it fairly quick? If making gear, how much experience do you have? Also, what's your budget like? This can be relatively cheap or as expensive as you like. It might be helpful for you to make a post in each forum section giving as much information as you can about your budget and time frame, that way you can get advice on each aspect of hammock camping without it all being mashed together.
That being said...
Keep in mind you will need a hammock with suspension, a tarp for weather protection, some sort of under insulation (either a foam pad or an underquilt), and some top insulation (a sleeping bag will work fine if you already have one).
Assuming you have the time and are dead set on making your gear! Head over to http://www.backwoodsdaydreamer.com/, and see if making gear looks like something you're interested in, if so then get started. I can tell you that even someone with minimal sewing experience can handle the ix under quilt. also, Scott is great to work with. If it were me, I'd consider buying the hammock and working on some of the other stuff.
If you decide you aren't interested in making stuff, or if time is an issue I'd say suck it up and drop the cash for some gear. http://hennessyhammock.com/ is a great place to start since they package a tarp with the hammock. If you go with that, you just need bottom insulation (I'm assuming you have a sleeping bag). Again this can be as cheap or expensive as you want. A blue foam pad from Walmart for $10 will do the job, but an underquilt might be more comfortable.
Take a read through the various forum sections(weather protection, suspension, ect.), they are filled with great information.
If you are talking 4 twenty mile days, then by all means shave weight where ever you can so you can take more food.
To prevent terrified screaming in future posts, note the first question in post #13, and pay attention to the subject in the following:
If you're terrified, change your plans. That's what I do.
(The rest of post #13 is worthwhile, too.)
Thanks for the tips. I think I will go for the double 1.1.
When is your trip?(last weekend in September) Do you have time to make a bunch of gear or do you need it fairly quick?(a mounth) If making gear, how much experience do you have?(first time doing this kind of thing.) Also, what's your budget like?(I'm 16, don't have a job and parents are not in a position to share any green, so pretty low)
I really want to do it my self. I have all the equipment to go on the ground (including a foam mat)
I was not really terrified. It was a way to get attention, I guessed it work. I am physically ready for the hike, even if i carry my heavy ground dwelling equipment. I want to lighten the load so the hike will be more fun.
Understood. Have a good trip. If you can, test out any changes to your kit before you go.
Well, for low budget you could go something like this:
Tarp: cheap poly tarp. Not the lightest, but not god awful.
Top quilt: your sleeping bag
Underquilt/bottom insulation: for cheap use your ground pad. If you can afford it, the ix underquilt from the diygearsupply plans. It's about $55 or so shipped and will take you a few hours. Go slow and read the DIY forum here for tips.
Hammock: DIYgearsupply has plans for a hammock, but for $20 you can get a grand trunk ultra light. It's really not a bad first hammock.
Suspension for the hammock: if you DIY your hammock, you can also order some strap and whoopie materials. If you go with the grand trunk UL, you can pick up some cheap ratchet straps (remove the metal stuff) and ring buckles and make straps for about $8 (just be sure not to buy nylon straps as they stretch). Hope this helps, good luck.
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