Life Span of hammock??

**cwayman1** · 05-10-2009, 21:00

there's a hole in the hammock, dear liza dear liza

but from reading this thread i am thinking i might want my first DIY to be from 1.9.

**titanium_hiker** · 05-11-2009, 01:48

Meh! I'm going downwards- I was very nervous about hammock strength at first and bought a really heavy gabardine fabric- worked great- huge! next a lighter fabric, some kind of ripstop, maybe. Now, I've got 3 metres of real ripstop nylon to play with, I'm excited!

TH

**Doctari** · 05-11-2009, 06:42

My Grand trunk Hybred has been in near constant use since I got it almost a year ago & it shows no sign of wear that I can see.
It's predasesor (UL traveller skeeterbeeter) has at least 2 years of 2 of every 3 nights (at least) use & the only thing that went wrong with it was the bug netting zipper failed mostly cause of a modification I made to the netting causing undue strain on the zipper, plus I suspect the zipper wasn't made to stand the shear amount of use I was putting it to. AND I have somehow managed to put 2 1/4" tears in the hammock fabric (sharp pointy thing in wrong places) But they havn't changed size, & one is over 2 years old.

My guess is: keep it out of UV, & away from "hacky slashy pokey pointy things" (knives & such) & elbows and your hammock should last for years.

My skeeter beater has even withstood attack by over 30 snowmen.

**Half Step** · 05-25-2009, 18:03

I've had my HH Exped in nearly constant use for 3 yrs. now. I wore a hole in it once where it rubbed against a fallen tree trunk under it, and have had to repair tears in the netting. The velcro for the entry slit is what's really shot. While it is finally getting pretty raggedy looking, it still hangs great. I think it's about time to retire it to light duty, and I'll be replacing it with a Black Bird, I think.

My MacCat Deluxe tarp has been keeping the heavy weather off the HH for the same 3 yrs. I've had to patch it in a few places this past winter---twice I've screwed up and poked it with a blade, and it has a few small punctures from wind-driven twigs. It still works as well as the day I got it, though. Even those small holes never leaked before I found and patched them!

My old JRB Weather Shield bottom finally gave up the ghost this past Autum. I got it the same time I got the rest of my rig. I miss it greatly, and have been making do with a GI poncho. I reckon I'll finally replace it with one of their new modified Dri-Ducks rigs. The sparrows miss it too; I've several Springtimes found them nesting in the thing! I often wake to those same birds all over the hammock rigging and ridgeline, over my head and feet. Awesome!

My whole setup has served me well through all kinds of weather, including ten+ days of continuous tropical storm (TS Faye, 2008), our frequently severe summer sea-breeze fronts, cold winter fronts, and you-name-it. If Florida has it, we've stood up to, tight, dry, warm in the winter and cool(er) in the summer! Basically, the only time I've ever taken this rig down is to pack it for camping or shift to another part of our backyard woods. . .

Do I recommend treating your gear this roughly? No. But it's good to know it can handle it if needed, especially if you've had the experience of being homeless, living under a cheap camo poly tarp and an old Byers Traveler in the middle of Ft. Lauderdale! You never know what life will throw at you. . .

**Coldspring** · 05-25-2009, 22:06

Y'all are scaring me with all this talk! Does this mean I need to order a couple of extra Blackbirds and put them on ice? Just in case...

**stevebo** · 05-26-2009, 19:50

Heres a question for you, does hammock length effect weight capacity? Maybe the extra length spreads out the load? I'm 6'5", and both of my hammocks are custom made for my height. Since they are longer, does this have any effect on how much weight they can support? More or less? Just throwing it out there............................................. ..........................

**titanium_hiker** · 05-27-2009, 03:14

Originally Posted by Coldspring

Y'all are scaring me with all this talk! Does this mean I need to order a couple of extra Blackbirds and put them on ice? Just in case...

I'd rather wait- fabric ages even if it's "on ice" (in a cool dark dry place) maybe if I suspected my hammock was at the (what ever it is) 300 nights? And I had a major hike coming up I might order one just in case.

TH

**Coffee** · 05-27-2009, 08:27

I'm 6 foot 2 with 150 ish nights on my hammock. It stretched. I looked at it close this weekend when I got it out. I couldn't notice anything other than the normal stretching.

**lazyboy** · 05-27-2009, 10:01

My travelight hammock dumped me on the ground after only about 12 nights. It was rated to 250 lbs and I wieght 225 so I upgraded to a 400 lb rated ENO singlenest. Anyone have experience with this hammock

**stevebo** · 05-27-2009, 14:03

So..........................if fabric ages wether you use it or not, if you had a hammock in a dark cool dry place, how many years is it good for? Basically, are we looking at replacing a hammock every 3 or 4 years due to age, wether it gets used or not?