1.1 vs 1.6 comfort vs weight/size

**nathan.custer** · 08-17-2014, 07:21

I'm going to build 2 hammocks for me and my 5 year old. I built an 11 footer with Argon 1.6 and its very comfy. I'm 155 lbs. I was just going to order 7 yards of the same fabric. Would 1.1 ripstop have a lot more stretch and lose comfort vs the 1.6? The 1.6 looks to have a weight penalty of 3 ounces for another 11 footer. And I'm assuming it would pack a bit bigger, although I'm not sure it would be much.

**MAD777** · 08-17-2014, 07:35

At your weight, I think I would go with 1.1 fabric. I'm at 200 pounds and find 1.5 to 1.6 to be perfect for me.

**hk2001** · 08-17-2014, 08:15

My personal feeling is this: 1.1 nylon was never designed to hold human weight. It can, and has a decently good track record. But if you look through the forums, 9/10 failures on hammocks are 1.1 . Most recently has been the "System Failure" post in the dream hammocks subforum, where a few people chimed up about having the channel rip out on various (not just Dream Hammock) systems. All using single layer 1.1

As I summarized in post # 35 of that thread:

Originally Posted by hk2001

In a 11', 60" wide hammock, there's about 6.5 square yards of material per layer. That's 7.15 ounces for a SL 1.1 Body, or 10.4 ounces for a SL 1.6.. a difference of 3.25 ounces (yes.. that's it) and that drives your safe weight up from 200lb max to 275 (for Dutch 1.6 argon) and at least 300 (for hyperD) A DL 1.1 (body only) would weigh 14.3 ounces (3.9 ounces more than a SL 1.6) and still only get you to the 275lb safe mark.

My personal point of view is also my kid.. regardless if it's the back yard, in the house, or on the trail.. there comes the inevitable "Daddy, can I get in the hammock too?" Never in a million years would I choose to save 3.25 ounces, and miss a chance to chill out with my kid in a hammock.

Dutch's 1.6 Argon and Ripstopbytheroll's Hyper D are both designed from the ground up with hammocks in mind. While I have never worked with Dutch's 1.6, I've now done 4 hammocks out of HyperD. During my initial testing, I had 400lbs of people in the hammock, and the 2x4 that makes up my hammock stand broke before the HyperD did. I pushed that limit again with the same hammock 2 weekends ago in Vermont, when the mosquitoes were so bad, I threw up my hammock just off the hiking trail, and my wife and I climbed in.

If you want to push the limit on weight savings, look at the HyperD 1.0 from Ripstopbytheroll

**Thumbs** · 08-17-2014, 10:21

I'm 210 at the moment and have been sleeping on a 30d (1.1oz/yd^2) single layer gathered end for about 4 months full time. It's also now the one I carry into the woods.