DIY Nap Shade

So maybe I was looking for a problem to fix. And this is definitely one of those first world problems but what the heck. When I go on a long bike ride, visit a park with the kids, or on a day hike I usually take a hammock to chill in (ok usually nap in). However, one thing that always gets me is when the trees don't provide that perfect set of shade and you have the sun shinning right down in your face. Not only does it hinder the nap park but here in FL it get pretty hot when it's beating directly on you. Also if you looking to read on a phone or tablet, the brightness is just to much.

Yea a tarp would fix the issue but I don't want to have to carry a whole tarp with all the lines and stakes. Plus a tarp, even in porch mode, blocks a good amount of breeze that I usually covet.

So today with some time on my hands and some extra silnylon laying around I thought I'd try something that came to my while hanging in my sunny spot in the back yard...a nap shade.

I started with a triangle piece of silnylon 1 yard wide and 2 yards high. I fortified the corners with some xenon fabric I had left over from another project. I sewed a mitten hook on each corner with some 1/4in grosgrain. At the peak of the triangle I attached an 8in continuous loop of shock cord.

Now off to the hammock...I was able to attacked the nap shade to my ridge line using the mitten hooks on the two short side corners with some zingit continuous loops I had in a prusik knot. From there I was able to use one stake and simple loop the shock cord loop around the stake. It did the job! Provided the shade that I needed and didn't block hardly any of the gentle breeze we were getting today. Also didn't block much of the view from the hammock, which will be nice when the scenery is nice.
It packs down really nice and weighs very little (hadn't gottten an actual weight, but if anyone is interested in the weight I can see about weighing it). It also is very easy to move around if you find your shade needs adjusting.
Didn't get any pics today, but I'll try and take some tomorrow of it all setup.

Very nice. Being a Florida hanger too, I feel your pain when it comes to an afternoon nap.

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Do you have any pictures of this shade?

Whenever I see a good deal on ripstopbytheroll's remnant section for 1-2 yard pieces of silnylon or silpoly I try to think of little projects like this.

So if I get this right you've got a triangle with a 3 foot base that attaches to your ridgeline with 2 mitten hooks. The 6 foot long side ( the pointy end ) has a shock cord loop that gets attached to a stake in the ground? Brilliant.

It could serve dual purposes under a smaller tarp when you are getting spray from wind blown rain. Just deploy this as an additional water shield. Those of us who use Kelty 9's or other similar tarps in a diamond config sometimes run into the issue of having our setups allow sunrise to sneak in under our tarp edge on mornings we would like to sleep later so this could be deployed on the eastern head end for that purpose as well. I like it.

Please disregard the shotty sew job on the sil nylon. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7e570cd0ea.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...511606c5c9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e906b1dc8f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ac4403a3f6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3f067a6f0d.jpg

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Nice work! That seems very handy.

#smallest tarp ever!
LOL

You know you could save a ton of weight if you made it out of cuben fiber and incorporated some Dutch bling... :laugh:

Great idea, well done!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by geneaut

It could serve dual purposes under a smaller tarp when you are getting spray from wind blown rain. Just deploy this as an additional water shield. Those of us who use Kelty 9's or other similar tarps in a diamond config sometimes run into the issue of having our setups allow sunrise to sneak in under our tarp edge on mornings we would like to sleep later so this could be deployed on the eastern head end for that purpose as well. I like it.

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Hadn't thought of that but your right, would help supplement an asymmetric tarp in heavier rain.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pheonix6579

Hadn't thought of that but your right, would help supplement an asymmetric tarp in heavier rain.

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Exactly. I have a tyvek 3'X5' pack cover I use like this with my small asym. I like your triangular solution as it eliminates a stake.

Your next step is to design a snakeskin for it so it can stay attached to your ridgeline all the time for super easy deployment, and then roll it back into it's skin when you don't want it.

Nice.
I'd think about running the ridge hang off one of the long sides tho. That give more shade, less "wasted shade", and would move the one stake back towards the head-end and more out of the way.

::heads for remnant stash and TI::

Hahaha, snake skins. I have been adding peak bags to all my hammocks. Should be able to slide it down the ridgeline and store it in a peak bag.

You know I did think about hanging it that way. Which all we would have to do is essentially rotate it since all the corners are the same. I choose to go this way thinking it would be better coverage for the lower shinning angles. But I like your thought process as well.

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Well done!

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Clever. Just learning to sew, and this seems like an easy beginner project.

Took this little piece of gear out a few times this weekend and it performed like a champ. Super easy to adjust, even laying in the hammock. Went out to a local park with minimal trees, but I was able to read in shady bliss and still take full advantage of the fall breezes we had yesterday. It'd definitely starting to look like this ranking up there as one of my favorite DIY projects.

Excellent solution to a problem we all have. Super job! Now to properly name it. I propose calling it the "Phoenix Wing". Make it out of a nice scaly, feathery pattern from Outdoor Ink and you've really got something.

+1 on "The Phoenix Wing"
I had some part-is-partz scraps out with my netless this afternoon... jus' fooling around with orientations and sizes using clips, but it is definitely my next project.
I'm trending toward a 4/5/6 triangle to give multiple options depending on the sun.

"The Phoenix Wing" does have a ring to it, I like it! Yea I have thought about doing a few more with different dimensions to play around with the idea. I just wish I had some Tyvek to work with. I HATE sewing Sil Fabrics. I think a 4/5/6 triangle would probably be a great design for providing the options for shade, which may be my next iteration as well. But I like the long and wide triangle as a supplement for an asym tarp, which after my next gen version, I may just pack this baby with my asym tarp. Right now it has stayed attached to my hammock ridgeline and just packed away when I am done. No noticeable additional bulk.

Phoenix Wing!!!!!!

Great job finding something that works!

Very nicely done. That is the perfect idea.

Showed the wife and she says I have to make her one immediately. We can only hang in the yard in stands and we have no trees and very little shade, so this would be perfect! I will be using something a little heavier and quite dark to make it shadier still. No need for dappled shade when I'm trying to nap.

I mean if you wanted to get really fancy you could sew a layer of a space blanket to your material of choice to reflect the heat off you as well.

Has anyone tried one of these "woven" poly sunshades?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T75MHLO

Might be great with a stand at home or car camping.