Warbonnet XLC and Drea Hammock Roaming Gnome

[HillbillyHanger]

I'm thinking about a new hammock. Do not need one. But that's beside the point. I started with a Hennessy Explorer Deluxe and have been happy with it. I bought a Lite Owl for Winter. Now, I'm thinking about another netted hammock for the Summer. I've never seen a Warbonnet XLC or an 11' Dream Hammock Roaming Gnome in person, but I think I've narrowed my list to these two. I like the dual zippers on the Roaming Gnome and the access that it would provide in adjusting a quilt from inside the hammock.
Does anyone have experiences with both? I know both vendors are great. I have purchased my son a Freebird hammock and we have been well pleased. Just curious about the personal experiences that you might have with both and what might be a "tipping point" between the two. TNX.

[Tom18C]

I LOVE my XLC. The duel zipper was not a deal killer, I can adjust me UQ from a single side. In non-bug months, zip off the netting and you have the traveler. I also ordered the over cover for winter, and have use it once (worked like a champ). I too had a HH Safari Deluxe, I liked the room but did not care for the bottom entry. I will have the folks at 2QZQ do the #4 modification and repurpose the hammock. I use the Superfly and find it perfect for my needs. I do sense a Cuban in my future. Good luck, you cannot go wrong with the XLC.

[BryanS]

They aren't exactly what you'd asked about but I have a Warbonnet Blackbird as well as a Dream Hammocks Thunderbird. I like both but I prefer the HyperD fabric that Dream Hammocks used. I think the ability to customize the stuff from Dream Hammock would lead me that way since you can choose a variety of fabric colors, materials, storage pockets, etc. While I do like my WBBB, Warbonnet only offered the option of ordering single or dual layer and multicam or not multicam but that was pretty much it. You can really make a Dream Hammock your own.

One thing you didn't ask about, but I feel is worth mentioning, is Hammeck. I've got their Envy which is the convertible bugnet/topcover top of the line offering from them and I like that as well. They offer their Netty which I believe has a similar feature set to the hammocks you asked about and uses Dutch's fabric options though I'm sure they can use whatever fabric you want if you prefer something else.

[OutandBack]

I own both. Love them equally.





For bug season the Darin might be worth looking at.

[ccolclou]

@BryanS, would you rate the hammeck above both the Dream and Warbonnet? That's the impression I get from your post, but you don't actually say that, and I don't want to accidentally read too much into it.

[joefbtg28]

Like you said; Can't go wrong with either vendor. I don't have experience with the dream hammocks, but have been looking at them for a while. I do love my BBXLC. The foot box really flattens the lay, I enjoy the shelf for random stuff, I like the option to hang without a top cover, and the ability to zip in the winter top cover are all great features. I wasn't sure at first, but I do think the winter top cover allows you to create a little micro-climate inside your hammock for winter hanging. Maybe 5-10 degrees warmer depending. I agree it would be nice if Warbonnet allowed you to customize things a bit more, but Brandon makes a great product nonetheless.

[BryanS]

I hate to suggest that one cottage vendor makes a better product than another and I'm very happy with all three. I think any would serve you fantastically.

Of the three, and I might be alone with this thought, the Warbonnet feels most like a mass produced product rather than something custom. This probably comes from the lack of custom options when I ordered. It also had the fastest delivery time for me. Both the Hammeck product and Dream Hammock product feel like a completely custom piece. Looking at them side by side, I can't say one is better than another. I can tell that the families that make them both take great pride in their work and rightfully so. I wouldn't set either on a tier above the other though you might find that one has slightly different features that better suit your use; then again I'd tend to think either could give you pretty much any custom feature you can imagine and would be happy to work with you to do so.

I mentioned Hammeck as an option because I feel it comparables well to Dream Hammock.

I will say that, given my personal experience with the material used for my WBBB, Argon, HyperD, and PolyD, my favorites, in order, are HyperD, Argon, the ripstop nylon? for the WBBB, and finally the PolyD. I believe NylonD=HyperD but haven't seen NylonD in person. Fabric above anything else would lead me to prefer a specific hammock from these makers vs another.

[BryanS]

I like the option to hang without a top cover, and the ability to zip in the winter top cover are all great features. I wasn't sure at first, but I do think the winter top cover allows you to create a little micro-climate inside your hammock for winter hanging. Maybe 5-10 degrees warmer depending.

This is what led me to buy Hammeck's Envy and Dream Hammock's Thunderbird. I really like being able to use the hammock topless, with bugnet, and with the topcover (to stay wamer in cold weather)

[BryanS]

One thing I noticed; You're not all that far from me. I'm in Charlotte. If you want to see any, or all, of these for yourself, I'm overdue for a weekend at Uwharrie. Next time I'm hanging, you're welcome to come check them out

[bghiker]

Never seen an XLC, but I absolutely love my 11ft Roaming Gnome...