Button hole near middle/bottom of hammock, possible?

[aero-hiker]

I was thinking about nights when I've been cold camping, and how much it really sucks to get up to pee, although in the end it's necessary so that you don't waste energy heating your stored up urine. Hammocks are great because they are off the ground, and I got to thinking about a system that would let you pee (I'm a guy so I can't speak to the technical details for a female version) without getting out of bed. The idea is to run a small hose through a button hole on the bottom of the hammock and attached to the top of the hose would be a very small funnel. When finished you could pour a little bit of water down it to rinse it out, and then go back to sleep.

The problem with this, however, is that even if you use a sewing machine to create reinforced button hole stitching (with the automatic pattern) there will still be a big stress concentration in the fabric at this new hole.

With proper reinforcement, do you think you could safely hang if you created a button hole right in the middle of your hammock?

What materials would you use and how would you construct it?

I was thinking maybe you could get some VHB tape (very high bonding) and attach a piece of grosgrain. Then, box stitch it, at least 5mm away from the edges, and finally sew the button hole stitches. Then use a hot-knife to cut the button hole open so that the synthetic fibers melt into each other a little bit to prevent fraying and runs.

Thoughts?

[Zilla]

If you really cant get up to pee then why not get yourself some pee bags from Dutch??,
I myself as lazy as i am would still rather get up then take the chance of a mishap and having my gear smell like urine, spent way too much money on nice gear to turn around and pee on it!,, but hey,, that's just me

[Roche]

Your turning this into a D.C. fix - overly complicated, expensive, and will not work as intended.

Use an inexpensive plastic jar with a wide top (dry roasted peanuts container), fill, close, sleep.

[Caminante]

Well, aside from discussing this particular application, I was struggling with creating buttonholes in ripstop fabrics. They're so light and sheer that the zigzag stitch just bunches everything up and frequently crams it down into the plate. Sewing them on standard cotton fabrics was no problem.

My solution was to pin and sew a piece of grosgrain (I didn't use any tape, just pins) to the fabric, roll it into a hem, and then sew my buttonhole. This worked great and also hides the grosgrain. It was helpful to cut the grosgrain long enough that the foot never wandered off of it while doing the buttonhole which would stall my feed and create a mess. Probably could have trimmed it after doing the buttonhole. I used a seam ripper to open the buttonhole, but it does look messy and your idea is probably better.

Good luck with the implementation and execution...

[androidm]

If you really cant get up to pee then why not get yourself some pee bags from Dutch??,
I myself as lazy as i am would still rather get up then take the chance of a mishap and having my gear smell like urine, spent way too much money on nice gear to turn around and pee on it!,, but hey,, that's just me

+1 Well stated Zilla!

[Roche]

... i am would still rather get up then take the chance of a mishap and having my gear smell like urine...

For those of us that have the proper equipment, are house broken and have changed diapers, it's not a problem.

You do realize one needs to tinkle in the jar, not the hammock.

[aero-hiker]

haha I've started a battle about the jar pissers vs the non-jar pissers!

Well, Roche, your peanut butter jar solution is likely lighter than my piss tube solution, especially after reinforcements, etc. and you don't risk your hammock busting open at the hole--and falling into a puddle of pee! I'm not a current peanut-butter piss jar user, nor have I met one, but I might try to bring along a piss jar next time I expect it to get real cold.

Also, I take mild offense at your D.C. comment. I live in D.C. and have nothing to do with Politics or government. Also, fun fact: Politicians are not from DC! Any way, I was just brain storming and thinking out of the box. Everyone's concern about an overly-complicated solution and peeing on your gear is valid, just bouncing some ideas around, hoping to shave some grams over the traditional pee-bottle/jar solution.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

[Rain Man]

... ripstop fabrics. They're so light and sheer that the zigzag stitch just bunches everything up and frequently crams it down into the plate.... I used a seam ripper to open the buttonhole, but it does look messy and your idea is probably better.

You can put a piece of stiff paper under the ripstop to keep it from jamming down into the plate. As far as cutting the hole, use a hot knife. Seals the edges.

As far as a hose, ... what do you do about your pad or UQ?

(I, for one, could do without the unnecessary and gratuitous knee-jerk jabs at "D.C." Both my eldest daughter and my son-in-law live and work in D.C. and are brilliant, hard-working, honorable citizens.)

[dante1811]

I use Restop bags and they work just fine. There are some other good bag alternatives too.

[Zilla]

For those of us that have the proper equipment, are house broken and have changed diapers, it's not a problem.

You do realize one needs to tinkle in the jar, not the hammock.

Biting my tounge.