90 degrees hammock (hammocktent) review

**happywizz** · 10-25-2015, 14:22

Hi all,

I will give a review of the 90 degrees hammock, sold by Luke. (Hammocktent.com)
Just shortly a fellow hammocker told me about the existence of a hammock you can go ground with if you need to. Which should be truly lightweight and should have a very good dual purpose. I was getting intrigued. Why?

Sure, as we all say I will never go ground, but:
- When I'm hiking with ground people using there hobit houses I'm not always sure that we can agree on the perfect spot so I have to compromise. (General in Europe the distribution 99% ground hobbits and 1% tree elves. So I do a lot of compromising.)
- When I'm hiking above the tree-line and don't want to descend to find a hammock friendly area.
- In case of very bad weather I like to have the opportunity to stay in a trail cabin.
- In case there are no street lights or traffic signs 4 meter apart.
- In case I decide to pick a camp-site in Europe. (Which I rarely do, I prefer wild-camping.) In my experience, the more small-minded the camp-site the less opportunity to able to hang.

Okay, I almost always find a place to hang. But.. it would be so nice just not to bother. I walk till I'm tired and I just camp when I want to. No more studying maps or google earth for green spots, no more have a walk back... to last seen trees. So a ground alternative would make my trips less complicated. Still I want it to be competitive light.

With this in my mind I searched forums, looked at the hammocktent video's and my addiction took over. I couldnt'resist. Me want. I wrote an email to Luke from hammocktent and I asked him if I would buy 3 sets I could get a discount. Yeps, no problem we got a 10% discount (hammock only) which is a nice gesture. But keep in my mind that for an addict even the smallest positive spark is a huge incentive to keep admitting to your addiction. As addicts do, they looking for each others company and they keep convincing each other that buying stuff is good. So the three of us decided to plunge in. In case we drove from Holland to Switzerland we spare out the tax (21%) which is worth the effort. Especial when combined with a small hiking trip in the Alps to test our new gear.
So two of us did and drove to Luke's wood house with grass roof in Switzerland. (Almost like a hobits place.)

We walked part of the Obwaldner Höhenweg. It's absolutely beautiful. For sure I'm planning to come back. Switzerland is a dream country for hiking.
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Okay now for real. The hammock.

Details:
Tarp weight 411 grams with lighter ropes about 350 grams
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Hammock (no straps) 458 grams
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Total 869 - 808 grams

FIRST THOUGHT

What we really really liked:
- The sleeping position. For sure its the best hammock to sleep in any position. With an air mattress much better then a bride hammock (ridgerunner), it is more stable and more flat.
- Its very handy to have always a sleeping-pad with you. Because of this we decided to sleep in a trail-cabin with a wood-fire to dry our socks.
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- Excellent craftsmanship, the quality of the finish is top notch for both the hammock and the tarp.
- For it's versatility it's light without compromises.
- It's sitting position, without competition the best sitting hammock. Either with pad folded underneath or normal with the legs crossed.
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What we liked:
- Tree huggers, one of the lightest out there. Long (+3m) enough to fit any tree.
- Short ridgeline, so we where able to hang anywhere, even in a barn which would be otherwise more difficult due to limited options.
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- From the top good tarp coverage
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What we less liked:
- Because of the tarp's width it takes more time to fold up and its more difficult to put a sleeve around it. But still doable.
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- The tarp is hanging quite high compared to the bottom of the hammock. In the summer this isn't a problem, lot of fresh air. In the winter it looks you are too much exposed to the cold wind. But because a pad is used the cold wind will not blow through from beneath (what can happen with quilt though.)
- The straps for the tarp and hammock have to sit really high if the trees are more then 3 metres apart. So sometimes we had to use our hiking poles to push the ropes to get the right height.
- The hammocktent has a foolproof sleeve system to prevent the strings to get twisted. But it needs attention packing and unpacking.

What we not liked:
- Its quite hard to keep the pad centred and in the middle even a wide mattress seems too small in the middle. (I was using a large Thermorest xtherm.) To prevent cold spots in the middle it is best to use a jacket (making sure it fills out any vacant room on the sides of the mattress) or a small pad on top of the mattress (inside the hammock.) That will work fine.
- Its absolutely crucial to have the hammock horizontal centred. Otherwise your body is shifting to the opposite site of the mat beneath.
- Its not so easy to see if the hammock is horizontal centred, so I spend quite some time to set it up.

CONCLUSION – FIRST THOUGHT
Absolutely worth its money and the concept and craftsmanship is excellent. No arguing about that. For the summer in different situations where you have to go ground its a no brainer. Any light combination with a small sleeping pad and extra insulation like using cloth under your feet will do. For the ultra light hanger that wants to sleep anywhere it's a first pick. Im going to find out how well it will perform in cold conditions as I'm planning a winter trip in the southern alps of France.
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**KiwiMark** · 10-25-2015, 15:38

I'm not entirely sure why most hammocks & tarps can't be used on the ground if needed, as long as you have an inflatable pad with you.
As soon as you switch to an inflatable pad you only need to raise the tarp enough to not touch you as you sleep and that really wouldn't be hard.
Your TQ or sleeping bag that you put over you in the hammock would still work fine over you while sleeping on the inflatable mat.

I've gone another way and bought the Handy Hammock stand which I can use to hang in a hammock even where there are no trees.
I've used my hammock stand inside my Redverz Expedition II tent which has the bedroom unclipped and removed, this works well but I wouldn't hike with that tent due to size & weight.
I'm going to buy some REI adjustable tarp poles so that I can set up a tarp over my hammock stand and sleep comfy hanging where there are no trees I can use.
My setup also works where there is one tree or pole I can use, utilising one pole of the hammock stand for the other end and I could also use one REI adjustable tarp pole.

This 90 degree hammock probably does have a few advantages - maybe a lighter setup. But for me the weight isn't a huge deal as I'm mainly motorcycle camping.
It does look like a good quality bit of gear and it should be comfortable when set up properly.
To me it just doesn't seem like it would be the only option available when considering the possible need to go to ground some of the time.

**happywizz** · 11-08-2015, 04:19

Edit 1:
This hammock is better used with a long baffled mat (like exped) then with a short baffled mat (like thermorest). So the same sleeping pad recommendation as from http://www.amokequipment.com/sleepingpads is applicable.
Now I'm using the Warmlite downmat 70 and thats just perfect. The Warmlite should still be comfortable to -50F, thats more then my current underquilt im using for my other hammocks.

**OlTrailDog** · 12-09-2015, 20:17

Howdy,

I have been seriously considering pulling the trigger on this hammock. I see Luke thru'ed the PCT with this hammock and I am considering this for an AT in 2016. My other options are my WBRR or a cuben fiber hextent that is the same dimensions as the Golite Hex3. I was wondering if you or your companions have any further thoughts/experiences with this this hammock. Your review was excellent and I like how you broke out the categories of really like to yuck.

My chief concern is that it seems the tarp will only work with this specific hammock and as a ground shelter the shape/cut makes a different shaped tent as compared to a Zpack Duomid or SMD Haven. This is also contrasted with a HG cuben fiber tarp with doors for my WBRR that will work with any hammock and be useful as a standalone tarp for going to ground or for using alone (even if the ridgeline is 12'. What this all means is it is a very substantial chunk of change to dole out and end up not being pleased with, eh? Whereas, I know I can always re-sell my WBRR and HG tarp if I decide I simply can't stand a hammock any more. Thus far I have been very pleased with my WBRR although it is a heavier piece of kit than my cuben hextent. I simply enjoy the hang.

I know can't sort this all out for me, but I was wondering if you or your buddies had an update? Thanks!

**Armchair hiker** · 12-12-2015, 13:53

Hi OlTrailDog,

I am one of the other owners of the 90 degree hammock. I don't have a tarp yet and I haven't slept in the hammock as yet. I have testdriven it only once.

I can echo happywhizzes review: comfortable lay, more comfortable than a gathered end hammock. Downsides for me are the cost of the tarp, which is only available in cuben fiber, i.e. expensive. The other thing is that you need a sleeping pad, which I have, exped UL 7, but according to happywhizz you get cold spots and a wide pad is much better, so I need a wide pad, i.e. have to part with lots of dosh again. I have tried some climashield apex 4 oz as underisolation, which works reasonably well, it keep its loft, but it seems the hammock requires something to keep the hammock stretched lengthwise, i.e. it shortens if you lay in it without an pad, no big deal but slightly uncomfortable.

On the other hand, this is the only square type hammock that is light enough for backpacing, the Draumr and exped ergo are way too heavy for my liking. It is really comfortable. And Luke is a very nice guy to work with, if you mail him, he is wiling to help. If you order a set and don't like it, I am sure you can sell it for not much below original price on HF.

Good luck with your decision!

**gos** · 12-14-2015, 04:05

OlTrailDog,
Fiddling with the hammock needs some time. I can imagine when your tired it's easier to setup on the ground. I replaced al the tie-outs of the tarp with D-rings and replaced the suspension with amsteel and 3-hole multitool (loop-aliens).
I have used the hammock with a NeoAir XLite S. Under my feet a Evazote pad. When you're side sleeper you get cold spots on your knees and butt. When you use a coat underneath the pad and fill up all gaps with clothing, those cold spots are gone. The pad is then stable and not shifting away.
You can also use another tarp like the HG with doors, you only need to turn it 90 degrees and make tie-outs for the ridgeline. Benefits of HG is 70 grams lighter and you can use it with other hammocks to.
Using the tarp on the ground is exactly the same as the duplex tarp from ZPacks. I think ZPacks makes these tarps because al stitching of the ti-outs are stitched like a Z.
For ultralight hiking (3kg base) I use the 90ham but for comfort and not lying on the ground my bonefire (4kg base).

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**dman** · 12-14-2015, 07:57

gos, I'm totally interested in the 90 deg hammock but already have 4 HG cuben tarps for the family, 3 standard with doors and 1 Winter Palace, and don't feel like investing $400 in a tarp that will only work with this hammock. Can you show how you used the HG tarp to work with the 90 deg hammock. The three attachments at the bottom of your post do not work.

Also, I have the original Neo Air XL pads, why aren't these recommended?