Love the Hammeck Breezy
People, listen to me: it's time for you to get a new hammock.
If you don't already own a hammock, skip the $20 wonder on woot.com and go straight to a real hammock, from Hammeck; if you already have a hammock from somewhere else, I encourage you to go order a Hammeck hammock, and upgrade your leisure. And if you are looking for a gift, these are perfect for anyone who spends time outside, or who ought to be spending more time outside, or who needs to relax a little (in other words, pretty much everyone).
I own a few hammocks, and I thought that I loved them: comfortable, portable, packable. Recently I was offered the chance to try a Hammeck Breezy single-layer hammock, and I found that in every respect it is better than the hammocks I already own.
I am a pretty tall guy -- 6' 1" -- but not too heavy (about 190 lbs.). The Hammeck Breezy is longer than most entry-level hammocks, many of which are only around 100"-110", so I can fit in it more comfortably. In fact, I never got a very good diagonal in the ENO DoubleNest, but I flopped down correctly on the Hammeck Breezy my first time; the Breezy is about eighteen or twenty inches longer than the DoubleNest. And my weight is well within the Breezy's range: I never heard stretching or popping seams or any other sign of trouble like you sometimes get from cheap hammocks. Even better, being a little narrower side-to-side than the DoubleNest, the edges of the Breezy never clamped shut over my head.
For my suspension I chose straps with cinch buckles, and they work really well. Threading the straps into the buckles takes just a second: it's not fiddly at all to hook them up if you're only used to big carabiners on the gathered ends of your hammock. The straps themselves are narrower than some other straps, but they hold up fine. With one end of the straps sewn into a permanent loop, I was able to use them, lashed to an extra Amsteel whoopie sling I made myself, to span almost 30' in my back yard. No stretch, no sag: my ENO Atlas Straps couldn't do this when I tried them!
The fixed ridgeline was new to me: none of my other hammocks have one. I found that, because the ridgeline ensures that the hammock itself will hang just right for a proper lay, I can hook up the Breezy's suspension in lots of places and count on getting the 30-degree lay that we all try for. And I had good hangs all over! I hung from fat trees, little 10" trees, wooden posts, thick brick columns, and lumber set in cement. I hung at home and in the yard and at work, which is a college campus; this attracted the attention of a campus security officer who asked a ton of questions about the hammock, and told his partner how cool hammock camping is.
The material is a strong, lightweight nylon. Hammeck offers several fabrics to choose from, depending on your height, your anticipated load (did I say that politely?), and your budget. they are all laid out in easy-to-read tables on the web site. The big manufacturers just select a material and make all of their hammocks out of the same stuff.
The Breezy hammock comes in a double-ended stuff sack, which is a nice touch. I can leave the sack cinched down on one end of the suspension lines as I hang up the hammock, and I don't have to go groping around to find it when I am packing up.
The manufacturer, Hammeck, offers a bug net, but I didn't try it. (I got this hammock at the end of summer, and here in New England, it was just a low-bug year.) This model, the Breezy, uses a bug net that envelops the whole hammock; their fancier models like the Envy-S include an integrated bug net that can be removed, which is pretty cool.
Is a Hammeck hammock worth the price? Definitely: the construction is very solid, the customer service is very good, there are many more choices than are offered by big manufacturers at this price range, and you can feel good about supporting a small, family business. In fact, I will put it this way: even though summer is over, I love this hammock so much that I drilled holes in my basement joists so I can enjoy the Breezy all winter long, dreaming of next summer.
Hammeck Hammock web site: http://www.hammeck.com/
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks