Hello from Australia

[myleshard]

Good afternoon,
I am hoping to get some inspiration and some hammock design ideas from you guys, and hopefully in time make some useful contribution to the forum. I am planning to make a hammock to use on an upcoming motorcycle trip in Tasmania. There will be a 4WD carrying all the camping gear so the hammock does not need to be ultra light. I am thinking of making a bridge hammock out of maybe 7 to 10 oz durable Australian canvas.

A bit about myself.... My ancestors were tailors so although I am an engineer I enjoy making things that often include using sewing machines. I have been camping on the ground and sometimes in the back of my 4WD for more than half a century. Lately I have slept a few nights in a Tentsile tree tent, which maybe can be classed as a hammock and I slept comfortably. I don't hike and carry much any more but go bush in the 4WD and camp.

In the past I have imported materials and machines from the USA but recently I found an importer of hammock DIY materials has stated up in Tasmania. This has motivated me to get started. Dutch titanium tarp wasps and fleaz etc are now part of my lexicon. Whoopie slings are easy enough. Still as yet to suss out the meaning of header and footer ratios though.
Regards to all.
Myles

[ofuros]

4wd, motorcycle or shank's pony, doesn't matter how you travel, Myles....new hammocker's are always welcome here.

[SimonMc]

Welcome from Tasmania.

[myleshard]

Hi Simon,
Thanks for your reply. I found your Tier Gear website because I was trying to buy some no "see um mesh" locally rather than importing it from the USA. I have done this search every now and again and the search always came up empty. This week on Monday I repeated the search and your site came up. I was very surprised to see that you have been importing sil nylon as well. Quite a few Aussies have been looking for a local supplier of sil nylon without much success.

Recently I have been experimenting with 70 Denier PU coated nylon from Speedline textiles, this is about 2 oz material. Normally I make tarps and shades out of 10 oz rip stop canvas. I have been trying out the 2 oz nylon because it is much faster and easier to fold and pack up 2 kilos of wet nylon than 12 kilos of wet canvas. The canvas needs to be dried as well because it rots. I was concerned about the strength of the nylon tarp so I made a 3 meter by 3 meter square tarp and suspended it from the eaves of my house for a month during the summer storms. The 2 oz nylon tarp has held up with no problems. The 10 inch steel pegs tore out of the ground during the high winds but the tarp was unaffected. Based on this experiment I will maybe persist with the light weight nylon.

I am telling you all this because motor bike and 4WD campers might be another market for you. We are interested in light non bulky gear but ultra light gear back packing gear may not be necessary. For example in the past I have never carried a tarp on a motorbike trip now I will take a 3 by 3 meter 700 gm tarp for sure. Your tarp jewellery and PU coated nylon is perfect for this market.

Anyway I hope to purchase some items from you in the near future.
Regards
Myles Harding

[LuvmyBonnet]

Welcome to the forum from Buffalo NY! Whenever I hear about Australia and motorcycles I always think about The World's Fastest Indian - Burt Munro. Love that story.

[SimonMc]

Hey Myles - Yeah I have a few customers who are into motorbike camping, and it's definitely a market I am looking to cater for in the future. If you have any questions send me an email or give me call - the details are on the Tier Gear site.

Thanks mate.