Best hammock/system to buy in bulk for scout troop?

[elitts]

I don't have any real suggestion about the hammocks, but I will tell you that my troop has a number of boys that have begun hammocking. Most of them just have hammocks and then they jury rig tarps out of plastic sheeting at this point. However, I have begun stocking up on 10'x20' tarps with grommets (I'm Quartermaster) that can be used to cover multiple hammocks instead of having each boy with their own.

Also, if you have are equipping a large number of boys all at once, you might be able to help them out on the insulation front. When I switched to hammocking I purchased foam from a bulk seller because I didn't like a 20" wide pad. The biggest expense was the shipping. (I used Foambymail.com) A 50'x60" roll of 1/4inch foam is only $170. You could make a 60" x 30" pad for 20 scouts out of that much material for a cost of under $10 per scout.

[flyakker]

I just posted this link in another thread. I have had this Mana Outdoors hammock for over a year, maybe closer to 2. It has been on a few excursions with me, and many hangs in the back yard, and at local parks. It was listed at $40 when I bought it for the double. It is now $25! The singles are listed for $15. Maybe this will help with the cost. It is very comfortable, and has proven durable, as well.

https://www.amazon.com/OUTDOORS-Supe...double+hammock

[tightwad]

We took on this project at the beginning of the year in a very similar situation. My goal was to outfit 15 boys @ a budget of $100 that included Hammock, Tarp, bug net and suspension. I thought it would be great for them to sew gathered end hammocks from the Tablecloths as well as Hex cat cut tarps from brown 10x12 tarps.

I am not sure I would do it again without better planning. It took 3x as long as I had budgeted and in the end my wife and I did most of the tarp sewing and probably 5 of the 20 hammocks (we made extra hammocks and bug nets for loaner use). The boys mostly sewed their own hammocks, with knotty mods and spliced their own ridgelines (zing-it) and suspension...I did sew all the tree straps.

We had a great High Adventure with the boys all loving their hammocks and spending the whole week in them. We will continue to use them for future campouts as well. the tarps are the weak/cheap point but we didn't even need them the whole week! We received a ton of positive feedback from parents and other scout leaders as well.

[johnspenn]

We took on this project at the beginning of the year in a very similar situation. My goal was to outfit 15 boys @ a budget of $100 that included Hammock, Tarp, bug net and suspension. I thought it would be great for them to sew gathered end hammocks from the Tablecloths as well as Hex cat cut tarps from brown 10x12 tarps.

I am not sure I would do it again without better planning. It took 3x as long as I had budgeted and in the end my wife and I did most of the tarp sewing and probably 5 of the 20 hammocks (we made extra hammocks and bug nets for loaner use). The boys mostly sewed their own hammocks, with knotty mods and spliced their own ridgelines (zing-it) and suspension...I did sew all the tree straps.

We had a great High Adventure with the boys all loving their hammocks and spending the whole week in them. We will continue to use them for future campouts as well. the tarps are the weak/cheap point but we didn't even need them the whole week! We received a ton of positive feedback from parents and other scout leaders as well.

Why make the hex cut tarps out of the already cheap brown tarps? Couldn't you just use them as-is with the understanding they're not ideal?

I think the table cloth hammocks are the way to go in a project like this. Heck, I love mine!

[Dhagan]

I've had really good luck with Yukon outfitters netted hammock. $24.99 on woot.com...when you can find em.

[stryder]

I would try mule tape suspension. Cheap. Easy. Uses knots.

I purchased small tarps off Woot for $20. But that is for backpacking. Your cheapo blue poly can work well to start.

Frontkey bug suspension is a great DIY project, little sewing. Especially if you use window shears.

For hammock I have used table clothe hammocks, have taught them, but see real value in spending the extra dough for a Dutchware. This is the heart of the system, and in hindsite I think if I went with Dutchware to begin with it would have saved time and money. Most Scouts have upgraded to Dutch after seeing mine. Parents (and some scouts) are just a wee bit skeptical at first and having a commercially made hammock seems to smooth over some of those concerns. Plus it is just wicked comfortable. Dutch also helps Scouts. Sometimes with a discount, sometimes with odds and ends from his shop (read: "scrap amsteel = free whoopies").

I would also consider some sort of under insulation. Scouts go out in all sorts of weather. Nothing like having a warm place to go at end of day. I understand that this can get pricey but this might be where to shine with the DIY skills. There is also the well regarded SnugPak under-quilt for like $40. There are a few videos that seem to indicate a space blanket under-quilt can be someone effective. If you choose not to pursue this right away consider double layer hammocks so the existing sleeping pads do not move around all night on them. You will wake up with a dawn of the dead zombie scenario when the Scouts have slept poorly and are all sorts of cranky.

[unch518]

Woot may be your best bet. Hammock w/ bug net and a rainfly for $50+shipping. You could whip up a bunch of poly webbing suspension for pretty cheap as well. Assuming most or all of the scouts have bags and pads, you wouldn't need worry about insulation. You could even grab a few CDT for those that don't and still come in way under your $100pp budget. You could substitute the rainfly for some 10X20 tarps to hang more than one hammock under, but that may really limit your tree options when you do go out.

[kitsapcowboy]

FWIW I have now made three of these DIY "sleeping bag makeover" underquilts to date -- at only $20 or so a piece -- and I'm planning on making a fourth; after two windy nights with lows around 50F, they seem to have done pretty well for me, so they might work for the OP's application. Very quick and easy to make with readily available components and not too many demands on your machine sewing acumen...



https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...mer-Underquilt

[teb_atoz]

Have them make their own. It could be done for less then 20$, that is hammock, tablecloth.com, and suspension. buying any thing is going to ge 50$+.

cheers

[WalksIn2Trees]

Have them make their own. It could be done for less then 20$, that is hammock, tablecloth.com, and suspension. buying any thing is going to ge 50$+.

cheers

I would try mule tape suspension. Cheap. Easy. Uses knots.

I purchased small tarps off Woot for $20. But that is for backpacking. Your cheapo blue poly can work well to start.

Frontkey bug suspension is a great DIY project, little sewing. Especially if you use window shears.

For hammock I have used table clothe hammocks, have taught them, but see real value in spending the extra dough for a Dutchware. This is the heart of the system, and in hindsite I think if I went with Dutchware to begin with it would have saved time and money. Most Scouts have upgraded to Dutch after seeing mine. Parents (and some scouts) are just a wee bit skeptical at first and having a commercially made hammock seems to smooth over some of those concerns. Plus it is just wicked comfortable. Dutch also helps Scouts. Sometimes with a discount, sometimes with odds and ends from his shop (read: "scrap amsteel = free whoopies").

I would also consider some sort of under insulation. Scouts go out in all sorts of weather. Nothing like having a warm place to go at end of day. I understand that this can get pricey but this might be where to shine with the DIY skills. There is also the well regarded SnugPak under-quilt for like $40. There are a few videos that seem to indicate a space blanket under-quilt can be someone effective. If you choose not to pursue this right away consider double layer hammocks so the existing sleeping pads do not move around all night on them. You will wake up with a dawn of the dead zombie scenario when the Scouts have slept poorly and are all sorts of cranky.

I agree with both of these points of view, but I say offer both options and let the parents decide which way to go. As pointed out some parents can be a bit protective, and those ones probably won't care about spending the extra cash on the hammock, while other parents are very arts and crafts oriented and would be all for their kid making their own gear, and the ones that opt to buy can still make one, just require it pass a formal weight test (with the parents present) before they can use it.

Sent from my SM-T817V using Tapatalk