What would you do?

[TineRgr8]

I am going hammock camping for the first time, bringing my 9 year old daughter, and I will be sewing most of the stuff myself. But I am finding some of the decisions hard to make...

The circumstances are: a trip of several days, in Danish summer weather (which tends to vary between warmth and cold, averaging 50 degrees F, it rains often and wind could also be an issue), we will be biking with a trailer, so weight is not that important. Also we are on a tight budget, so priorities are kinda: not freezing>price>comfort>easy handling.

1. I will have 9 meters of fabric available for a tarp, which will be covering us hanging bunk bed or VERY close in 3 tree formation. My kid co-sleeps, and wont be comfortable being even a few ft away from me. I considered doing co-sleeping in a bigger hammock, but hopefully that will not be necessary, as I doubt it would involve much sleep on my part
I am planning a 3 meter ridgeline (ca. 10 ft) and I am considering if I should use the full 9 metres for a 3X4.5 or if I should do a 3X3 and use the rest for snakeskins, pockets and pouches? If the extra 1.5 meters are an overkill, I'd like to have the other stuff, but if they are essential for a warm and dry experience, accessories can wait until next years holiday budget

2. I am making the hammocks from the cheapest fabric I could find (1.90€ per meter for 2. choice) I am doing two layers, an outer from Ripstop*Polyester, silicone*coated, 75den, 90g/sq and the inner layer from Ripstop*Nylon, impregnated, 20den, 26 g/sq. I am considering giving it all a heavy warm wash in the washer, to "kill" some of the coating, making it a little more breathable, but I also see hammocks being sold as water resistant, and none of us sweats especially in our sleep, so I am not sure if I am trying to fix a non-existing problem. Do you think the sleeping environment will be compromised by the impregnation and coating of the fabrics?

Those are my questions, I hope you will help me, because I have been reading every tread the search function came up with on the topics, and never felt the situations fit mine on these two questions. I did however, get answers to about 120 others, so the time was not wasted

The rest of the setup I am planning will be homemade under quilts (from cheap sleeping bags) and mummystyle sleeping bags with comfort temp down to 32 degree F, wrapped as over quilts. I will be making mosquito-nets and there will be a layer for added insulation in the hammock, but I am hoping that it can stay empty for summer use.

[MAD777]

You'll find lots of advice here, but none more important than to try out your finished setup at home, or nearby local park next to your car. And do ahead of time so you can make changes to the setup.

This is always a good plan, but especially where your daughter is involved. Not only do you want her to be safe, but also to have a great experience such that she'll want to go with you again.

Non-breathable hammocks are not the best idea. Use silicone coated fabric for the tarp.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Shug]

Check the Stickies Section here on DIY......https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...9-DIY-Stickies
Mucho info and you may find more than what you are looking for.
Shug

[CorwinC]

I would echo Mike's and Shug's comments as well. The DIY section here is awesome and Shug's videos on YouTube are the things that legends are made of (watch them with your daughter and she will be excited about hammocks as well.)

I have found that hammocks are somewhat "fiddley" and take some fine adjusting and so on to get them comfortable. An overnight (or two) before your trip would be essential in my opinion to get the feel of the hammock and let you have the opportunity to make adjustments while resources to make changes are available.

I would also encourage that you use the fabric you have for the tarp and get uncoated fabric for your hammocks. In my limited experience, as the weather gets close to dewpoint, the breathability of the hammock is really quite important. A possible option if you must use your coated ripstop would be to have a cotton sheet or something similar between you and the hammock to wick any moisture to the sides instead of "pooling" underneath you.

Best of luck and Enjoy!
Corwin

[hutzelbein]

2. I am making the hammocks from the cheapest fabric I could find (1.90€ per meter for 2. choice) I am doing two layers, an outer from Ripstop*Polyester, silicone*coated, 75den, 90g/sq and the inner layer from Ripstop*Nylon, impregnated, 20den, 26 g/sq. I am considering giving it all a heavy warm wash in the washer, to "kill" some of the coating, making it a little more breathable, but I also see hammocks being sold as water resistant, and none of us sweats especially in our sleep, so I am not sure if I am trying to fix a non-existing problem. Do you think the sleeping environment will be compromised by the impregnation and coating of the fabrics?

Don't use any kind of coated fabric for your hammocks. Unless you enjoy sleeping in a puddle of sweat. If you think this won't be a problem, take a plastic sheet and put it between yourself and your mattress for a full night and see what happens. You'll be surprised about how much water your body produces...

Also, I would not recommend polyester unless you like a very, very firm lay. Ditch the ripstop polyester and make both layers from the 20D ripstop nylon. Do you already have the fabric or do you still have to order it? If you order with Extremtextil, consider switching to this fabric instead. I have made a hammock from this one, and it's a really nice fabric. I have used all kinds of fabrics, including many from Dutch and Ripstopbytheroll, but this is one of my favorites. If you want to make double layer hammocks and want less bulk and weight, this fabric is also a good choice. Unfortunately the colors are a bit bright. But otherwise it's a good fabric.

[Billy Goat]

My wife and I do pretty well hanging from the same trees and sharing a tarp, so long as the trees are somewhat substantial and we set up with the suspensions coming off opposite sides of the tree. As long as the tree at the head end is (hopefully my metal metric conversion is close to correct) at least .28 meters or (about 14 inches) wide, we do pretty well without a spreader bar or any other necessary hardware. I have used spreaders and don't much care for them. I find they transfer more movement than just being strung up on either side. As far as the coated fabric is concerned, I'm afraid you may wake up in a swimming pool in the morning. Table cloths are evidently quite affordable. I've not used them, but it seems many folks here do, and love them. I will also echo the above statements and recommend checking out Shug's videos. He is an incredibly entertaining fellow and a fountain of information. Good luck.

Cheers,
the Goat

[TineRgr8]

Thank you for the suggestions so far You would not believe the amount of time I spend trying to figure out how to reply, before I realised I was logged out!

No thoughts on the tarp size for a rainy summer? It will never be used in fall or winther...

[Billy Goat]

Thank you for the suggestions so far You would not believe the amount of time I spend trying to figure out how to reply, before I realised I was logged out!

No thoughts on the tarp size for a rainy summer? It will never be used in fall or winther...

A 12 ft winter tarp with doors should serve you well. Plenty of space, plenty of coverage and should cover the both of you. I don't have any expericence with the cottage vendors 12 ft tarps, but so many folk swear by them so vehemently that my experience with an 11ft Diy tarp with diy Beaks only gives me the warm and fuzzies with the pro made longer version of what I have.

Cheers,
the Goat

[TineRgr8]

You'll find lots of advice here, but none more important than to try out your finished setup at home, or nearby local park next to your car. And do ahead of time so you can make changes to the setup.

This is always a good plan, but especially where your daughter is involved. Not only do you want her to be safe, but also to have a great experience such that she'll want to go with you again.

Non-breathable hammocks are not the best idea. Use silicone coated fabric for the tarp.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Check the Stickies Section here on DIY......https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...9-DIY-Stickies
Mucho info and you may find more than what you are looking for.
Shug

I would echo Mike's and Shug's comments as well. The DIY section here is awesome and Shug's videos on YouTube are the things that legends are made of (watch them with your daughter and she will be excited about hammocks as well.)

I have found that hammocks are somewhat "fiddley" and take some fine adjusting and so on to get them comfortable. An overnight (or two) before your trip would be essential in my opinion to get the feel of the hammock and let you have the opportunity to make adjustments while resources to make changes are available.

I would also encourage that you use the fabric you have for the tarp and get uncoated fabric for your hammocks. In my limited experience, as the weather gets close to dewpoint, the breathability of the hammock is really quite important. A possible option if you must use your coated ripstop would be to have a cotton sheet or something similar between you and the hammock to wick any moisture to the sides instead of "pooling" underneath you.

Best of luck and Enjoy!
Corwin

Don't use any kind of coated fabric for your hammocks. Unless you enjoy sleeping in a puddle of sweat. If you think this won't be a problem, take a plastic sheet and put it between yourself and your mattress for a full night and see what happens. You'll be surprised about how much water your body produces...

Also, I would not recommend polyester unless you like a very, very firm lay. Ditch the ripstop polyester and make both layers from the 20D ripstop nylon. Do you already have the fabric or do you still have to order it? If you order with Extremtextil, consider switching to this fabric instead. I have made a hammock from this one, and it's a really nice fabric. I have used all kinds of fabrics, including many from Dutch and Ripstopbytheroll, but this is one of my favorites. If you want to make double layer hammocks and want less bulk and weight, this fabric is also a good choice. Unfortunately the colors are a bit bright. But otherwise it's a good fabric.

My wife and I do pretty well hanging from the same trees and sharing a tarp, so long as the trees are somewhat substantial and we set up with the suspensions coming off opposite sides of the tree. As long as the tree at the head end is (hopefully my metal metric conversion is close to correct) at least .28 meters or (about 14 inches) wide, we do pretty well without a spreader bar or any other necessary hardware. I have used spreaders and don't much care for them. I find they transfer more movement than just being strung up on either side. As far as the coated fabric is concerned, I'm afraid you may wake up in a swimming pool in the morning. Table cloths are evidently quite affordable. I've not used them, but it seems many folks here do, and love them. I will also echo the above statements and recommend checking out Shug's videos. He is an incredibly entertaining fellow and a fountain of information. Good luck.

Cheers,
the Goat

A 12 ft winter tarp with doors should serve you well. Plenty of space, plenty of coverage and should cover the both of you. I don't have any expericence with the cottage vendors 12 ft tarps, but so many folk swear by them so vehemently that my experience with an 11ft Diy tarp with diy Beaks only gives me the warm and fuzzies with the pro made longer version of what I have.

Cheers,
the Goat

So after getting a bike trailer for free I got some room in the budget for new fabric and decided to follow your advice. I want the parachute fabric, but it only comes in blue and yellow! Now I'm stuck with considering if I want the more expensive olive fabric or if I wanna be making banana hammocks

Olive is more discrete and being two girls alone, it might be nice to be harder to find. But banana hammocks are hilarious. How the heck am I gonna decide this!?

[TineRgr8]

Sorry about that. Still getting the hang of functions here... Thought I thanked all the answers and then replied with a quote to one of them... I guess that button was for quting multible posts. I feel like a grandma spending an hour finding the "ON"-button