Zing-it hammock

**fugalster** · 04-24-2018, 10:20

Categorize this under "is it possible" rather than "is it useful."

Wondering if anybody has ever woven a hammock from zing-it or similar? I'm thinking like a rope hammock, but the gathered end style, not the spreader bar tippy-table style.

Lets be honest, the ONLY useful feature of this would be if it's lighter/less bulky than a fabric one. I imagine it would be less comfortable and prone to tangling. Yet my curiosity remains.

Let's say I wanted to try making one. How much length of rope does one require?

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**rweb82** · 04-24-2018, 10:31

I would think doing some research on making a Mayan woven hammock would give you an idea for how much cordage you'd need and how to go about making weaving it. I don't know if it would be a cost-effective use of Zing-it, or if it would even be comfortable. Good luck!

**MiteyF** · 04-24-2018, 10:33

That sounds terribly uncomfortable, expensive, and very labor intensive. I say go for it, and report back ;-)

**4evrplan** · 04-24-2018, 11:04

Originally Posted by MiteyF

That sounds terribly uncomfortable, expensive, and very labor intensive. I say go for it, and report back ;-)

Ditto what MiteyF said. The big problem I see is there's no stretch in it. I still want to see it done.

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**GadgetUK437** · 04-24-2018, 11:17

Expect it to be heavier (than 1.6oz nylon), unless you make the net with rather large holes!
I did a bit of planning for a 45° hammock (like a 90° hammock, but at 45°), with a oblong ripstop bed, suspended by dyneema cords at 45°. And to keep it as light as a 1.6oz/yd GE hammock I would have had to use 1mm dyneema cord.

**GadgetUK437** · 04-24-2018, 11:37

Just did the sums.
1.75mm ZingIt/LashIt weighs 0.02oz/foot.
You would need to have at least 4" squares to be lighter than a 1.6oz/yd 11' GE hammock (given a 10% fudge factor for knots).
Can sent you spreadsheet, if you like.

**Caminante** · 04-24-2018, 15:19

Check w/Dutch. He has run some similar experiments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9A9LtTZWEo

**Tony c** · 04-24-2018, 16:39

https://youtu.be/P9dka82KdrM

I remember watching this video of a emergency rope hammock. It looked uncomfortable and I can't imagine stronger rope being any nicer, but that's personnel and you can always carry a pad to place on top.

**autox** · 06-08-2018, 21:58

Hey all,

New member - first post. Joined to respond to this, as I've been thinking about the same thing for the past week.

I ran some numbers on this and it looks like the weight could land under an ounce. Kind of crazy. Here's how it goes...

I used the mayan hammock tutorial on Ultimate Hang, and the Hummingbird Single as references.

https://theultimatehang.com/2013/07/...mayan-hammock/
https://hummingbirdhammocks.com/shop/single-hammock/

Dave said he used 2000yds to make a hammock 6.5' long, 50" wide. 2,000yds * 3'/yd / 6.5' / 50" = 18.64 strands/in.

The Hummingbird Single uses fabric tested at 50 lb/in tensile strength. 50 lb/in / 18.46 strand/in = 2.71 lb/strand

Braided UHMWPE fishing line is available in 3lb test (https://wholesalefishingsupplies.com...hmwpe-dyneesi/, https://www.urichsale.top/lr-braid-f...i-p-18899.html).

How strong would this be? 3lb/strand * 18.46 strand/in * 50 in = 2,769 lbs tensile strength for the whole hammock.

How much does the line weight? I weighed a 25' hank of Dynaglide at18.5g. Dynaglide tests at 1000 lbs. 18.5g / 25' / 1000lbs = .00074 g/ft/lb.

So the weight of the woven portion of the hammock would weigh: 2,000 yds * 3'/yd * 3lb/strand * .00074 g/ft/lb = 13.32g! Yes, I'm suspicious, too.

Now for the clews. Mayan hammocks are suspended by clews at both ends equal to half the length of the weave, doubling the overall length. We don't need the whole thing to support 2.769 lbs. Hummingbird uses a safety factor of 3 on a 300lb rating, for a maximum load of 900 lbs. We're triple that. That means we can go 1/3 as light for the clews. 13.32g / 3 = 4.44g. Hammock with clews then weighs 13.32 + 4.44 = 17.76g, or 0.63oz.

How 'bout a sanity check? Our 6.5' weave length / 25' ~ 1/4 of that 25' hank of Dynaglide. It would weigh a little over 4g. Our 2,769 lbs it about 3x the strings of Dynaglide, so three 6.5' pieces would weight 12g. Pretty close to 13.32. Sanity check passes.

Is this nuts, or what??

Now let's look for problems with it. The clews could be a weak point as they only support 1/3 of our target 50 lb/in, but even at full strength, the weight only goes up to 26.64g. The Hummingbird is made of thin, stretchy nylon, so maybe 50 lb/in and a safety factor of 3 aren't strong enough. Again, with full strength clews, we're over 9x our target 300lb rating, and the weave provides some elastic behavior. The line is < 0.1mm thick - that's a lot thinner than the #18 string (1.5mm) that Mayan hammocks are typically made of. That brings the unloaded width down from 50" to a little over 3". It also means you may feel the strands pressing in to your skin more. No way to tell how important these are with out trying.

Cost is the only obvious concern. Those sources are around $20/300yds. Pending clew strength, this would cost ~$200. Pretty steep for a net hammock. However, at 6lb test, the price falls in half and availability goes way up. With 13.32g in clews and the same strand/in in the weave, this would add up to 40g or 1.4oz, and only cost you $70 (we need to buy less for the clews). And that is a perfectly reasonable price. Given the strength, there's room to play with the strands/in and hole size for further weight/cost savings.

Thoughts?