I’m a big fan of having zippers in both sides, which helps with adjusting an underquilt, and just makes hammock life easier all the way around. This makes me lean toward the Chameleon over the Half-Zipped even at a slight weight/cost penalty. And it buys you into a system of potential upgrades as you pointed out.
Hexon 1.6 is a good bet for fabric for your first hammock. It’s a good middle ground between the heavier fabrics, and the avant garde ultralight fabrics. It’s really nice, and is unlikely to disappoint. Tarp choice might be a better way to save weight, with no concern of encroaching on “stupid light” territory. But opting for 1.0 (through Dutch, some other vendors treat 1.0 as upgrades) is the cheapest way to shed 5oz. I can't tell you if you'll enjoy 1.0, or anything else, for that matter.
Tarp choice. If you go DCF it'll be the single biggest gain in ounce shedding that you're likely to achieve. And with very little penalty in any metric, except cost. Pack size and puncture resistance are the weaker points, but many people are happily using DCF long term with no regrets. I'd more likely try to shed weight with a DCF tarp before 1.0 hammock if I weren't price sensitive. Only you know the answer to that.
[Full disclosure: I'm lighter than you by a little, and I'm wanting to explore 1.0 in my next hammock for weight savings and for improved fetal side sleeping (not sure if it will help until I try). Comfort is subjective, but vaguely inversely proportional to weight at any given fabric weight. That explains why I'm suggesting DCF over 1.0 as your first stop to shedding ounces, while I myself am going the other way. Also because of price.]
Did you tie knots with your trekking pole tent? Either way, you can save 3oz plus or minus if you're open to other suspension options. Beetle Buckles and Poly/Spider straps that come as stock suspension are nice, but you can save by using lighter weight straps and the Beckett Hitch. Cost to upgrade to such straps is ~$20-30, depending on which you choose to buy, and from where.
I'm not a Whoopie sling fan, but they can save you some weight, especially when paired with light huggers. But you might like that better than Beckett Hitch. Everyone is different.
For ultralight and ultra clever suspension learning, turn to Jeff Myers.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCAZ1U...ZrMfhEg/videos His Dutch bashing is cringey and unnecessary, but his ideas are fantastic. Especially great are the videos on “EVO loops” and their many applications, including in Beckett-based suspensions.
Bookmarks