Hammock for 11 year old

**red05** · 10-23-2020, 06:16

Any thoughts on a hammock for an 11 year old? My son is around 4'6" and still has some years of growing. I was thinking about a 10' hammock (Dream Hammock Darien). Would that be to long? How about width, I personally use a 64" width Darien and like it, but would he be more comfortable in a 58"? I'd like this to last him through his childhood.

I have an 11' DCF tarp that is 8'6" wide. I'm fairly sure this would not be wide enough for two hammocks strapped to the same trees, but maybe I'm wrong and it can be done. Does anyone have any experience and advice for backpacking with two hammocks and sharing a tarp? Is that a "thing" that people do?

Thank you so much

**unwordedly** · 10-23-2020, 06:44

When my daughter was 3, she slept in a hammock my wife sewed for her as her every night bed. It was about 7 x 4.5 ft and it fit her well. From our experience, the extra length didn't have a negative effect. The width is a bigger factor so she didn't get lost in it or have trouble getting in and out of it.

I know folks hang 2 under a single tarp with spreader bars (https://dutchwaregear.com/product/66...ader-bar-pole/), but I'm not positive how this would work with different sized hammocks and occupants.

**Baka Dasai** · 10-23-2020, 07:58

Originally Posted by unwordedly

...I know folks hang 2 under a single tarp with spreader bars (https://dutchwaregear.com/product/66...ader-bar-pole/), but I'm not positive how this would work with different sized hammocks and occupants.

It would be fine with different sized hammocks as long as you line up the head ends together. I've done it with a 10' and 11' hammock, and there's no reason it wouldn't work with a bigger difference.

**BuckeyeFan** · 10-23-2020, 08:34

At the last MAHHA I set up a young couple using a Chameleon and Hennessey under a SuperFly using a DIY spreader bar (search the forums) and it worked out fine for them. As previously stated, line up the head ends and you'll be fine.

Between the trees and above the ground.

**cougarmeat** · 10-23-2020, 13:30

I think many on the short side of the 5 to 6 foot range are comfortable in 10 to 10.5 foot hammocks when camping. So it kind of depends on how quickly and how much you expect the person to grow.

Few have complained about a hammock being too long - though shorter hammocks have a larger number of possible tree supports. You can imagine that whatever you get, by the time your son is out of grade school, there will probably be a fabric that isn’t even available now. The trend toward lighter/stonger widens choices. Like I can get the firmness (and other benefits) of a DL but at the weight of a single layer a few years old. Or, what for me would be ultraLite - a single layer clearly lighter than my older single layer hammocks.

I don’t know about trees in the east, but in the PNW, you can just run both hammocks off the same two trees - bringing one off the left side of the tree and one off the right side. That might work with your trees as well. The advantage, besides less weight/gear to keep track of, is you have proximity but motion independence. With the spreader bar person B will definitely know when person A gets out of the hammock.

**Bacs2003** · 10-23-2020, 16:12

My 7 year old daughter's hammock is not much shorter than 10 feet long and she has no issue with it. My 16 year old had far more issues trying to lie in it than the 7 year old, to the point where he decided that for now he's a ground dweller (on our next trip he's going to give one of my hammocks a shot... they're not much longer but they are wider).

Do you expect your 11 year old to get quite tall? My 16 year old son is just over 6 feet tall and likely has a couple inches to go and at 11 he was around 5 feet tall. My current 11 year old is just an inch or two taller than your son, but isn't likely to get as tall as his older brother, and I have an almost 10 year old son who is a few inches taller than the 11 year old. If you want it to last him through childhood, you may end up guessing about how tall he's going to get. Family history in my case points toward children as tall as 6'5" and as short as 5'2", so I would personally err on the side of a little longer. Or just be ready to buy another hammock in a few years when The Big Growth Spurt happens.

The Big Growth Spurt is unpredictable and frustrating. Being mentally prepared to replace things is helpful.

**red05** · 10-26-2020, 05:39

Thank you all for that very helpful information. I really appreciate you all.

**Dirtbaghiker** · 10-26-2020, 06:52

My kids use Dutch Chameleons with spreader bar (side by side) and they both fit perfectly under a winter palace tarp. 20200906_184459.jpg
Maybe hard to tell from that picture.. But there they are, 2 chameleons side by side under palace tarp. If you watch the video I posted, you may see it better..

If u go to about 7 minutes or 7:30 into video you will see good close ups of the setup in real time..

**Dirtbaghiker** · 10-26-2020, 07:02

On that note.. what cougarmeat said is true. Using the spreader bar.. when one person gets up and out..the other person will KNOW, lol.. up and down they will go. My kids dont mind as much though.. is what it is for them.

**WalksIn2Trees** · 10-26-2020, 12:45

Originally Posted by Dirtbaghiker

On that note.. what cougarmeat said is true. Using the spreader bar.. when one person gets up and out..the other person will KNOW, lol.. up and down they will go. My kids dont mind as much though.. is what it is for them.

yeah I can't help but feel that there must be some way around this, maybe by incorporating a gear hammock as a counterweight somehow?

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