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  1. #1
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Experience with integrated net hammock zipper failure

    I haven't read many (any?) posts about people ripping out the zippers on hammocks with integrated nets, so I'm wondering if there are any people 'out there' who have had this happen. I've been using them for a while and have not yet had it happen, except for once early on where I had a bad 'sit and miss' — where I totally destroyed the net, in fact — but that was totally my fault and a fluke which will not be soon repeated, hopefully.

    There is at least one 'grey area' I can think of, which is sitting in the hammock with the zipper situated not quite far enough toward the hammock ends, which can put a lot of stress on the zipper without actually tearing anything. I've had that happen a few times with (knock wood!) no failures thus far.

    So aside from fluke accidents like mine, have you had a zipper failure caused by 'normal wear and tear' and what you consider reasonable usage?
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
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  2. #2
    Senior Member soul embrace's Avatar
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    like you the only thing i had happen with a hammock with an integrated net was with a grand trunk skeeter beeter pro and some how sit to far back and flipped out the back side and ripped the net when trying to stand up. the only other issue i had was me being in a hurry and sipped some fabric up when zipping the net shut
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  3. #3
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by soul embrace View Post
    like you the only thing i had happen with a hammock with an integrated net was with a grand trunk skeeter beeter pro and some how sit to far back and flipped out the back side and ripped the net when trying to stand up. the only other issue i had was me being in a hurry and sipped some fabric up when zipping the net shut
    Thanks! Not a flood of responses so it's a good sign for us.

    It'd be nice to hear from some thru hikers who've used them day in and day out for a few months. I've been using the Darien quite a lot the last few years and also the Chameleon a fair bit this past winter and thus far no problems.
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
    “If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton

  4. #4
    cmc4free's Avatar
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    Not a thru hiker, but I have quite a few (maybe around 100?) combined nights between the Chameleon, BBXLC, Sparrow, & Darien. No problems with any of those. They're not all the same though... the BBXLC zipper tabs meet near the shoulder and on the Sparrow they meet right in the middle. Then, as you know, the Darien has the zipper only on one side & the Chameleon has it on both sides - but in either case the tabs can meet anywhere along the length.

    Conversely, I have relatively few (less than 10) nights' experience using a bottom entry net. I plan to give that more of a chance this year.
    Last edited by cmc4free; 03-15-2021 at 20:02.

  5. #5
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    I just don't believe in zippers - they're an additional point of failure. Give me a a simple, gathered-end hammock and a Fronkey bugnet and I'm happy. I have a high-end integrated-bugnet hammock from one of our cottage vendors and sure as heck, the zipper failed in less than a year. Luckily, the vendor replaced it, but it still got me to thinking about how wonderful life is without zippers!
    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson

  6. #6
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SilvrSurfr View Post
    I just don't believe in zippers - they're an additional point of failure. Give me a a simple, gathered-end hammock and a Fronkey bugnet and I'm happy. I have a high-end integrated-bugnet hammock from one of our cottage vendors and sure as heck, the zipper failed in less than a year. Luckily, the vendor replaced it, but it still got me to thinking about how wonderful life is without zippers!
    What I'm trying to do is to get a rough idea about whether it happens frequently or rarely.

    I kinda-sorta-semi feel that if I were doing a multi-week thru that a Fronkey might be better for the very reason you mention, one less point of failure. The same reason I would not use one of these ethereally light materials for the hammock itself. Because I've actually seen and read about failures with those.

    But if it's a rare occurrence, that would definitely sway the decision. As I mentioned, I think I'm fairly careful but even so I've caught myself putting a bit of stress on them by not opening them (particularly the zipper that opens toward the foot) far enough when sitting in the hammock. And of course there's the normal stress in the head and foot area which I'm assuming is well within design limits. Hopefully. So I suppose that common failures in those areas would worry me the most.

    So, how and what part of the zipper failed in your hammock?
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
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  7. #7
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmc4free View Post
    Not a thru hiker, but I have quite a few (maybe around 100?) combined nights between the Chameleon, BBXLC, Sparrow, & Darien. No problems with any of those. They're not all the same though... the BBXLC zipper tabs meet near the shoulder and on the Sparrow they meet right in the middle. Then, as you know, the Darien has the zipper only on one side & the Chameleon has it on both sides - but in either case the tabs can meet anywhere along the length.

    Conversely, I have relatively few (less than 10) nights' experience using a bottom entry net. I plan to give that more of a chance this year.
    Good to hear about the variety... and no problems with any of them.

    And it'd be great to hear about your impressions of the bottom entry net. I do like sleeping with no net or cover when it isn't terribly cold and when there are no bugs, so a separate net could sometimes be an attractive option. Of course I can take the net off the Chameleon if desired although it is a bit of a pain to reinstall each time! Maybe with practice it isn't.....
    Last edited by cmoulder; 03-16-2021 at 07:12.
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
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  8. #8
    Senior Member BillyBob58's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SilvrSurfr View Post
    I just don't believe in zippers - they're an additional point of failure. Give me a a simple, gathered-end hammock and a Fronkey bugnet and I'm happy. I have a high-end integrated-bugnet hammock from one of our cottage vendors and sure as heck, the zipper failed in less than a year. Luckily, the vendor replaced it, but it still got me to thinking about how wonderful life is without zippers!
    Quote Originally Posted by cmoulder View Post
    What I'm trying to do is to get a rough idea about whether it happens frequently or rarely.

    I kinda-sorta-semi feel that if I were doing a multi-week thru that a Fronkey might be better for the very reason you mention, one less point of failure. The same reason I would not use one of these ethereally light materials for the hammock itself. Because I've actually seen and read about failures with those....................................
    My guess is: extremely rare. But, as SilvrSurfr's post confirms, it does happen. Now, consider that long back country trip( say deep into the Wind River Mountain wilderness areas of WY). Where not only am I risking a shortened trip, but I am several days hike from my car or even a bail out spot. So if the mosquitoes are raging, even if I bail out I am stuck with a couple of miserable nights before I can get to my car. That is the stated reason why old Ed Speer chose Velcro as the closure for his Pea Pod. He was of the opinion that- apparently based on his extensive experience with long trips far from quick bail outs- that sooner or later zippers fail. The same is the reason for the bottom entry style Hennessy hammocks.

    Then again, how catastrophic does it really have to be if the zipper fails and can't be repaired? And how difficult are they to repair? Before the wonders of picaridin and permethrin, back in DEET only days, I spent 30 days straight in super bad mossy country with no net, other than a head net. No netted tent or hammock, just a tarp. Now I would count that as miserable, and was longing for a netted shelter, but I did not have to end the trip. Which would have been crazy to even consider because that was the normal way those trips were done. We all knew the mossies would be bad, but tarps, DEET and head nets it was. I would probably never choose to do a net free 30 day summer trip again, but the point is: if the zipper fails, do I really have to bail? Or can it be repaired?

    And one of the main contributors to the misery was the nasty DEET itself. But, I have now done trips with no nets in bad mossy country with no real issues, and no bites, just using permethrin and picaridin. The main blessing of the picaridin is I find it so much more pleasant to use than DEET. I did one multi day trip to the Sawtooth mountains of ID first week of Sept. When I have done these trips this time of year in the nearby Winds of WY, I have never had Mossy trouble(but they will carry you off in June), so I was surprised to find them swarming in the Sawtooths. I had no net, just my Claytor No Net with a Speer Pea Pod, and it was not cold enough most nights to really close up the pod. I found myself being envious of my friend's college age son who had borrowed one of my HH Super Shelters for his bottom entry HH. I had net envy, because I was paranoid about bites every night. But between the permethrin and picaridin, I had no reason to worry: not a single bite.

    So, I'm not sure if I need to be that much concerned with the zipper for a net malfunctioning? Then again, some non zip net system is available and easy enough to use, so why not?

  9. #9
    cmc4free's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmoulder View Post
    And it'd be great to hear about your impressions of the bottom entry net. I do like sleeping with no net or cover when it isn't terribly cold and when there are no bugs, so a separate net could sometimes be an attractive option. Of course I can take the net off the Chameleon if desired although it is a bit of a pain to reinstall each time! Maybe with practice it isn't.....
    Probably just my lack of experience using them, but one thing that has always dissuaded me from using the bottom entry net is the setup process. I like to hang my hammock and then attach my UQ, which is a no-brainer for netless or integrated net hammocks. My bottom entry net is from Dutchware, and on that model each end has only about a 2" diameter opening that cinches down farther. In order to set up, I have to first put the hammock through the large opening in the bottom of the net, then guide each end of the hammock through the respective ends of the net. At least this can be done in advance and the hammock + net stored together in the hammock sack (which ends up being a little bulkier than an integrated net hammock, FWIW). Then I have to attach the UQ while standing inside the net, which is the part I particularly don't enjoy. Maybe I'm doing something wrong or have just yet to achieve that 'a-ha' moment.

  10. #10
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmc4free View Post
    Probably just my lack of experience using them, but one thing that has always dissuaded me from using the bottom entry net is the setup process. I like to hang my hammock and then attach my UQ, which is a no-brainer for netless or integrated net hammocks. My bottom entry net is from Dutchware, and on that model each end has only about a 2" diameter opening that cinches down farther. In order to set up, I have to first put the hammock through the large opening in the bottom of the net, then guide each end of the hammock through the respective ends of the net. At least this can be done in advance and the hammock + net stored together in the hammock sack (which ends up being a little bulkier than an integrated net hammock, FWIW). Then I have to attach the UQ while standing inside the net, which is the part I particularly don't enjoy. Maybe I'm doing something wrong or have just yet to achieve that 'a-ha' moment.
    Thanks, and I can see how one would have to re-think the process. And then if it's windy... hmmm.
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
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