My first hammock setup - with pics :)

**Hairball** · 07-11-2011, 21:24

I know the mantra around here - pics or it didn't happen, so here we go!

From my original thread here asking for some advise on what to buy for my first hammock (on the cheap) there were a lot of good suggestions and advice. Forum member Flangler was the first to point out that REI-Outlet was selling the Grand Trunk Traveler Hammock - Double for $35, marked down from $70. I jumped on it right then which turned out to be a good move since the following morning the price had jumped to $55. That same forum member helped me more in depth through some PMs and I ended up ordering some straps from strapworks.com and I'll be getting some whoopie slings soon.

Thank you Flangler!

Ok blah blah blah - let's see some hammock, right?

As soon as I got home I immediately figured out how to do a quick hang in my garage. Just pushed stuff out of the way as I was on a mission.

Here's me hanging out... looking bored waiting for my wife to get the camera to work.

Then a little of the view from inside the hammock.

And for the curious, here's a shot of the big clips that come with the hammock - the brown straps are the ones I got from strapworks.com

Now for the mini-review. I love it, particularly for the price. The pics don't do a good job of showing how gargantuan this thing is. It's completely swallows you whole. Because of my hasty garage setup the suspension angles aren't what I'd like, around 55 degrees instead of 30ish - there's more sag than I think I want. That said, the heavy sag and huge hammock allows me to get really flat - very, very comfy. I'm probably going to take my kindle out and read for a while before bed.

The big clips that come with it are very solid, totally no worries about their strength, but they are heavy and bulky. Definitely going to be replacing that setup, but they made my first hang really easy and work great with straps. I just put a loop in the straps where I wanted to "clip in" on each end and I was set.

The weather here in the Denver area has seen some pretty serious storms almost every day for several days now. If the weather will cooperate then this coming weekend my wife and I will do an overnight backpack. We'll take the tent of course as I don't have insulation or a tarp worked out yet for the hammock, but we definitely plan on hanging it up at our campsite to relax in for an extended session. If we make it out this weekend I'll be back with more pics!

**Canadian_Eh** · 07-11-2011, 21:44

Congrats!!!
Looks comfy

**Flangler** · 07-11-2011, 21:55

Good stuff Hairball! Welcome to the hammock crack den. Whoopies are on their way...

**Hairball** · 07-12-2011, 08:46

Here's a couple additional things I noticed.

Definitely too much sag. I knew that already, but it was more apparent the more time I spent in the hammock.

This hammock has extra fabric sewn length-wise at each side of the hammock. Seems to be primarily to give it a visual flair, but in use it's a bit annoying because the seams are tighter than the rest of the fabric. You have to position yourself around/over those seams a certain way to be comfortable.

Haven't trouble finding a comfortable position for my head. I think this is due to the "too much sag" problem. It just seems like no matter what I did it wasn't quite comfortable for my head - tried with and without pillow. The rest of my body was very comfortable, but I don't know that I would get any decent sleep like that. Definitely need to get the hammock setup with better suspension angles to see how that feels.

**JaxHiker** · 07-12-2011, 09:02

Originally Posted by Hairball

Haven't trouble finding a comfortable position for my head. I think this is due to the "too much sag" problem. It just seems like no matter what I did it wasn't quite comfortable for my head - tried with and without pillow. The rest of my body was very comfortable, but I don't know that I would get any decent sleep like that. Definitely need to get the hammock setup with better suspension angles to see how that feels.

I was going to comment on the sag but you've already figured it out. I can't sleep w/o something under my head. Just too much stress on my neck and I won't ever get comfy. Looks like you're on the right road.

**leemur** · 07-12-2011, 09:10

I got the same thing from REI over the weekend from Flangler's post too!

I am also looking for straps and cords, however yesterday I found out that my local West Marine closed/moved

So I'm back to ordering online.

How long did your straps take to ship & what length strap/size loop did you order?

**Yukon** · 07-12-2011, 09:41

Man that looks EXACTLY like an ENO double nest, same biners and everything...

**raiffnuke** · 07-12-2011, 09:49

Originally Posted by Yukon

Man that looks EXACTLY like an ENO double nest, same biners and everything...

+1. I was thinking the same thing.

**Hairball** · 07-12-2011, 10:21

Originally Posted by leemur

I got the same thing from REI over the weekend from Flangler's post too!

I am also looking for straps and cords, however yesterday I found out that my local West Marine closed/moved

So I'm back to ordering online.

How long did your straps take to ship & what length strap/size loop did you order?

Can't beat that price for this double hammock.

Per Flangler's suggestion to me that worked out really well I say buy this: Simple Sling
The size I got was 18ft, 1" wide polyester with 2" loops at each end. The idea is you'd cut it in half and then have your 2 straps, but I added an order comment asking if they could just cut it for me and they did.

I ordered Thursday night and the straps arrived Monday. YMMV of course, but for me it was pretty quick shipping and the price was great.

Also to those that say it looks like the ENO double nest - from all the pics I've seen it looks a LOT like the ENO... just doesn't have the name