Buying a new hammock next week. Trying to decide double layer or single layer.
Buying a new hammock next week. Trying to decide double layer or single layer.
Maybe this will give you some insight......
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Single layer
Pre-underquilt I went with a double layer so I could sandwich an insulated pad between the layers. I was not real happy with using a pad as it was hard to get the right angle and it was kind of narrow even at 25”…so later ordered an underquilt. Just ordered a single layer hammock: I justified it by saying it would save me 5 oz. in weight. So weight and cost vs what you are going to use for under insulation, and perhaps your weight.
I had nearly the same process as Longwinters. My first cottage premium hammock was a double-layer SLD Trail Lair, because my last Amazon hammock was a Hammock Bliss Sky Bed, which has a sleeve for a pad (and actually works fairly well, though it needed the suspension updated). I thought I’d continue with a pad, and wanted the double-layer with opening to hold it in place. Then I tried an underquilt, spent a lot of money, and realized how much weight the second layer of fabric was adding. I have a single-layer SLD Voyageur netless with Fronkey that I use backpacking.
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Unsure if double layer really helps with mosquitoes but I have a single layer 1.6 hexon SLD Trail Lair and when tossing and turning and some figure-4 sleeping, I got bit pretty bad (40+ bites) on my ankles, hands, feet, knees even... In all honesty it could have been because I didn't get those parts with deet (was wearing crocs) but it was bad enough to make me paranoid about ensuring my extremities were within the underquilt - not so easy considering my hammock is extra wide and my HG econ 20 doesn't fit so nicely...
I started out with DL’s thinking I was going to use pads or would have the need to go-to-ground more often. But I quickly embraced UQ’s and never looked back. I’m slowly replacing my DL stock with SL equivalents. There is a “feel” factor. Just a like a Firm vs Softer mattress, a single layer has a little more give. Not good nor bad; just different.
I think a lot would have to to with 1) how often you camp in skeeter season. 2) how often you plan to go to ground and use the hammock+Net as a Bivi Bag. 3) if you live in a warm enough place that a DL + the clothes you wear are warm enough for an afternoon nap (no pad or UQ needed). 4) if you plan on staying with pads vs UQ’s for a while.
Yes, there’s a “penalty” in weight, bulk, and cost; but unless you are a dedicated UL’er (UltraLight), over time those differences aren’t so much. If a bit more weight/bulk/cost aren’t issues, then it just a “What feels best to you.” For me, that changes from time to time so there is no “right” answer.
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I am a newb but went single layer with UQ. And I am pretty paranoid about skeeters and am suspicious of the claim that a double layer makes it bug proof. I can see where it could help but don’t understand how it could eliminate the risk entirely. And when they are bad they are bad. And when they are good, it is really not that big of a deal. But when they are bad, even if it makes a 90% reduction you are still going to get a ton of bites.
I have a Sky Bed and I think it is very comfortable. Much better than an 11ft netless with a Jarbridge UQ that I started out with, a combo that had calf ridge issues.
Would you say the pad is the reason the Sky Bed stays flat? Does the pad work better in the Sky Bed compare to the double layer Trail Lair? Does the pad make a flatter lay in the Trail Lair like it does the Sky Bed?
I would like to buy an integrated net hammock, but I am debating whether the pad will provide a flat lay regardless of which double hammock I get, or the Sky Bed is just a great shape.
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Last edited by yuphehe; 09-03-2021 at 16:35.
To be honest, I haven’t used it that much in the Trail Lair; it does flatten things out a bit, but not in quite as pronounced a fashion as the Sky Bed. I do like the greater head room above me in the Trail Lair, though — after the Trail Lair, the Sky Bed feels a little cramped, even with the structural ridgeline I added when I replaced the long ropes at the end with Amstel continuous loops. Since I have good quilts now, I think I’d probably only ever use a pad in the Sky Bed at this point, though if I were anticipating going to ground that might be a reason to bring that hammock on a trip.
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