Warbonnet BlackBird

[John Haley]

I've used several hammocks and always had the feeling, "if only it had". Then I bought a Warbonnet BlackBird. The hammock was designed by, and is hand built by, a long time hammocker and it shows. The comfort and features are excellent. Full length zipper, netting, shelf, footbox, and suspension all contribute to as perfect a hammock as I've found. The WBBB comes in four fabric combinations and two suspension types. Fabrics are single or double in both 1.1oz and 1.7oz nylon. The doubles have a built in pad holder for those that choose that route. The suspensions are either line with tree straps (lightest) or webbing and tri-buckles (faster adjustment).

The comfort of this hammock is excellent. I have more than ample shoulder space and find that I can sleep flat and comfortably in almost any position. I ended up buying a single 1.7 for it's lighter weight to augment the double 1.7, and will be using it on an upcoming month long hike.

[Lori P]

It was made by a hammocker and includes lots of nice little features that add up to a high quality, comfortable, versatile hammock. I've hung the Blackbird in less than optimal places, over brush and in narrow and wide spaces, without a loss of comfort. Going out with a satisfied Hennessy owner and having them do double takes was also kind of fun. :)

I have a full length underquilt, pads, and will probably be adding a 3/4 length quilt to the mix for versatility/lighter summer packing weights. The pad pocket makes it easy to layer in a pad with a quilt, or just take the ccf. The shelf makes more of a difference than one would expect. Having tie out points that travel (on a ring sliding along the cord) make it easy to use the same stake as the tarp while still having the tarp tie out where it needs to be for optimum tautness.

All in all, this is a really neat hammock. I'd let more people try it out but am afraid I'd never get it back.

[Chuck Clark]

Much is available regarding hammocks and sleeping comfort. I am definitely one of those light sleepers who hated this aspect of backpacking more than any other. Cold/heat, bugs, rain, etc.. didn't bother me. Sleeping on the ground, however, was my issue. After seeing several reviews, I went with a double layer 1.1 Blackbird and an OES Spinn-UL tarp. Easily stuffed both into 1/2 of my expanding mountain bike seatpack. I found a pad similar to Evazote that I cut to 30" wide and it sleeps perfectly now. I slip the pad between the layers and have a "quilt" on top. Very comfy down to 60 degrees!

[Ike Mouser]

The WBBB is the best piece of gear i own, hands down, i own the DBL layer 1.1, replaced the suspension webbing + tri rings with 16 feet of amsteel blue 7/64 whoppie slings on each side, give me 7 feet of adjustability and the whole package comes in at 24.6 oz. Never going back to the ground, never.

The builder (warbonnetguy @ hammockforums.net) is a climber and hammocker, so you know it is built light, fast, and durable. I learned more knots from studying this hammock and building gear for it than i have my whole life.

[Mark Hurd]

Like the other reviewers, I am really pleased with this piece of gear. Brandon makes each hammock himself. He offers two weights of fabric and single and double bottom models.

The roominess of this hammock is amazing and Brandon's attention to detail is brilliant. The hammock is configured with a unique kind of "shelf." The "shelf" is so incredibly useful it is hard to understand how I ever did without it in my old hammock. It gives you several square feet of "out-of-the-way" storage in the hammock. A place to park my parka or hide my hat. I often keep a book there or other small gear I might need while in the hammock. The foot box makes for a nearly flat lay and the cut is generous giving you volumes of room. No claustrophobia here. A full length zipper lets you throw the mosquito netting over the back and use the hammock as the back-country's most comfortable chair. All of this with excellent workmanship, reinforced seams, and top of the line materials make for an outstanding product.

-Mark

[BlackHatGuy]

The Warbonnet Blackbird hammock offers, quite simply, the most restful and comfortable sleep I've ever had in the backcountry. It's very well made (craftsmanship), strong and sturdy, and has nice touches, like the gear shelf for those things you want available in the middle of the night. It really opens up available camping areas, as I can hang in places a tenter wouldn't even consider. I've had mine down to 3 degrees F (with an underquilt and overquilt) and was toasty all night. The Blackbird has transformed me into a hammocker, and I'm sleeping better than ever!

[Jeffrey Wong]

I'm a side sleeper. Except in a hammock, which almost forces me to sleep belly up. Most nights I slept in my Blackbird, I was sufficiently spent from a day of hiking, that back sleeping worked for me. Side sleeping in the BB was workable, but I never spent the whole night on my side. I have the double layer 1.1 oz/yd^2 Blackbird for use with either underquilt or sleeping pad. Using a pad keeps the ground option open for trails such as Southern California's Pacific Crest Trail. A normal width pad doesn't cover the shoulders, nor does a 25" wide pad. Warbonnet has two links to suppliers of pads that one can cut as desired. I have a 30" wide 1/4" thick pad that I use for hammocking in my yard. If you're camping in Washington/Oregon's forests, the single layer hammock saves six ounces and $15 and an underquilt makes great sense. I could never have dialed in the sweet spot at home because of the bed option nearby. During 60-70 nights on the trail, I found what worked for me: a ridgeline angle 5-7 degrees (feet up) and situating myself close enough to the head end that I can touch or almost touch the end with outstretched arms. That pretty much eliminated the calf ridge that plagues many hammock campers. Shoulder squeeze is unavoidable in a gathered end hammock such as the BB, but you reduce it when you figure out where you should put yourself. Foot comfort is minimal in the BB, lateral squeeze is minimal to none. Heel pressure, I didn't have, once I got the set up right and wore looser sleeping socks with a finer weave. The hammock is compact, both stuffed and when hung. An 11' Warbonnet Superfly tarp (it has end doors!) fits with >1' extra on each end–allowing me to hang my backpack off the ground. Everything but my shoes was off the ground. You can get only in/out on the left side. A generous shelf for gear and snacks resides on the right next to the shoulders and head–a pull-out with bungee keeps the gear from bumping against your shoulder. An underquilt does push up the hammock body fabric next to my head–for which I may relocate the pullout near the head from the bug net to the hammock edge. Due to the length, the ridgeline isn't very high above the user, good if you have short arms that need to reach for things you've hung above you, not so good if you're taller and like to sit across the middle of the hammock and read. Defects are few and far between, but I had the luck to have a 1" tear in the bug net over the pocket area, which appeared on the fourth week of camping. I repaired it myself, to avoid down time. The zipper presented no problems, despite its light weight. All in all, a wise purchase. I may look at a single layer hammock for camping in the trees, beyond the Southern Cal deserts. It saves about 6 oz.

[Author]

Posts