New Hammock Company, Made in USA, 5.2oz Single Hammock

[Max Dilthey]

Found these guys today:

http://www.hummingbirdhammocks.com

They've got a really nice looking hammock. I'm not affiliated or anything, but this rig looks sweet. They're using parachute materials that they say haven't been taken advantage of for hammocks before (not sure if that's credible, but it's nice looking stuff).

Also making dyneema slings and straps! "Soft Link" carabiners look like they're literally made from dyneema.

Edit: Now I'm kind of affiliated, I'm gonna test one courtesy of Hummingbird Hammocks and report back.

[Ian]

I'm waiting for their double hammock. 10ozs if memory serves but I prefer to sleep diagonally than banana style so worth a modest weight penalty to me. Edit: Plus it seems the single might be too short for me.

[Michael Gunderloy]

The soft link carabiners looks similar to Soft Shackles.

[BlackHatGuy]

Double hammock nothing. You need their mega hammock: http://www.hummingbirdhammocks.com/store/p2/Mega_Hammock.html

[Dale Wambaugh]

It's too small for anyone 5'8" or taller I think. 10'x5' is more like it, minimum. Their Single+ version is a much better option. The issue with 1.1oz ripstop is stretch and comfort. It stretches, so you hang it tighter and things go awry. Watch what is in your pockets with thin hammocks too :)

The weigh ratings always get me. My Hennessy is much tougher material (210 D oxford nylon) and rated at 250lbs. The whole market varies all over this way. The smaller one here is rated at 300lbs, and the Single + version at 400lbs. Assuming that many designers lean to a large fudge factor, this is still stretching things a bit for me. I don't know what a parachute rigger would do differently, but it's nice to know he understands fabric!

The other pitfall is that the hammock body is one of the lighter parts of the hammock system. Any hammock used in North America below 60F needs insulation and most would like some bug protection. Tarps tend to be much larger than typical solo ground camping tarps and there are tree straps and attaching hardware too.

Soft shackles have been around for a long time. If you want a simple and light hammock, all you need is enough fabric for a finished 10"x5" rectangle of 1.1~1.7oz ripstop with a channel sewn in each end with triple rows of stitching and a plain hem on the sides. Run whoopie slings through the channels in a lark's head and connect to your tree straps with toggles. I think BIAS uses a continuous loop in the channels and then hooks the whoppie slings to that, which just seems like extra stuff to me. BIAS has a 11'x52" rectangle for their "micro" version and 62" wide for the standard Weight Weenie. A Traveler is 10'x65" wide.

IIRC, my Grand Trunk UL is a pound with with the stock suspension removed and replaced with whoopie slings, Camp Nano carabiners and polyester webbing straps. You can get a Grand Trunk for $20, but you'll nickle and dome yourself on the rest. BIAS has some good packages where you get the whole deal for about $75. The Warbonnet Traveler is similarly priced. You can get a double layer rig so you can use a pad without becoming a raving madman. A pad is a major savings in weigh and cost and you can still upgrade to a underquilt with no real loss. Double layers help with the stretch and comfort factors too, but the weight goes up.

I strongly recommend biting the bullet and buying a hammock with an integrated bug screen. It makes life MUCH easier. Adding a bug sock or large zippered-bag type screen after the fact is expensive and heavy.

I forgot ridge lines, which are cheap, light and helpful for rigging and hammock living.

[Andy Anderson]

The Hummingbird is nice but like Dale said, a fully enclosed hammock is the way to go. The lightest one I could find was the Dream Hammock Darien. My Darien weighs about 17 oz with whoopie slings, tree straps and toggles. It's super comfortable for me and I'm about 5'10". Plus,Randy (Papa Smurf), the owner of Dream Hammock, is a member here.

[Dale Wambaugh]

That is light! There should be a hammock article. And Papa Smurf rocks!

[Max Dilthey]

Ok, I guess I am affiliated! Hummingbird is gonna send me one of these bad boys.

Everyone told me the Grand Trunk Nano 7 was too short for someone my size and it was okay, so I will take the smaller size and report back on how it works, how the material feels, actual weight, etc.

[Adam Kilpatrick]

I have used hammocks a little, though only in standing camps. (At the last World Scout Jamboree in Sweden, I got to spend a lot of time with someone who works for Hennessey, running their operations in China. We had about a dozen hammocks as part of our LNT activity, was pretty cool!). I've never taken one hiking-partly as I don't have an underquilt, and my Hennessey is a bit heavy (I think its an explorer model).

I've never had much trouble on SUL sleeping pads. But at 5.2oz, this thing kind of makes me think about going hammock more. Most of the places I hike I don't need bug protection, if I do, I usually know about it in advance and can plan for it (eg take the ground system).

They have a video online where they fill one of these with water. Gets to a pretty crazy weight, no failure issues at all, they run out of volume! They need to test it with some weight plates in it.

[Ian]

"Double hammock nothing. You need their mega hammock"

Yowzers! I wonder if anyone makes an under quilt for that monster!

[Max Dilthey]

For the record, I've slept probably… 150 nights in hammocks over the last 3 years, like 60 nights in a row, and I always used a regular sleeping pad in the hammock with me and a traditional sleeping bag. I don't own an underquilt or a topquilt.

Cheers!

[Ken Thompson]

Never used one either until they became available Max. Sure the pad and bag work fine. But an UQ is more comfortable. Just like a pee bottle. Don't knock it unless you tried it.

This hammock is nothing new. My MYOG one weighs less. And it is the perfect MYOG first project. Hammocks are dead simple to whip up.
And I don't know about anybody else, but I wind up with my legs in mid air if I try to sleep in one without integrated netting.

[Max Dilthey]

It's new in the sense that I can't find anything of similar weight at this price range available. It's lighter than a Grand Trunk Nano 7 and has a good weight limit for the.. err, weight.

I think it's about time something like this was made readily available; UL bugnets and hammock tarps and suspension systems abound, but the hammock itself has long been an MYOG'ers domain.

[Ken Thompson]

http://www.warbonnetoutdoors.com/no-net-ridgerunners-travelers/

http://www.dream-hammock.com/FreeBird.html

[Max Dilthey]

Dale,

I defy you! (Slightly)

My hammock setup for my 2013 canada tour used the following:

Grand Trunk Nano 7: 7oz (Hummingbird is 5.2oz)
MLD UL Hammock Tarp: 4.7oz
Tree Straps: 4oz (the Hummingbird ones are 1.5oz)
Dyneema Whoopie Slings: 1.7oz
CAMP Nano Carabiners: 1.6oz (pair), Hummingbird soft carabiners look lighter.
HUG Bugnet from Arrowhead Equipment: 5oz

So, that's a weight of 25.4oz with my original hang. With the Hummingbird components, I can probably cut this down to about 19oz assuming the soft carabiners are 1oz. That's pretty low by any shelter standards. Hammock extras like a double layer, an integrated bugnet, a ridgeline, an Asym design, etc. can all be counted against a hammock's weight in the same way double-wall shelters with gear lofts and spare stakes add up. The minimalist hammock shelter is pretty competitive with other shelters.

[Ian]

Yeah I've tried playing "chase the sleeping pad" in a hammock. No thanks.

Glad it works for you.

[Max Dilthey]

The banana hammocks do a great job of keeping the sleeping pad in place. I guess I don't move much.

Say, Ian, where the heck are my used underwear jokes?!

[Ian]

"Say, Ian, where the heck are my used underwear jokes?!"

At some point it starts to resemble telling the same knock-knock joke over and over again so I'm moving on and patiently waiting for the next dog pile.

[Dale Wambaugh]

My main point is that the hammock is light because it is small. I find a larger hammock, say 120"x60" to be much more comfortable. A slightly larger hammock doesn't raise the weight of the total shelter significantly.

If you can sleep well with a pad, it really is the lightest way to insulate and going to ground is easy.

Toggles are super light and very easy to make your own. I like carabiners for ease of use and a positive connection. They do have multiple use potential.

I really want a light tarp. A slightly larger hex tarp would be my preference. That MLD is light!

Poppa Smurf has made full bug socks from tulle that are about the weight of the Arrowhead, but giving full coverage. Tulle won't stop noseeums. I have a rig that is even more minimal than the Arrowhead and 3/4oz.

[Ryan Smith]

"My main point is that the hammock is light because it is small. I find a larger hammock, say 120"x60" to be much more comfortable. A slightly larger hammock doesn't raise the weight of the total shelter significantly"

Bingo. It's just very small hammock made from 1.1oz material. The weight limit will be much different than the comfort limit. 200lbs is about the max weight for 1.1oz, after that it stretches. A lot.

Ryan

[Jeremy]

I ordered their double hammock the other day when they were on sale. The weight definitely peaked my interest.

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