£30 Hammock and Tarp Review

[maddave]

Hi all.

Well I forked out £30 for what was called a "Traditional Army Style XL camping hammock and tarp off Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/traditional-a...photoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

It arrived today and here are my findings.

Upon opening the package this was the content

1x Tarp 1x Hammock 1x hank garden string 2x hanks of cheap hollow paracordy tapey type stuff

I was initially dismayed but pressed on. The tarp is made in 2 parts poorly sewn together with bright purple tabs and a silver underside. The guy tabs are single stitched and not reinforced in any way. There are 6 around the tarp perimeter and none on the ridgeline. Furthermore there are no grommets or ties for you to prussik the ridgeline so it stays in place.



The Garden string which I assume is for the tarp ridgeline and guys is hard plastic and next to useless and will need replacing



The hammock itself is the Thai pattern which is basically a double layer of cheap nylon (not sil nylon) and isn't breathable so expect to wake in a pool of sweat. The stitching is also horrendous and will need re doing before use (well I ain't gonna try it till I've sewn it properly)



And finally the tapes which I assume are supposed to go through the hammock tummels looked very flimsy and snapped under test of 18 stone weight gently applied



So In conclusion. This item may be worth the money for the material...Or not !! but if you want a hammock get a DD or similar. To make this one viable the following actions are recommended

1. Seam seal the tarp
2. Reinforce the tie tabs on the tarp
3. Add tabs or eyelets to the ridgeline of the tarp for tying prussiks to.
4. Replace dodgy garden string with paracord for ridge
5 Replace dodgy garden string with guy rope for guys
6. Re sew all stitching on hammock to make safe
7. Replace hammock tapes with proper climbing tape.

This hammock might be alright for kids playing bushcraft but I certainly wouldn't recommend taking it to the woods.... Unless you want to chuck it on the fire

Cheers

Dave

 

[Shewie]

I kind of knew it was a bit of a lottery Dave but I think what I got was slightly different to yours.

The tarp is probably the same material as yours but mine is made from one piece and the quality of the sewing isn`t as bad as maybe you describe yours. I have had the sewing machine out though and given it the once over just to be sure. It`s definitely ripstop and to be fare a bit of a nightmare to sew through as it`s that tight a weave. The loops for pegging out are different to yours aswell by the sound of things, mine are made from the same fabric as the tarp and I have 8, including 2 for the ridge line. They were still not up to much so I cut them off straight away and replaced them with nylon webbing.

It sounds like we got the same cordage though which was always going to be pretty crap coming from Thailand lets be honest. The wifes using the "strong kevlar corded rope" in the garden for tying back the fruit bushes over winter and we`ll use that horrid grey "strong corded rope" plastic stuff for something one day.

As for the hammock, not sure. I replaced the naff rope with some webbing and crabs and strung it up yesterday whilst out for a bimble. It seems to be okay as it held me up (12 stone) no problems and I laid there for a bit whilst the hobbo boiled. Not sure about the breathability yet though, you might have a point there Dave. Anyway I`ve added a couple of toggles on the slit to allow it to be closed up when the mat`s in so we`ll see how it goes.

I think I`m gonna leave the Hennessy at home for my course this weekend and see how it goes with the heavily modded cheap kit. I`ll be packing the bivvy bag in case it all goes ***s-up.

 

[Shewie]

Just noticed you`ve got better plastic string than me, fancy swapping it for a nice dull grey colour ?

 

[maddave]

I kind of knew it was a bit of a lottery Dave but I think what I got was slightly different to yours.

The tarp is probably the same material as yours but mine is made from one piece and the quality of the sewing isn`t as bad as maybe you describe yours. I have had the sewing machine out though and given it the once over just to be sure. It`s definitely ripstop and to be fare a bit of a nightmare to sew through as it`s that tight a weave. The loops for pegging out are different to yours aswell by the sound of things, mine are made from the same fabric as the tarp and I have 8, including 2 for the ridge line. They were still not up to much so I cut them off straight away and replaced them with nylon webbing.

It sounds like we got the same cordage though which was always going to be pretty crap coming from Thailand lets be honest. The wifes using the "strong kevlar corded rope" in the garden for tying back the fruit bushes over winter and we`ll use that horrid grey "strong corded rope" plastic stuff for something one day.

As for the hammock, not sure. I replaced the naff rope with some webbing and crabs and strung it up yesterday whilst out for a bimble. It seems to be okay as it held me up (12 stone) no problems and I laid there for a bit whilst the hobbo boiled. Not sure about the breathability yet though, you might have a point there Dave. Anyway I`ve added a couple of toggles on the slit to allow it to be closed up when the mat`s in so we`ll see how it goes.

I think I`m gonna leave the Hennessy at home for my course this weekend and see how it goes with the heavily modded cheap kit. I`ll be packing the bivvy bag in case it all goes ***s-up.

Oh they're still worth a go I think. I'll be getting the sewing machine out at the weekend and making it useable. I have plenty of cordage to replace the other stuff too.. It was worth the gamble