DD or Tenth Wonder hammocks

[onfire]

Hi, a very short post but asking for a big favour!

I am about to order 20 DD camping hammocks for my students (with their money) based on the value for money and positive user feedback. I have just seen reference to tenth wonder hammocks and feel under pressure to buy right for my students.

The biggest reason I doubt DD is the quality control, my 3mx3m tarp is a great tarp but the attachment eyes are very poorly sewn on, with big runs of cotton and whole corners not sewn down.

I would bu hugely grateful for your advise - the kids want the camping hammock whilst staff want the travel, if that is a guide.

Thank you, Tim

 

[mountainm]

Hi, a very short post but asking for a big favour!

I am about to order 20 DD camping hammocks for my students (with their money) based on the value for money and positive user feedback. I have just seen reference to tenth wonder hammocks and feel under pressure to buy right for my students.

The biggest reason I doubt DD is the quality control, my 3mx3m tarp is a great tarp but the attachment eyes are very poorly sewn on, with big runs of cotton and whole corners not sewn down.

I would bu hugely grateful for your advise - the kids want the camping hammock whilst staff want the travel, if that is a guide.

Thank you, Tim

I'd avoid the travel as it can have condensation issues. Get frontlines or tw hornets for staff. For the same cash as the canping hammock you can get a tw super xl which is a lot of hammock for the money and very comfy.

I've owned both. But I ended up with 2 tw's. Although I know happy customers for both and also people whove had isdues with both.

 

[Big Stu 12]

My fist question is when are you thinking abut doing this trip with 20 kids... ? hammocks ar not the best thing to be using in this weather.. with out the underquilts/ mats/insulation to stop heat loss..

Then i would speak to each company and see what they can do for you, may be send you a sample on sale or return ... or get along to some meets and look for yourself

And have you tried a hammock yourself?

 

[SJStuart]

BigStu raises interesting points.

If you're taking them out there during the cold months, you'll either need to grab basic underquilts (US GI Poncho Liners work very well if you hang low enough that they touch the ground sheet) or strongly reconsider whether hammocking is the right choice for your students.

If you're going in the summer months, both DD and TW make great hammocks, but I'd advise against the DD Travel due to condensation issues (it's waterproof because you're supposed to be able to use it on the ground as a sort-of semi-suspended bivi as well, but you can do exactly the same with the DD Frontline if you stick a ground sheet underneath which your students should be carrying anyway).

 

[Swjoergensen]

Regarding the 3x3 DD tarp. I've got one of those, of the newer models. The tieouts work fine and are sturdy and secure. Excellent quality and nice coverage. Only downside is the relatively high weight and lack of compression. But a good sturdy tarp.

I also have a frontline, great hammock, comfy and easy to work with. Replace the suspension webbing with whoopie slings and it's even better. I would not suggest the travel model, also due to condensatio issues.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

 

[SJStuart]

The biggest reason I doubt DD is the quality control, my 3mx3m tarp is a great tarp but the attachment eyes are very poorly sewn on, with big runs of cotton and whole corners not sewn down.

I don't know where you're getting that from! I own 3 of DD's tarps (the 3x3, the XL and the 4x4), the DD Frontline hammock, the DD Travel hammock, the DD Jungle System and two of their ponchos... and they're all absolutely superb! Only DD products that've let me down is the stock webbing straps they use (which suck terribly, but are all easily replaced with better stuff anyway) and their "Sleeper" (sleeping bag liner) which doesn't have any reinforcement at the V-slit in the right-hand seam, making it tear slightly as you get in and out.

 

[onfire]

Mountainm - thaank you for your constructive input. I was edging towards the TW this morning but looking through lots of reviews has reassured me about the DD hammocks.

 

[onfire]

Im not sure why but I found your answer strangely out of character for the forum. I am sure I must be reading the tone of your reply wrongly but I put a clear question - I just wanted a review / opinion from users of both hammock manufacturers

I have been hammocking for the last 6 or more years. I have a Nomad, a parachute silk and a cheap Life Venture rig and, while I tend to stick with my one hammock and tarp I also have a DPM basha (from 6 years service in the Army), a DD3x3 and a Tatonka Tarp. Of these the Tatonka is far and away the best made tarp.

I am putting the order in now as it makes an ideal Christmas present for their parents to buy, it gives us time to trial run and find their ideal setup and THEY WANTED THEM. I have the Snugpak cocoon (created by Wanderinstar if I remember correctly) and have just sold a down underquilt. I am perfectly aware of their capabilities and limitations but thank you for checking. The expeditions will run from April through to July and then September through to October ... but wouldnt making undequilts from old sleeping bags make a great project for their tutorial sessions?!

I have been on this forum, quietly and loudly, since 2009 and always benefitted gratefully from the collective knowledge - I feel a bit attacked by the two posts above though. I have been an outdoor instructor for over 10 years, a qualified teacher for over 10years and a soldier for 6 - I am an experienced bushcrafter and outdoorsman. I am always eager to learn more and perfect my techniques and I am never backwards in asking for help - I only asked for a opinion on two products here though and feel like Im being asked to justify myself :-(

My fist question is when are you thinking abut doing this trip with 20 kids... ? hammocks ar not the best thing to be using in this weather.. with out the underquilts/ mats/insulation to stop heat loss..

Then i would speak to each company and see what they can do for you, may be send you a sample on sale or return ... or get along to some meets and look for yourself

And have you tried a hammock yourself?

 

[onfire]

I found my sensitive side when I read Big Stu 12s post but yours got my hackles up - it reads like you are calling me a liar. I dont have a camera with me right now but I will take a photo' (as if I have to prove myself to be truthful) for the two attachment points that I looked at this morning are the shoddiest example of sewing that I have seen.

I have a DD 3x3 as well as a Tatonka and the latter is by far the best made tarp - a quick google of DD hammocks reviews shows a number of reviews that question quality but praise their customer service.

It was a fair question based on my actual experience - Im glad that you havent experienced problems yourself but that doesnt automatically make me a bull****ter does it?!

I don't know where you're getting that from! I own 3 of DD's tarps (the 3x3, the XL and the 4x4), the DD Frontline hammock, the DD Travel hammock, the DD Jungle System and two of their ponchos... and they're all absolutely superb! Only DD products that've let me down is the stock webbing straps they use (which suck terribly, but are all easily replaced with better stuff anyway) and their "Sleeper" (sleeping bag liner) which doesn't have any reinforcement at the V-slit in the right-hand seam, making it tear slightly as you get in and out.

 

[ozzy1977]

Calm down, you asked for peoples opinion and got it, what's to get wound up about?

 

[onfire]

Perhaps I wasnt clear enough in asking for opinions on DD compared to Tenth Wonder - but I very definitely did not ask for opinions on the time of year, suitability for the students or my personal experience ... taken as rather undermining stuff rather than the constructive replies I normally read to anyones threads here.

The sentence 'I dont know where youre getting that from' is probably the one that pushed me into 'fully wound up' - perhaps it was badly worded, but there was no grey area in my post ... the condition I described is the actual condition of my actual tarp.

Im going to pause, breathe and have a coffee

 

[ozzy1977]

Good idea.

 

[SJStuart]

I found my sensitive side when I read Big Stu 12s post but yours got my hackles up - it reads like you are calling me a liar. I dont have a camera with me right now but I will take a photo' (as if I have to prove myself to be truthful) for the two attachment points that I looked at this morning are the shoddiest example of sewing that I have seen.

I have a DD 3x3 as well as a Tatonka and the latter is by far the best made tarp - a quick google of DD hammocks reviews shows a number of reviews that question quality but praise their customer service.

It was a fair question based on my actual experience - Im glad that you havent experienced problems yourself but that doesnt automatically make me a bull****ter does it?!

Whoa, there! I wasn't calling ANYONE a liar!
First of all, I wasn't sure whether you were saying that you yourself had experienced shoddy workmanship with DD's tarps, or that others had reported shoddy workmanship. I was merely expressing that my experiences with their products have been radically different.

I'm not sure why you're on the defensive like this... nobody here has tried to insult or attack you in any way. Don't know if you're having a bad day or what, but it seems (again, not trying to insult here or anything like that) that you're reading the replies with a negative thought rattling around that's making you interpret what people have said as being an affront to you personally. This simply isn't the case.

 

[SJStuart]

Perhaps I wasnt clear enough in asking for opinions on DD compared to Tenth Wonder - but I very definitely did not ask for opinions on the time of year, suitability for the students or my personal experience ... taken as rather undermining stuff rather than the constructive replies I normally read to anyones threads here.

The sentence 'I dont know where youre getting that from' is probably the one that pushed me into 'fully wound up' - perhaps it was badly worded, but there was no grey area in my post ... the condition I described is the actual condition of my actual tarp.

Im going to pause, breathe and have a coffee

I think it's important to consider that those of us replying have no idea what your personal experience is... and that we're just trying to be helpful and provide as much of our thoughts as we can (it might come across condescending, but isn't it better when passing along info to a stranger to assume they know nothing so that we - the ones trying to help - don't miss anything that later turned out to be important?)

As for "I don't know where you're getting that from"... reading that back I can certainly understand how that could be interpreted as "you're talking out of your rectum"... honestly that was not my intent... and was terribly-worded on my part! What I meant was "I don't know if that's what people have told you or something you've experienced yourself".

 

[mountainm]

I don't know where you're getting that from!

Does come across as a little incredulous....

 

[onfire]

Let's chalk it up to a bad day then I tend to get a bit touchy when I'm tired so I must be tired!

I guess I read a bit and assumed the worst in tone etc. I am grateful for all the help and advice that I get here, Im sorry if I've been a bit quick to lose my rag

 

[SJStuart]

Let's chalk it up to a bad day then I tend to get a bit touchy when I'm tired so I must be tired!

I guess I read a bit and assumed the worst in tone etc. I am grateful for all the help and advice that I get here, Im sorry if I've been a bit quick to lose my rag

My terrible phraseology didn't help much. Bygones, mate

 

[mereside]

onfire i can recomend the tw hammocks i have used a hornet for some time i then decided to go to a blackbird but the tw is a super hammock and one i could not fault the workmanship was exellent i still use the tw tarp,atb wayne

 

[sandbag47]

I would go for the DD front line or scout hammock. I have been using some of their hammocks for about 5 yyears now and I have not had any issues with them at all. I have done quite a few groups buys for them and have had very few complaints back about them. And they give you a discount for the amount that you want

 

[mountainm]

I would go for the DD front line or scout hammock. I have been using some of their hammocks for about 5 yyears now and I have not had any issues with them at all. I have done quite a few groups buys for them and have had very few complaints back about them. And they give you a discount for the amount that you want

Have you compared the two? I have had both and edge towards the tw ones.