hammock

[firebreather]

I have just bought one of these from evilbay i hope its ok. I will get some piccys up and my thoughts on it when it arrives.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=280088046555&rd=1&rd=1

If anybody buys one ,use the buy it now option and dont bid as it will save you £2 on postage.

 

[Greg]

I have just bought one of these from evilbay i hope its ok. I will get some piccys up and my thoughts on it when it arrives.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=018&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=280088046555&rd=1&rd=1

If anybody buys one ,use the buy it now option and dont bid as it will save you £2 on postage.

It looks quite small in the picture - are you sure its big enough for you?

 

[firebreather]

If its as big as the sizes say then i should be. Its cheap and cheerfull so not much lost if its a bit naff.

 

[Greg]

I know what your saying, I bought the DD hammock thinking it would be plenty big enough for me, I am 6'2" and 16st, when I fastened it to the trees it looked long enough but found out to my dissatisfaction that it wasn't and I had a very uncomfortable night!


Good luck with yours though I hope it works out for you.

 

[JonnyP]

Thats a good price and it looks ok, let us know how you get on with it FB....

 

[firebreather]

I know what your saying, I bought the DD hammock thinking it would be plenty big enough for me, I am 6'2" and 16st, when I fastened it to the trees it looked long enough but found out to my dissatisfaction that it wasn't and I had a very uncomfortable night!


Good luck with yours though I hope it works out for you.

Should be okay for me then as im only 5'7 and 16 stone , but it has really been bought for my Mrs to use at the delamere meet. So i might not get a sniff in lol. If its anygood i might get one for myself.
So you have a DD hammock just lying around waiting for someone to offer a trade .......nudge nudge wink wink lol.

 

[firebreather]

Dum de dum .........tapping my fingers on the table. Im still waiting for this to arrive. Oh well it should be here soon.
Should have got the DD hammocks one I ordered their tarp the day after and it arrived the mega fast and seems a nice piece of kit. me and my money saving ideas........

 

[firebreather]

Whoo hoo it arrived about ten mins after posting the previous post .......whistles and looks in the air trying to look all innocent lol. It looks ok yet to try it out yet but the cords are very short but other than that seems ok. It will get a proper testing at delamere by the mrs. then i will report more.

 

[maddave]

I've ordered this un from the same guys..... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/THE-ULTIMATE-...59994QQcategoryZ19296QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

Like you say cheap and cheerful. I'm only 5'6" so all should be peachy

 

[Mantic]

Hi guys - how did you get on with the hammock? I'm torn between the DDHammock and the Ultimate ones you've grabbed from evilbay. There isn't much in the price (comparing the ultimate + 3m x 2m tarp and the DD travel hammock with tarp) just 10 quid difference (including P&P).

I would err on the side of the DD as I believe the build quality is probably better (being hand rather than factory, made). However, the DD does appear to weigh a heck of a lot more (the tarp alone weighs 1.6kilos). Do the weights quoted by the ultimate ad include the cordage? Is the DD tarp more weather proof? I'm trying to cut weight down but at the moment, the DD + tarp seems to be pretty heavy for a hammock (2.5kilos for the DD, whereas the Ultimate is only 950gms incl the tarp).

Finally, is a 3m x 3m tarp that much more usuable than a 3m x 2m tarp?

I'm 5' 8" and weigh just over 13stone, so either hammock should suit.

Many thanks for your help guys..... : )

 

[firebreather]

The tapes are soooooooooooooooooo short its unreal they fit through the hammock holes and then leave a bit over, about a metre. I tied mine into a loop and used some old climbing rope to strap it to the trees. Not happy about the rope but its a pest more than a dont buy point as im sure most people would get more rope anyway. im going to get about 10- 15 meters and then cut it down if that seems overkill.
Other than that it seems ok just got to wait for delamere to give it a full nights testing ..just a quick update.

 

[Mantic]

The tapes are soooooooooooooooooo short its unreal they fit through the hammock holes and then leave a bit over, about a metre. I tied mine into a loop and used some old climbing rope to strap it to the trees. Not happy about the rope but its a pest more than a dont buy point as im sure most people would get more rope anyway. im going to get about 10- 15 meters and then cut it down if that seems overkill.
Other than that it seems ok just got to wait for delamere to give it a full nights testing ..just a quick update.

I got my DD Travel Hammock a few days ago. Yup, I agree with you on the tapes, they are rather short - though mine are not as short as yours by the sound of it (fnarr). I have several metres left over but have also employed a little extra rope.

 

[Matt Weir]

I've just had a word with my Dad and he is going to drop off a couple of meters of rope later.

What knot is best for this? I'm thinking sheet bend as you are working with disparate cordage?

 

[Mantic]

A quick-release knot is nice but if you're going for different thicknesses of cord, then a double sheet bend would be better than a single. Hell, mess around and take your pick - there's a lot to choose from

I tend to try different knots out and last time I set it up (yesterday) I used a figure of 8 loop on each end of the rope going round the tree, looped this rope round the tree until both ends were close to the trunk, then ran the hammock tapes through both figure of 8 loops with a a couple of round turns to take the strain off a couple of half-hitches. A karabiner through a figure of eight loop on the tapes and then through the loops on the tree is also a very swift setup (though exessive if you're into lightweight hiking).

Oh, and the free ends of the tapes are handy as drop ropes for stopping rain running down into the hammock.

 

[Greg]

So you have a DD hammock just lying around waiting for someone to offer a trade .......nudge nudge wink wink lol.

I'm afraid not Firebreather, I'm using the material to make myself an underblanket similar to the group buy ones, and the tapes have been used on my new group buy hammock which is the dog's dangly bits !

 

[Gailainne]

Interesting that you find the tapes are short on your DD, I thought so at first also till I bunched the ends, that released way more than I needed.

The posts are 4 metres apart, and there was still plenty tape left over, and that was after wrapping it around the pole twice.

A couple of things I frowned at;

the paracord was'nt finished, I had to seal half the ends.

the tape does'nt look that brilliant, it will do the job, but again it looks like its just cut from a roll, no finishing.

I've only swung on it in the garden (under a carport ) but this weekend I try it out for real.

Looking forward to it.

Stephen

 

[firebreather]

I'm afraid not Firebreather

lol no worries i have spent way too much recently

 

[firebreather]

Interesting that you find the tapes are short on your DD, I thought so at first also till I bunched the ends, that released way more than I needed.


Stephen

Ahh sorry bit of crossed wires i think, mine isnt a DD its an evilbay purchase from vietnam
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....46555&rd=1&rd=1
Cheap and cheerful with short tapes. The tarp i got from DD and its great with speedy delivery cannot fault them at all. The problem has been solved now by getting some more rope and all i have to do now is learn how to put it up, or the missus will fall out of it at the weekend.

 

[Matt Weir]

A quick-release knot is nice but if you're going for different thicknesses of cord, then a double sheet bend would be better than a single. Hell, mess around and take your pick - there's a lot to choose from

I tend to try different knots out and last time I set it up (yesterday) I used a figure of 8 loop on each end of the rope going round the tree, looped this rope round the tree until both ends were close to the trunk, then ran the hammock tapes through both figure of 8 loops with a a couple of round turns to take the strain off a couple of half-hitches. A karabiner through a figure of eight loop on the tapes and then through the loops on the tree is also a very swift setup (though exessive if you're into lightweight hiking).

Oh, and the free ends of the tapes are handy as drop ropes for stopping rain running down into the hammock.

I have recently used quick release knots on the ridgeline for the tarp as per the Ray Mears way as recommended by Spikey in this thread and it seemed to work fine.

As regards tying knots for the hammock tapes I used the basic shoelace knot with a double wrap around the fix point and a double bow for security.

 

[Mantic]

Sounds good. I've also set the hammock up in the garden without trees (like a bivi bag) but with the tarp suspended over guy lines attached to two vertical hiking poles. Works in a pinch.