My brief hammock review

[oldsoldier]

I ordered a hammock from DD hammock last week. I got it yesterday afternoon (great shipping, it got mailed the same day). I was all excited! As it was too late last night to go out & try it, I waitied until today.
Well, I decided as it was 40 degrees out, & we are expecting snow tomorrow, I'd go & set this thing up. So, I pack that, my tarp, a sleeping bag, & a mat, in expectation of trying it out.
I go to my local woods, start walking, looking for a good site. Found a PERFECT one. Set the tarp up, no issues. Set the hammock up, easy as pie. Tie up the mosquito netting, no problem. Open it up to get in; the stitching where the mosquito netting, top layer of nylon & bottom layer of nylon has completely separated. I hadnt even climbed into it yet, and the hammock failed. Needless to say, I was disappointed. I sent them an email regarding this, & am currently awaiting a reply. I am goingt to return it to them, and go with another company. Looking at the stitching, I have my doubts that, even HAD it not been ripped before I get into it, it may have failed with me in it. Fortunately, this was its trial run, & I wasnt on a planned excursion.
So, I came home & ordered a Hennessy hammock. Hopefully, I'll have better results.

 

[Zammo]

That sucks, though i'm surprised as a lot of people have only good things to say regarding the DD hammock, hope you have more luck with the Hennessy.

 

[Tadpole]

I’m a heavy so and so, and other than having to replace the useless strings they sent with the hammock I had no stitching issues. I think that quality control let you down and not the product. Some might say that quality control is the product, but I would say give the guys at DD a chance to redeem themselves.

 

[oldsoldier]

Yes, it is definitely QC, and not the folks at DD. IT seems that, looking closely at the stitching, the top piece of nylon (there are 3 pieces; the netting, a piece of nylon that you lay on, and a second piece of nylon, that you can slip a sleep mat in between) somehow missed the sewing machine. This is PURELY quality control. I have been in contact with them since I've noticed this, sent them pics, and am awaiting an answer now (They are most likely closed, so, I'll check tomorrow). There are a few folks who use them & are happy, and some that have had QC issues, similar to me. I guess now we just test their customer service, eh?

Here is what the seam separation looks like:

As you can see, the fabric somehow was missed by the sewing machine. Had I a machine, I'd fix it myself. Alas, I dont.

 

[Womble]

I'm another who had QC (and design) issues with my DD hammock. The very first time I put it up and got into it the actual netting material around the cord tab at one end ripped. Within a month the hanging cord for the hammock itself had started to shred and had to be replaced.

Now the thing is that I actually liked the DD - Ok it could be a little longer (and I think I heard that this is being addressed), but over all I thought that for the money it was a real bargain. I used at the last Methyr bushmoot an had some superb nights kip. However I think there are some flaws some aspects of the design, and I really think that Quality Control is something for the poeple to have a really good look at.

 

[stickbow]

I think you made a good choice with the HH I have had one for over a year now and my wife who has bad back problems also has one,she can no longer sleep on the ground but has really comfortable nights in the HH, I have brought some for friends for their motor biking trips, several of us have camp outs in woods and all use the hammocks and none of us have had problems with them,I had mine out last week in really heavy rain and stayed warm and dry all night long.
They are well made, very tough and extremely comfortable.

 

[dommyracer]

I bought a DD with insect netting a while back and had problems with it as well.

The ropes and 'guylines' that came with the hammock were ****e.
The holes on the netting were huge, would have let all sorts of stuff through.
The tab for suspending the netting came away.
I found that I set the hammock up, suspended the netting, then when I got in the hammock there was too much pressure on the seams where the netting was attached to the hammock.

In the end of bought separate mossie net from a group buy on here, and cut the insect netting off the DD.

Then I bought a group buy hammock off here as well.

DD have good ideas, but seems like very poor execution and manufacturing.

 

[oldsoldier]

Another update: They just refunded me my money, and didnt want the hammock back. They are aware it was an oversight. Their customer service is great...I only wish the QC was better, as this is an excellent idea (the 2 pieces of nylon to slip a pad between).

 

[GlenM]

I hope your happy with your new DD but if your not, the Hennessy will sort it out. I think its a good all rounder, in that, its your sleeping gear and tarp all in one fantastically easy package.

 

[Hangman]

I bought a DD Hammock (Camping Hammock) 9 months ago, have used it about half a dozen times and last weekend the stiching came away from the loop that holds the line in.

I contacted DD and they asked that I return it, I've just recieved a new hammock in today's post.

It would be great if kit works well, and that tells me a lot about a company, but when a piece of kit fails and a company says 'sorry', doesn't mess you about or quibble it also says a lot to me.

10 out of 10 for customer service from DD Hammocks !!

Should also add, prior to the 'hiccup' I found it to be a very comfy piece of kit.

 

[shogun]

i have just got my dd hammock/bivi not tryed it yet but will check it out tomorro..shogun

 

[wentworth]

How are you planning top insulate the Hennessy? You may find, as I did that pads tend to slip from udner you (one of the beauties of the double layer hammock is that it keeps the pad in place).

 

[Paullyfuzz]

My DD hammock works and all, but i gotta say, who ever they use as a stitcher or machinist must be drunk all the time. The quality of the stitching is ****e, and has been on every DD product ive had.

Paul

 

[harryhaller]

Well, I've bought all their hammocks, travel, camping and scout -two of the camping - and there's nothing wrong with the stitching. I have loads of hammocks (double figures!) and stitching was never the problem. What counts is the material.

Anyway - repairing stitching is a no-brainer, you can do it yourself or find a seamstress to do it for you.

 

[naturn007]

Me and my two friends all have DD hammocks, and we have nothing but praise for ours, they are well made, and we have been using them for a long time on a regular basis.

 

[widu13]

Well, I've bought all their hammocks, travel, camping and scout -two of the camping - and there's nothing wrong with the stitching. I have loads of hammocks (double figures!) and stitching was never the problem. What counts is the material.

Anyway - repairing stitching is a no-brainer, you can do it yourself or find a seamstress to do it for you.

The stitching is fine on my (2009) spec one. But even tho repairing stitching may be easy to sort- the point is you shouldn't have to, nor should the end user be doing the QC.

It appears that DD have very good AFTER care but QC should be picking these things up before it gets to the customer. These threads aren't uncommon.

 

[Chainsaw]

My DD hammock works and all, but i gotta say, who ever they use as a stitcher or machinist must be drunk all the time. The quality of the stitching is ****e, and has been on every DD product ive had.

Paul

yep totally rubbish stitching....

never had a problem with 2 hammocks or 2 tarps and every time someone has had one they seem to be replaced as soon as humanly possible. One thing they do say is to ensure the line holding the netting up is not too tight as when you get in the hammock, the additional weight pulls on it and can cause failure. This is not what happened here but I've nearly done it myself.

Cheers,

Alan

OK I've just realized this thread is over two years old and doesn't apply to the current model of hammock or tarp!

 

[dr jones]

well, i received my new DD travel hammock yesterday and after giving it the once over ive no quibbles about quality . I still have my first DD hammock which has given faultless service for a number of years and is still in perfect working order i just fancied an upgrade. Most of my tarps are DD too and never had any complaints about their quality either ,thats why im more than happy to be a repeat customer .If they made a tarp bigger than 3m x 3m then i think i can say i wouldnt need to look any further for my accomadation needs . I like to stick which stuff i know works . ( i dont work for DD before any one says )

 

[Chainsaw]

Dr Jones,

A couple of us have been in contact with DD about a bigger tarp, about 4.5mx3m, he's definitely interested in doing one and there have been plans and drawings bandied about but no prototypes or anything yet. He did say spring time but with the current financial blah blah blah....

There's one in the pipeline, but it wont be in the next month or two.

Cheers,

Alan

 

[harryhaller]

deleted - my bad