Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Discussion about making bushwalking-related equipment.

Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby Moondog55 » Fri 03 Dec, 2021 11:41 am

After this last week-ends poor sleep on the old army cot I think it's about time I made the hammock.
Especially as it is almost a decade since I purchased the whoopie slings from a fellow forum member.
I'm 184cn tall,is 4 metres of nylon fabric sufficient length for a simple gathered end hammock?
If it isn't I'll need to go to Spotlight and buy some more ripstop unless I use a doubled layer of the LW Ozcam stuff I have but I'm not sure that would be strong enough for laying in even doubled
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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby Moondog55 » Sat 04 Dec, 2021 10:30 am

It may not be strong enough but I cut 4.5 metres from the roll of Oz-Cam taffeta.
The cut piece of fabric weighs about 550 grams, it isn't exactly LW stuff but I cut a 50mm notch and I couldn't tear it by hand and had to cut it.
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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby rider » Sun 05 Dec, 2021 11:29 am

I have gone down the same route, sleeping many years on a thermarest classic, then Neo Air - but the sleep is so much better in a hammock, and having somewhere to sit comfortably, and have space under the tarp - you won't go back!

4 metres is plenty - most hammocks are 335cm -11 foot.

You could go down the route of hamming your current length then tying off one end to the suspension progressively shorter to see what is the shortest hammock length you are comfortable lying in. I'm 173 and thought it might be worth trying.
I tried it and realised saving 10 cm is 8g! - so it 335cm now - easier if I buy accessories rather than making it

There are very light fabrics now - I went for Hexon 1.6 0z/yd2 - 54 g/m2 for certainty of durability.
Yours is 2.4 oz/yd2 or 81 g/m2 if is hammock fabric it would be plenty strong.

Spotlight is not cheap - You can get excellent hammock fabric from Simon at Tier Gear , specifically woven for hammocks - I wouldn't dream of not making that choice.You could also pick up some suspension components if you need them. Splicing Amsteel is MYOG fun!
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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby Moondog55 » Sun 05 Dec, 2021 2:48 pm

This won't be for bushwalking or ski touring so being lightweight isn't an issue
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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby Moondog55 » Sun 05 Dec, 2021 3:56 pm

Just a question.
I see a lot of gathered end hammocks that have a ridgeline tied or sewn to the actual hammock and it seems to sit just above the hammock body.
Is this a structural element? Does it need to be there to help support the weight of the occupant or does it have another function
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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby ofuros » Sun 05 Dec, 2021 4:17 pm

Without a ridgeline, if you pull your suspension too tight you will have a shallow hammock shape, if your suspension is too loose it'll have a saggy hammock shape...both uncomfortable to sleep in.
A structural ridgeline keeps a perfect shape every single hang...and shares the load with your suspension.

Tiergear has fixed & adjustable ridgelines & info on lengths & rope diameter. You can also make you own easy enough.
https://www.tiergear.com.au/shop/hammoc ... ne-hammock

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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby ChrisJHC » Sun 05 Dec, 2021 4:30 pm

You can find lots of info on making your hammock at Hammock Forums: https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/content.php

As ofuros says, the ridge line is to make sure you can replicate your setup easily once you find the sweet spot.
There is an equation that gives you a good starting point - 83% of the distance between the ends of the hammock (when hung).

The most important thing with hammocking is to keep the right amount of sag and to sleep diagonally across the hammock, not “down the middle”. Sleeping diagonally allows the hammock (and you) to lie flat, not bent like a banana.

Moondog - as a “larger person”, you’ll probably be more comfortable in a 12’ hammock, not an 11 footer. Remember that 12’ is the fabric length, not the length when hung.
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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby Moondog55 » Mon 06 Dec, 2021 10:01 am

So 4metres and a bit of cut fabric might be about "right" then
EDIT
So 83% of that 4metres or about 3300mm?
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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby ChrisJHC » Mon 06 Dec, 2021 2:53 pm

Moondog55 wrote:So 4metres and a bit of cut fabric might be about "right" then
EDIT
So 83% of that 4metres or about 3300mm?
Correct, but a 4m hammock is quite long.

12 foot hammock = 3.66m
Ridge line length = 3.66 x 0.83 = 3.04m

Note that the concept of a ridge line is only to help you get close to the optimum hang angle. 83% is about right for most people.

You might like to try 83% for your first couple of hangs and, if it’s not quite right, try slightly longer or shorter until you get it right for you.

I also use my ridge line to hang my head torch and my watch on so I can easily find them in the middle of the night.
My hammock has a built in pocket where I keep my phone, water, etc
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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby Moondog55 » Mon 06 Dec, 2021 3:14 pm

I really want this to be comfortable so the extra long length is for that reason. Where I envision using it should be no problems, when using it on the car I can always pack in a strong pole and some extra large pegs and ratchet straps too.. Naturally it can also be shortened more easily that be lengthened.
I was intending to use 25mm polyester webbing as the ridge, I have one or two steel tri-bars floating around I can use for adjustment, saving the stronger stuff for a LW project in the future perhaps.
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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby Plod » Wed 08 Dec, 2021 6:44 pm

Hey MD, for comparison purposes I am 185cm tall and around 98kgs. I have a couple of 11 foot /335cm long hammocks and find them plenty comfortable. But as you say you can always reduce the length later but not increase it. A shorter length does provide a bit more flexibility with finding suitable hang sites.

Another factor to consider for comfort is width. My 62 inch / 157cm wide hammock is more comfortable for me than the 57 inch /145 cm wide hammock when finding that sweet spot diagonal laying position.

Enjoy the hammock quest!


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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby andrewa » Fri 10 Dec, 2021 8:52 pm

Ted, a good project, but……

I thought hammocks would be great for some of my NZ fly fishing trips, and used a Hennessy ultralight one year. I didn’t have an underquilt, and used some CCF, and it was cold and miserable. The breeze underneath really saps the warmth out of you. The best nights we had in them were sleeping on upturned Alpacka rafts, and the hammock was basically a glorified sandfly protector.

By the time you have an underquilt , the total weight of the system is more than that of a lightweight tent /quilt/ lightweight down mat, and I’d rather be in a tent to have some room to spread out, and be able to get changed.

I found it vaguely comfortable, but not as good for me as a decent down mat.

Obviously others find hammocks great, but it wasn’t for me, which is why I was trying to flog my hammocks on this forum a while ago.

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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby Moondog55 » Fri 10 Dec, 2021 9:36 pm

Maybe not for my ski touring but for car camping and maybe at the basecamp as a change.
If I didn't already have stuff and gear to use as the underquilts I might not have bothered to post the query.
But as I already have everything here and will have some time to sew soon the "Why not?"
I can always use the car as one anchor point at other times
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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby Moondog55 » Thu 28 Dec, 2023 10:17 pm

Today I started the hammock.
I spent an hour or so folding up one side of the fabric to give me a three layer thickness of that cheap army windproof fabric i bought at Spotlight.
Taking on board your comments on the cold bum syndrome I've bought some cheap non-genuine army poncho liners to make an underquilt to keep my own posterior from freezing. Keeping the genuine tropical blankets as "collectors" items
It's not going to be a LW item so car camping etc so I am making it a the full 3.5 / 4metres especially as the fabric is only 1550mm wide and I'm loosing 50mm on each edge for the triple layer side seams.
I've been thinking about the underquilt and the sagging problem, if I add some loops to the hammock edge to tie the underquilt to; as well as cord and shock cords etc; how may loops would be a good starting point in a 4 metre hammock? The poncho liner has cords at the corners and in the middle and I intend to overlap the fabrics and cover as much of the hammock as I can.
I started a thread over at the hammock forum and they've given me some good advice but never thought to ask that question over there.
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Re: Yardage for a hammock? Fabric strength?

Postby Moondog55 » Sat 13 Jan, 2024 4:42 pm

I don't really have the patience needed to sew stuff this slippery but I've done the long sides and I am now going to sew the ends. I need to wind a new bobbin so I'm taking a dinner break.
How many rows of stitching do people usually/normally sew on the narrow ends?
Two or Three??
Also a while ago I bought some hammock bits here on the forum, now that I need them I can't ****** find the damned things. I know they're in the stash somewhere tho
EDIT
I just measured the finished length, not quite 4 metres, 3900 long, do I deduct the the 100mm end channels from that to get my ridgeline length or is that only for whipped end hammocks?
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