Does anyone have direct experience with Spinntex suggesting or knowing that it would be strong enough for a hammock? I have some of the fabric at home and it seems quite strong, but it also seems a bit "crispy," which sort of suggests a degree of "brittle." I dunno. Any ideas?

I just acquired a large amount of spinnaker I am using to make several tarps and yes, I do plan on making a hammock out of some of it as well. Usually it is not the best idea as it does not breathe well. I have some that does breathe a little more then the rest. I plan on making a hammock out of it, but I'm not sure I would trust it beyond 200lbs.

It's also very noisy unless you spend some time exercising it first. Different weighs and brands exercise differently and some quiet down better then other weights and brands.

I just made a little bosun's chair out of Spinntex from thru-hiker. I triple-folded the material on one end and sewed in two stitch lines. On the other end I sewed a piece of grosgrain webbing into the folded material (I was hoping that the self-material end would be strong enough, since it would be lighter, but figured the grosgrain side should be pretty strong). I then box-stitched a grosgrain triangle onto each end and hung it from a tree limb on a length of rope. I knelt on the seat... and promptly fell to the ground. A corner of the non-reinforced end ripped out. I then just tied off the grosgrain reinforced end, grabbed a handful of material on the damaged side of the seat, and pulled. The reinforced end ripped right through the stitch line on the grosgrain. It also looked like the grosgrain was starting to fail, or at least that the stitching was pulling out of it. I'm using standard polyester thread.

What materials have you used successfully for a hammock? More specifically, not a banana-shaped lounging hammock but a lay-flat suspension style hammock (ie, stitching will be required). JRB uses a 70d ripstop, which I think would correspond to 1.9osy rs nylon on thru-hiker. Any other recommendations? Especially lighter weight but plenty durable?

Edited by 4quietwoods on 06/03/2009 11:49:47 MDT.

this diy bridge is made from 1.1 digital camo with a pad sleeve is from Rocky Woods. unless you weigh less than 150-160lbs, go with 1.7 or 1.9oz like the Brown ripstop from Speer.

the black sil is from Quest.
webbing from Strapworks,
amsteel from APS.

yes, it takes several different suppliers to make a perfect shelter, but in the end this entire hammock/tarp setup cost about $75 (not to include the quilts, of course)



you can see Leki poles used for support, the entire hammock body is 12.4 ounces. the tarp is large to cover such a design, and comes in at <20oz with all stakes, lines, etc..
the blue quilt is the one used in my tutorial found at hf and pbf. its good to ~20° and the UQ is good to about 30° unless you slide ccf into the pad sleeve, then you can push high teens. not bad for the weight, the lowest i took this exact rig was 22° and i was very warm.

Edited by mikeinfhaz on 06/03/2009 12:25:56 MDT.

Hey, Mike/Hugh-
Thanks! I'm borderline on the weight, about 165 pounds. Does your hammock body just use the 1.1 osy? Or do you have any sort of reinforcement supporting that fabric?

the 1.1 fabric is great, only you have to consider that unlike an end-gathered hammock where the weight of your body is suspended from the ends of the hammock, this bridge design has a thousand tiny needle holes in the ripstop where it hangs from the webbing suspension, from head to foot. of course, the pad sleeve where it is sewn to the main hammock body is the weakest link - again a thousand tiny needle holes there. without the pad sleeve, the 1.1 would probably work for your weight.

therefore i suggest that you go with 1.9oz a yard fabric. (but hey - its about a 1oz weight penalty!)
i can see very little stress on the stitching where the pad sleeve is, because the sleeve is sized with a bit of slack, to allow a 3/8 pad to go inside without compression.

ed speer's hammock site has 1.9 in brown and it is quality - much stronger, and cheap around $6 a yard.

there are many great inventors at the hammockforums.net and several tips on bridge style/design/technique