Make Your Own Backpacking Hammock

I was going to write up a full tutorial on this, but then I remembered that I had a link to a DIY site that pretty much covered the details of one very fine method of making your own hammock. Click here and view the Intro, Step One, and Step Two. Then watch the video below the steps.

The material – what to use. First, NOT a sheet or curtain or anything cotton. Cotton absorbs and will get damp overnight and will be heavier for it. You want something much lighter for backpacking, but you still need strength. You can buy bulk (bolt) material at any sewing store. I buy mine at Wal-Mart. Poke around the $1/yard bin and find some breathable lightweight nylon. By lightweight I mean that the material should remind you of modern tent fabric or the material sleeping bags are made from.

I’m using “nylon” in the truly generic sense meaning a man-made synthetic material. Often the material in the Wal-Mart one-dollar bin will simply say man-made material or (and I’m not kidding here) unknown material. I could be spun alpaca wool for all we know!

Check its breathability. If it is waterproof, you won’t be able to draw air through it with your mouth. (I know – yuck!) Waterproof material is not great for a hammock as it won’t breathe and will feel clammy, especially in hot weather. However, this is great material to use for making a rain fly, but that’s another project.

Occasionally you’ll find some water-repellant material. You will be able to suck some air through it, but not as rapidly as uncoated nylon. This is the material I prefer. The main reason is that fully breathable (uncoated) material will easily fray along the edges. The strands will be going everywhere if you pick at it at all. Coated material, even if not completely waterproof will have noticeably less fraying. This material can be used as is and will last lots better without having the edges hemmed than the uncoated.

In the one-dollar bin, there may not be much by way of color choices. I prefer the duller – earth-tone – colors for a lot of reasons. If possible to get rip-stop material, that is MUCH better. Ripstop material will have a heavier thread every so often on a regular pattern in both directions of the weave, up and down as well as across. The result is a material that appears to have a very small checker pattern to it – a fine grid, if you will.

Material sold from the “bolt” is usually either 54 or 62 inches wide. Either width is good for a hammock. The 54” stuff will, of course, be lighter. The 62” stuff may be slightly more accommodating to different sleeping styles, but until you’ve spent several nights “hanging out” you probably won’t notice any difference.

Buy three yards (52 or 62 inches by 9 feet long) if you are under 5’ 10”. If over that, you might want to buy 3 ½ yards. (10 ½ feet long) The next thing you need is some strong cord or rope. Some folk use ¼” paracord. This is otherwise know as 550 cord and supposedly it will hold 550 pounds. I have a hard time believing that, but we are going to double it, so take your chances if you dare. However, don’t buy rope larger than 3/8” in diameter. A 1/4 inch braded rope should be adequate. Look at the weight ratings and be sure it s rated for at least 125 pounds. You will be supported by FOUR strands of this, so there is a safety margin, but remember that the force on the ropes at an angle is greater that just your weight of gravity. The physics of that are beyond the scope of these instructions. My point is don’t skimp on the rope. And by the way, no hemp or cotton. (No hemp jokes please.)

Cut two lengths of rope 12 feet long. Cut the ends cleanly and apply heat (a lighter or candle) to the ends to melt the material together so it won’t unravel. Wear a pair of heavy gloves to do this and mold the end of the rope neatly while it is still hot. Another method is to wrap the rope with electrical tape in two places right beside each other at the place where you want to make the cut. Then cut the rope between the tape bands. If you only have duct tape, only wrap in one place and cut the rope and the duct tape band at the same time, cutting the duct tape band in half. You’ll end up with nicely dressed but somewhat sticky ends.

Fold each 12’ length of rope in half and use it to tie the Lark’s Head Knot (or Prusik Knot)(Technically this is not a “knot”. It is a “noose” or “cinch” since applying pressure tightens it.)

An alternate method to the one shown in the website link above (and the method I use) is to tie the folded line to the end of the hammock using a “sheet bend” knot. There are several advantages to this. You don’t loose hammock material length in an overhand knot. Click this link to see a sheet bend knot. However, I’m a little disappointed that the guy in the video didn’t actually use a SHEET! Imagine that the big orange line he used was actually the short end of your hammock gathered together and doubled over. And instead of the single green line, you are using your folded 12’ cord.

Attach your hammock by tying the two ends to any support. I like to tie what I know as a selvage hitch, which I can’t find on the internet, so shall describe. Run you cords around the upright (tree, post, whatever) in opposite directions and keep going around and up, cris-crossing till you only have enough line left to tie a knot. A shoe-string bow is sufficient. With weight off the hammock you can easily slide this hitch up and down the tree by pushing the whole hitch. However, you cannot pull it. Pulling it from one end or the other, as well as putting weight on the hammock causes it to cinch down on the tree or post and lock up. Remove the weight and push it and it loosens and moves easily again. (Provided that the tree bark is not too rough, of course)

A word of caution about thin-skinned trees, like, for example, young maple trees. A sawing cord may damage such trees. That’s not acceptable. Either find a tree with more durable bark, or carry some strapping material to wrap the tree, then attach your cords to that. Here’s an example. Here’s another one showing the use of rings and a carabiner. Ok, now we need to bug-proof and rain-proof this hammock.

While in Wal-Mart, buy three or three and a half (depending on your hammock length) yards of “tulle”. This will be your mosquito netting. Tie opposite corners of this material to either end of your hammock, once it is up, and allow the other two corners to hang down over the sides of the hammock. You can easily enter and exit by throwing one side back over the top and letting both sides hang down on the side opposite of your direction of exit.

Before you leave Wal-Mart, go by the painting department and buy a 9x12 or 10x10 plastic painter’s tarp that is 1 mil thick or close to it. Add a spool of nylon string and 6 tent stakes (Wal-Mart Sporting Goods) or aluminum gutter spikes (Home Depot), and you’ve got the whole package.

Start by rigging an extra length of paracord (or the same type of cord as you bought to hang your hammock) over top of the hammock in a sort of roof ridge-line. I like to use a trucker’s hitch for the final tightening of the line. It doesn’t have to be nearly as strong as for hanging the hammock, but line too fine may cut the tarp. So the ¼” size of paracord is good. Next, spread out and hang the painter’s tarp over the ridge line. Using a sheet bend knot, tie a six-foot piece of the nylon cord to each corner. Pull out on each corner so that a pup-tent style shelter is formed. Fasten the lines to the tent stakes. I like to use the clove hitch for this, but nearly any knot will do – even the trucker’s hitch (if using actual tent pegs).

When done right it should look similar to this.

I haven’t explained how to attach lines along the edge of the tarp, but the short of it is that I fold a pebble into the folded edge, twist the plastic, and put a single-wrap Prusik Knot or Larks Head knot over the bulge. I can’t find photos of this technique. I’ll have to take my own. More later.

In another lesson, I’ll address making webbing loops to help protect the trees, but to be VERY brief, if you have some webbing, you can use the sheet bend knot to tie that to you hammock support cords.

These are the basics. For more information go to: http://www.hammockforums.net/ and browse around. Also Google the various knots and “hammocks”.