All these hammock threads got me thinkin

[dougo83]

I have an old mil surp tarp or 5 laying around and was considering turning one of those big canvas boogers into a couple of hammocks for hiking use rather than buying one. I am just wondering how feasible such a project is and that is where you all come in...

PeACE
Dougo

 

[j williams]

Would be a lot less packable, but still it might just work! Keep us posted man!

 

[BarberFobic1992]

i see that you purposley omitted the g from "thinkin" in honour of or new name change. peace out home dog

 

[dougo83]

i see that you purposley omitted the g from "thinkin" in honour of or new name change. peace out home dog

I actually do that alot.

 

[j williams]

How thick are these tarps man? If they are what im thinkin, arent they pretty heavy?

 

[dougo83]

How thick are these tarps man? If they are what im thinkin, arent they pretty heavy?

I haven't gotten over to storage to grab them yet, but I know a few of them are torn and missing their rivets. They are thick, but I am talking about making them into hammocks which would easily cut a bunch out of them and make them a bit lighter while resistant to tearing...in my mind's eye anyway

 

[siguy]

for a hammock for the backyard, these will do fine, i have made them from things like old bedsheets and other cloth like that.

you take the cloth and fold it up "hotdog" style, if you know what i mean. you want to make like a long strip. then you either tie an overhand knot in each end attach a rope to each knot, or you just tie a knot into the ends (i like to use a sheet bend to attach a rope)

this will work pretty well for a basic hammock, and depending on the dimensions of your tarps they can be very roomy and comfy.

 

[j williams]

I agree. You can treat em to be water resistant too. Sounds pretty cool man.

 

[Salamander42]

They may be a bit heavy and bulky for backpacking with but they should work just fine. I I know someone who has been making canvas hammocks for years and they are quite comfortable and very sturdy. He uses a kind of brownish canvas and natural fiber rope and they end up with a kind of nice old fashioned maritime sort of look.