Motorcycle Hammock-Camping

And odd thing happened while we were off on our August camping trip. An email came in through this very blog asking us if we’d like to review a hammock. Maggie from OneWind wanted us to put whichever model we chose through its paces to see how we liked it. After a bit of back and forth on expectations with Maggie, NMBL and I agreed to give one of their hammocks a go. For this we decided on the OneWind 12′ XXL hammock. From there it was just a matter of sitting back and waiting for the new hammock to arrive. So, yes, OneWind did give us this hammock to review. It’s good to state that up front.

If it seems like a long time between the end of August and now for getting a review out, well it is. We received the hammock in late September by which time the weather around here got a wee bit damp (read, storm warnings). If you’ve ever been to the West Coast of Canada in the autumn you know the weather can be hit and miss. So we waited for a good weather window to do our first setup and test of this rather large hammock. We finally caught a break last weekend so off we went to give this thing a go!

The Unpacking

I’m not one for packaging. For me, less is more. NMBL appreciates simple, well thought out packaging that has the potential to be reused rather than simply thrown away. OneWind ships in a simple branded draw-string plastic bag (aside from the courier packaging) leaving us with very little garbage or a potentially reusable bag. That is appreciated on our end.

The hammock, bug-net, and tree straps all come in a large bishop bag (closures at both ends). The bishop bag is common for a lot of hammock manufacturers. What is uncommon is the fact that the tree straps are stored in it with the the hammock and bug net. More on this later.

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Something that came as a pleasant surprise to us was the instruction booklet. It is set up to walk a new hammock-er through the suspension process with good photos and some text. This is a nice addition for a rookie hammock camper and tells me that OneWind knows where they are placing themselves in the market. If I was to take a guess I’d say that they are going head-to-head with ENO in the entry level market. I don’t think I’m far off in that assessment.

Another thing that both NMBL and I noticed right away was the cinch buckles for the suspension system. We use carabiners with daisy-chain loop suspension straps which doesn’t allow for subtle adjustment along the straps but does on the tree. The cinch buckles allow for finer adjustment tree-side and buckle-side. How much anyone is going to adjust is up to them. We’re at the point with our hangs that we can have a very sleep-worthy hang set up in a few minutes. That said I didn’t mind the cinch buckle. It’s easy to use and almost infinitely adjustable. It’s a relatively common mode of suspension and is arguably lighter than the system NMBL and I use.

Setup

We found ourselves a good grove of trees at a park near where we happened to be that day and busied ourselves with rigging the OneWind hammock. The strap system is simple with a loop at the tree end and a simple straight run of webbing strap that attaches to the cinch buckle. There’s no preset head or foot end on this hammock so one can simply choose. We both set up with the foot end higher than the head end and with the hammock closer to the tree. The cinch buckle made this simple while making further adjustment quick.

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Since the hammock is in a bishop bag we simply attached the cinch buckle to one tree then unfurled it as we walked across to the other strap. I personally like this kind of setup as it helps keep the hammock out of the dirt and muck while making tear-down a lot easier as the bag is always on the line. However we found with this one that there wasn’t a lot of room to keep the bishop bag on continuous loop. It has to be extended up tight to the buckle. This can cause problems in rainy weather as the bag is exposed to water running down the tree straps, across the buckle and will convey it to the hammock. In other words, if you leave the bishop bag on the system there’s a good chance you’ll get wet when it rains out.

Once we got the hammock buckled to the opposite tree it was a simple matter of some fine adjustments to tension the ridge line and set the sag. The straps look to be of good quality and should last at least a few seasons. With it rigged up we had a chance to get a good look at the kind of hammock we were given.

The OneWind hammock is made from a hexagonal rip-stop material which we found to be soft and comfortable. The website says that the fabric is a 70D Nylon so it’s not surprising that the feel of it is nice. Nylon always has a bit of stretch to it but all of our hammocks are Nylon and neither of us has ever had a problem with it. The fabric should be as durable as that of any other hammock in our stable. So, no detectable issues here.

The edge stitching seems to be good. The hammock is double stitched all the way around and should hold well. Time will tell as we haven’t had this hammock out for a multi-day trip yet. Along both sides of the hammock are little loops that are stitched into the edging. We think they are there for some sort of under quilt retention but a close look at them suggests that they may pull off under stress. They simply seem like an unnecessary inclusion to us, like an attempt to have a feature that may not offer much of a benefit. However, from the construction standpoint of the hammock itself that is our only real complaint.

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Size wise this hammock is big. VERY BIG! It is spec’d out at 12′ long and 5’8″ wide. We measured it to 6’2″ wide at the middle. That is generous to say the least. All that extra width and length gave both NMBL and I a very flat lay with little to no calf ridge. It’s worth noting that we’re both on the tall side of the bell curve. The wider hammock allowed me to increase the angle of my lay to a point I have not had with another hammock. My concern now is whether that will play nice with my under quilt. Future problems. We both found the hammock to be very comfortable though with such a wide cut we did get a bit of the edge falling in on our faces. I’m curious to sleep in it with all my gear to see how that all falls out.

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The bug-net setup is interesting. We have both used the drape-over style of bug-net with the ENO hammocks, which are a zippered side entry. They are terrible. Our current hammocks (a Warbonnet Eldorado and a Hammock Gear Bug-net) have integrated bug nets, meaning they zip to the hammock around the edge. This OneWind hammock comes with a bottom entry bug-net that has lots of fabric that doesn’t constrict your diagonal lay like the ENO does. It gives you the room of an integrated without having to deal with the zipper. NMBL and I were skeptical at first but both quickly liked the the setup. Entry and exit was almost as easy as the integrated and far better than the side-entry draped.

The bug-net does come with loops on the top for suspension from a secondary ridgeline. However, like their counterparts on the under quilt side of the hammock, they’re not well stitched into the rest of the bug-net. This lead both of us to the same concern as we had with those on the hammock. Plus with the integrated ridgeline they are simply not needed.

Setup of the bug-net was simple as it is a part of the system and just bunches up at what we set up as the foot end. The problem is there’s nowhere to store it if it’s not in use and just sits there like a sock bunched up around the top of a boot. We used the bishop bag to tuck it away. Another issue we had with the bug-net was that the cord lock at what ended up being the head end for us kept loosening off. We knotted the line to stop that from happening but that’s a workaround and not a fix.

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With the adjustable integrated ridgeline this hammock should be easy enough to setup for any sleeping preference. The ridgeline is a whoopie sling affair which the website says has a tensile strength of 1500lb. That is strong but it is still recommended to not have it too taught before getting in. It’s the job of the tree straps to take your weight, not the ridgeline. Happily OneWind includes a ridgeline organizer in this system, though it seems a little hastily made. Ours was wonky and off kilter as you can see from the photo. It does have room enough for your cell phone, glasses, a wallet, and keys in the vertical pockets. There’s a horizontal pocket as well that I think is for a water bottle. I’m a bit worried about that one as I think a water bottle will slide out and knock me in the head at some time during the night. Overall we felt that the ridgeline organizer would be very useful.

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Overall Impressions

I’ll come right out and say this now. OneWind has a good entry level hammock here for the taller hammock camper. The XXL, with its 12′ length and generous width, ease of setup, and frugal price-point at $75.00US, should be a consideration for anyone 5’10” or taller looking to try a hammock to sleep in. It seems comparable to the ENO Double Nest (an old favourite of ours) but with a ridgeline, accompanying organizer, and a better bug-net setup all included.

It’s not all roses though, as there are a few features on this OneWind setup that either don’t offer much benefit or are a little sub-par. The tabs that are added onto the side of the hammock and the top of the bug-net seem to be an afterthought. They are not well stitched on and seem like they will let go in a strong breeze. That cord lock problem we had on our bug-net may be just a bad part but we’d still like to see a better quality on that particular item. Otherwise the bugs get in!

We both found the entire system to be a bit heavy and bulky. The fact that there’s just more hammock and the cinch buckles are heavy is the main reason for this. For lightweight backpackers this will not be a winning combination. For cyclists it may even be a deal breaker. The fact that we are on motorcycles makes it less of an issue. Car campers will have no problem at all. One thing that both of us found to be a problem, and I mentioned it briefly before, is that the tree straps store WITH the hammock. Tree straps get wet, they get pitch on them, they get gunky. You do not want your bed getting wet, covered in pitch, and all gunky. The straps need their own bag. If I could ask OneWind to change anything it would be to get rid of the tabs mentioned in the previous paragraph and add a strap bag. This would bring me joy.

Finally there’s the fact that the bishop bag, and by extension the bug-net when not in use, have to sit out at the cinch buckle when deployed. This is a recipe for disaster on a rainy night as that bag will just carry water across the cinch buckle, where I’d put a drip line, and onto the hammock. Fitting in a drip line at the webbing side of the buckle should take care of this problem but you will have to make sure that the bishop bag is back far enough.

Even with these issues I’m looking forward to actually sleeping in this hammock. NMBL and I will head out in the spring when we can both give it a go. It’s likely we’ll both sleep well in it. Well enough for it to take the place of our current hammocks? Maybe. We shall see.

DES out.