Hyperlight hammock system
“The burden which is well bourne becomes light” (Ovid)
In the quest to lighten the load I have to carry into the jungle I continue to try out new products and ideas and, in this video, you can see my new hyperlight hammock system in action. I have had it for around 6 months now but wanted to give it a few test runs in the field before reviewing it. One thing I forgot to explain in the video is that you will notice orange tags and dayglow drawstring on the bags I am using: the reason for this is simply that the green parachute material I used to make the bags is perfectly camouflaged in the jungle and this makes it very easy to accidentally leave the bags behind (something I have done in the past!).
For those of you with fast internet speeds, this video can be watched in 1080 HD.
Ultralight camping makes all kinds of sense, however there are some items that I carry where I am not using the lightest option for one reason or another:
Rucksack: these are going to get quite a lot of punishment as you push through the jungle and snag on rattans and the like. As such the material needs to be reasonably tough (and therefore heavier).
Water bottles: I like the Sigg bottles as they are unlikely to let you down and can take a fair amount of abuse. Water bladders can split and be a problem. My preference is to have two 1 litre Sigg bottles in outer pockets and a back up Platypus 1 litre collapsible bottle (usually unfilled) in my main compartment.
Torch: I like a lot of lumens and I like a torch that uses standard (and thus easy to find) batteries. My preference at the moment is for the Fenix LD 12. It’s bigger and heavier than the Fenix E01 that I used to use….but you are much less likely to step on a snake if you can really light up the jungle.
Bedding/spare clothes: If you really want to go ultralight you could forgo these items altogether and simply sleep in the hammock in your underwear. However, is it worth being cold and getting bitten by mozzis though the night for the sake of 1.5kg of extra weight? I think not; the discomfort of carrying an extra kilo and half is more than made up for by a good nights sleep.
However, for items where the ultralightweight option performs just as well….then I go as ultralight as possible. No question. Why carry heavy ropes for the hammock when you could use amsteel or dynaglide instead? Why carry a heavy tarp when a light one is just as waterproof? Saying that, these lightweight options are often more expensive than the heavier versions and I understand and sympathise with people who carry heavy items simply because they can’t afford the lighter version (think Titanium!).
Ultralightweight camping is, at heart, a matter of careful planning. If you walk along a trail by a river with 4 litres of water in your pack (which equals 4kg) then you are basically carrying a weight of water you didn’t need to carry and the fact that you saved a few grams of weight with your titanium cookset is neither here nor there. Or, if you are walking along a well used trail then you probably won’t need a super heavy 14 inch parang as there won’t be much heavy chopping to do and you could carry a smaller and lighter parang instead.
Also, if you use ultralightweight equipment you will need to plan and find ways of protecting that gear from the jungle (particularly in the case of ultralightweight tarps). The better you plan, the lighter you can go.
As Keong points out in the video, ultralight camping suits those who are ultralight themselves. I am skinny and don’t weight much and so can get away with using ropes rated to 90kg and find hammocks like the Grand Trunk are ample enough in width. However, I read a review of the same hammock where the writer mentioned that he would have preferred the Grand Trunk to have been a bit wider.
And, as Keong also points out, the other factor that will determine how light you can go is your personal comfort zone….if you’re happy to sleep on the jungle floor then you don’t even need to take in a hammock in at all!
Hello Paul,
Great video, as you present a lightweight sleeping system, but you also show your organisation around camp (Maybe a full video topic idea? 😉 ).
That for me is more important than the gears you bring in.
I tend to believe that the Person (mindset, body, and skills) is far more important than the gear.
I went horribly wrong with good quality gear (because of myself), as I really enjoyed some basic items while properly used.
You are totally right about the careful planning being a major underrated point of ultralight. The lightest gear is the one you leave at home. I love your example about Titanium cooking set vs loads of water.
I honestly admire what you’ve created with your sewing machine! It’s quite impressive.
Well, time to speak gear! 😀
I’d like to buy two cordages at one time: Amsteel blue 7/64″, and Spectra Dyneema 0,8mm. I can’t find any site who has the both, maybe you would know?
I really like Tree Straps, could you be able to make a pair for me? How much weighs the pair you made?
What length would you recommand to suspend your hammock? I never had to choose the length, but if I buy at the foot…
Do you still use your amazonas hammock? What about the tarp you made yourself?
The puppies are adorable! There’s no doubt you will find them a home.
I would have love to take a picture of the “Leave No Trace” note!
I am myself too heavy on my current trip, your ideas will help.
Oh, I land in Malaysia this month 🙂
Thank you really much,
Wawa
Hi Wawa,
Many thanks for the comment (as always) and glad the video was helpful….I agree with all the points you make. Getting the weight of the pack down is always hard if you are not sure what sort of terrain etc you are going to encounter, so I sympathise. I find that if I go on a trail I know well I find it easier to lighten the load as I know what to expect.
As for your questions, I bought amsteel and dynaglide from the UK via UKHammocks who stock a lot of interesting hammock accessories. If you want to buy from Malaysia then Keong (who you know) stocks amsteel now as does Nadir at outdoor dynamics.com.my – don’t think either of them have dynaglide but I might be wrong.
Outdoordynamics.com.my also sell tree straps that they make themselves (I think) which are very reasonably priced. Alternatively you can just salvage some old seatbelt and make you own (or take it to a sewing shop that can sew them up for you). Most of the commercially available tree straps (from Europe/US) tend to be too long and thus heavier than required. I think mine are about 4 feet long.
Hope that helps.
Cheers!
Paul
Hey Paul, the HD video works a treat and looks great. I can only watch the low res versions at home though, and rewatch in HD when I have access to faster connection speeds.
Having incredibly cute tail-wagging puppies wandering in and out of the screen is counter-productive, if you are trying to get your audience to pay attention to you – I realised, during the third minute of the video, that I wasn’t registering what you were saying at all! Anyway, more puppy footage, please 😀
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
Many thanks for the comment and support and glad the HD is working. I think you are right about the puppies being distracting and when I was editing the video I found my own attention wandering! I shot a short video (Puppy Pageant) to show the puppies off to potential adopters and we now have homes for six of them (one to go!).
Anyway, thanks again.
Cheers!
Paul
Paul,
Oh no – I didn’t meant it that way at all. Well, I guess I did mean they were distracting, but it was not in a bad way. People who don’t like puppies won’t be distracted, while people who like puppies and interested in what you have to say will watch it again and again and be subconsciously indoctrinated with your words 😀
I found your pageant video to be exploitative, humiliating and degrading. Why are the genitals of the apparently unwilling and unhappy participants being flashed on camera? Hahaha! But it was exceedingly cute! BTW, the six that are gone, are you including the one headed for Teluk Intan?
Hi Gusti Parang,
Many thanks for the comment and glad you like the puppy exploitation video (!) – we are now back to five with homes and two still looking for homes as one person dropped out, so if you hear of anyone wanting one please let me know (to a good home). The two left are both female.
Anyway, no more puppy appearances in the videos!
Cheers!
Paul
No more puppy footage?! Nooooo… D:
Hi Kevin,
Well assuming I can keep them out of the frame that is! The good news is that we have now found homes for all of them so they’ll be off to new lives about mid-June. Will be sorry to see them go but won’t miss clearing up the copious amount of puppy crap and piss!
Cheers!
Paul
Paul, just wanted to say thanks for the great Y’Tube chnl and Site. I’m primarily a hiker/backpacker and many of your ideas and experiences are useful and translatable to the woods and mountains of the U.S. Hopefully I’ll never have to use many of them ;). I appreciate your sincere style and no b.s. presentations while keeping it entertaining and informational. Please keep it up! Subscribed. Thanks
Hi John,
Many thanks for the comment and support…much appreciated. I’m very glad to hear that some of the techniques are applicable over there in the U.S. and, conversely, the whole ultralight concept is something that was developed over in your neck of the woods that I try to implement over here (so I’m very grateful to those US pioneers of ultralight!).
Cheers!
Paul
Re Paul,
Don’t get me wrong, you brought a really important subject!
I personally NEED to reduce weight, I tend to have a “weak” back.
The sleeping system is a major part of the total weight.
As it also is the one that takes (for me) the least punishment, compared to cutting tools, clothes, backpack, etc; it is where I tend to go ultra light.
I don’t think you really have to change your habits going from a big suspension rope to a smaller one. Same for sleeping bag, hammock, etc.
My cooking set is also light, but more important, is my cooking habits. for long term, I go only with ready to eat food. cereals, jerky meat, peanuts etc… Wich means no pot, no spoon, no stove. No stress 🙂
Yet, there are some items that I will keep heavy-duty, thus heavy-weight.
But that’s anoter subject…
Cheers!
Wawa.
Hi Wawa,
Many thanks for the comment and I completely understand your need for ultralight. I am the same in that I’m not the heaviest built guy on the planet (!) and struggle with a heavy pack…on the other hand, my friend Keong can carry much heavier loads than I without complaint so a comfortable load out weight definitely varies from person to person.
I used to use the jungle snugpak sleeping bag which is very good and quite light but have now switched to the blanket arrangement shown in the video. I find my legs don’t get cold at night so the bottom half of the blanket is just parachute material and the top half is a sort of thin micro fibre blanket. It is lighter than the snugpak but, more importantly, I find that a blanket is easier to use in a hammock….you can sometimes feel a bit like you’re in a straight jacket with a sleeping bag (particularly when used in a hammock) and it’s quite hard to get in and out of.
I was camping last year with a guy who brought in only dried foods (veg, jerky etc) and he certainly managed to get the weight down and, as you say, had no need for stove, pots etc.
Anyway, thanks again for the comment and good luck in your quest for the ultralight!
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul,
HD works fantastic, especially in the jungle!
Also I have to say same thing as Kevin mentioned, I realized after a couple of minutes that I was watching puppies instead of your stuff 😉
For guys with slow conn, you can use an addon called DownloadHelper for your Firefox browser which let you save with one click video files as .mp4 in 720i or 1080i resolution.
Actually files are really heavy as video above in 720i is 370MB but it’s worth to watch rainforest in High Definition, amazing.
Cheers!
Hi Jakub,
Many thanks for the comment and useful advice for those with slow connections. These video files get really huge but I used handbrake software (freeware) which compressed down quite a bit….still, quite cumbersome files to deal with!
Cheers!
Paul
Came across this http://www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/hmg-hex-hammock-tarp-71.html while reading up on Cuben Fibre, after seeing pictures of Nadir making a tarp out of the stuff. Thought it might be of interest to you 🙂
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the comment an cuban fibre is something I keep hearing a lot about and all good stuff. Will definitely be checking it out….is Nadir now importing it?
Cheers!
Paul
Well, I think he’s only importing it for his own consumption/experimentation at the moment, but you could check with him. Someone commented on his pictures asking if they could order one (tarp made from Cuben Fibre) from him – he said ‘yes – if they were willing to wait a year and pay an arm and leg for it’.
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
Many thanks for the update…maybe I’ll wait until the price of Cuben Fibre comes down a bit having just forked out for the Hennessy Hyperlite tarp!
Thanks again,
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul,
Another GREEEAT video! And Hello Keong!
I’ve fiddled with ultralight and am still into it though I’ve not had much chance to try it out nowdays.
Funny, I made up some prototypes of the under quilt and a hammock blanket and recently had the opportunity to use it. Worked pretty well, but need to find some more suitable materials.
Yup I bough some Cuben fibre and trying it out at the expense of OD. it’s really great stuff, super lightweight, but the costs may be prohibitive for most. it also takes care and time to make.
cheers!
Hi Nadir,
Great to hear from you again and very glad you liked the video. I can really recommend UQs as they make an enormous difference when it gets a bit cooler during the night….no more aching back in the morning!
I’d be interested to see the cuben fibre tarp you made one day… we should try and arrange a trip sometime! Is the cuben fibre a lot stronger and less likely to rip than the hyperlite silnylon?
Anyway, thanks again for the comment,
Cheers!
Paul
Nadir had problems with my server when trying to post the comment (below). If anyone else encounters this sort of problem, please let me know and I can always post your comment for you.
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul,
Tried replying again but had the “500 – Internal server error.There is a problem with the resource you are looking for, and it cannot be displayed.“
My reply :
I’ve had enough of trying to contort myself into a sleeping bag in a hammock. the hammock just waits to spit you out. plus the zero loft on your back does not really help with insulation.
I’ve been using a silnylon tarp from Intergral design for almost 15 years now, it’s just fabulous, but after those years, the only thing is the seam sealing , it’s starting to crumble due to the weather here. Need to re do it , when I have time haha.
Cuben fibre is almost untear-able ( i’ve tried it with my hands ) i’m sure it’ll tear at some point, but probably not with my hands. does not heal like silicon impregnated Sil Nylon if you have a puncture though. it’s sort of like a transparent garbage bag / mylar sheet with loosely woven fibreglass cloth in it. it’s strong , super light but not puncture proof . My cuben 8×10 fly weighs 160 grams at the moment ( without tie ins )
In my last trip 2 weeks ago I managed to try out TYVEK as well. it held pretty well, just very noisy as it was new. someone commented I was using foil ! It gets less noisy once it’s been used. You should give it a try as well. Light , puncture proof / resistant , some people say it’s waterproof, some say its not. oh, and it only comes in white : (
a trip definitely! perhaps later in the year when the rains come? 🙂
keep those videos coming mate, oh, and stop scratching yourself!
Thank you and best regards,
Hi Nadir,
Sorry again for the problems caused by the server.
Couldn’t agree more about the sleeping bag problem when using a hammock…I guess, if the hammock has a full zip you can open it out, but the truth is they are not the best design for use with a hammock.
And many thanks for all the useful info about cuben fibre and silnylon….very interesting and the cuben fibre is light indeed! 160 grams for a 10×8! I have got a few small pieces of tyvek A3 size that I bought to test out and it is clearly extremely tough stuff…and ‘yes’ it only came in white!
Anyway, more videos on the way and I shall try and stop scratching myself (sorry!)…but it would help if the insects didn’t keep crawling all over me and biting me!
Cheers!
Paul
Hi again.
Maybe if you are really keen on lightweight backpacking, you should try reading Ray Jardine’s ” Beyong Backpacking – Ray Jardine’s guide to lightweight backpacking” . Ray was one if not the – pioneer of lightweight and going ultralight. it’s not for the ordinary folks, as some of his approaches are pretty radical and extreme. It’s definately a good read for anyone into lightweight backpacking.
I’m sure there has been other books since then.
cheers
Hi Nadir,
Many thanks for the tip – I’d heard Ray Jardine’s name mentioned a few times but had never got round to reading his book, so that’s definitely on the list. I’m not sure I’m really an ultralight purist though as I still like my comfort and only go UL if it doesn’t reduce my comfort levels! At the moment my fully loaded pack (water and food and all) for 3 day trip weighs in at around 7kg and I’m struggling to get it much lighter than that.
Anyway, thanks again,
Cheers!
Paul
I saw in one of your earlier videos that it wasn’t easy to get button batteries for the smaller LED lights where you live. I found a video on youtube that shows taking apart a 9 volt or AAA battery. Inside are a stack of button batteries. It was news to me. Batteries are heavy and why take more then you need?
Dave
Hi Dave,
Many thanks for the comment and very interesting to hear that AAA batteries have stacks of button batteries inside – that’s certainly news to me! I take your point about the weight saved using button battery torches and it’s certainly easier to find those sort of batteries now that it used to be. For me the issue is that in the rural areas (i.e. where I live) it’s not that easy to find those sort of batteries and, as I rarely go down to Kuala Lumpur, I wanted something that used standard batteries that I’d be able to find in the local shops. But ‘yes’ if you live somewhere where it’s easy to find the smaller batteries then the smaller torch option is certainly a good one.
Cheers!
Paul
Hey Dave,
Hmmm… I think that might’ve been a joke video that you watched. AAA batteries most certainly do NOT contain a stack of button cells. However, certain 9V batteries do contain AAA cells, but not all do! You’ll have to know which ones to get (generally it’s the better quality ones, the cheap ones most certainly do not contain the AAA cells). Here’s a link to an instructible on opening up a 9V battery: http://www.instructables.com/id/how-to-open-a-9v-battery/
Regards,
Kevin
Ooh, I found the button cell hack, it’s with one of the 12V batteries (not that easy to find themselves). Here: http://www.instructables.com/id/E9KRTXSF5HVPBRO/
Hi Kevin,
Many thanks for this – it’s an A23 battery apparently full off button batteries after all. Amazing!
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the comment….Dave wrote back to say that it was, indeed, the 9V batteries (as per your link article) and not the AAA. Anyway, thanks to all for clearing this up.
Cheers!
Paul
Sorry! I have been hood winked so many times by youtube I should know better. It’s only the 12 volt camera batteries that look like 9 volt and AA that have the button batteries inside. I’m sure it’s harder to find those then the buttons themselves. It’s one thing to look like an idiot and another to open my mouth and remove any doubt!
Dave
Hi Dave,
Many thanks for the update and Kevin has sent me the link to the batteries article – all very interesting. I have some friends who are really into torches and they were advising me to use the lithium AA/AAA batteries as these are, apparently, lighter, less prone to leak and last longer…..of course they’re more expensive too!
Anyway, thanks again.
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul;
What do you think about the surface protected from the rain by your Hyperlite flysheet?
Hi Wawa,
Many thanks for the comment – the hyperlite flysheet (so far!) has worked fine and I’ve had it out in heavy rain without any problems. The only thing I would say is that it is not a huge tarp so you need to set it up right (and not too high) to avoid rain spilling in from the sides.
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul,
Many thanks for the answer.
I own a Golite Poncho/tarp, wich is 265x 147, for 210 (I got the older version, at 300g). It is relatively close to the Henessy hyperlite Flysheet
I think it covers the hammock pretty well BUT, I cant use long hammocks, the ones with multiple strings at the end ( what is the term for that? ) are too long.
For exemple, the Mosquito Traveler from Byer is too long for my poncho, because of the strings, but your grand Trunk Nano 7 should be easily covered.
Thank you Paul,
Cheers!
Wawa.