Reviews > Shelters > Hammocks > Lawson Blue Ridge Camping Hammock > Thomas Vickers > Initial Report

Lawson Blue Ridge Camping Hammock Initial Report

June 15, 2006

Tester Background:
I grew up in the piney woods of southeast Texas. Camping was a quick trip into the mosquito-infested woods behind the house. My style has evolved and over the last 4 or 5 years, I have begun to take a lighter weight approach to hiking gear (I still use sleeping bags and tents, just lighter versions). While I have flirted with lightweight hiking, I feel that I am more of a mid-weight hiker now. My philosophy is one of comfort, while carrying the lightest load possible.

Expectations:
I visited the Lawson website and came away with the feeling that this was going to be a very nice camping hammock. I couldn't get a good feel for its size from the pictures, but overall, I did feel that I knew what was coming in the mail. 

Arrival:
The Lawson Blue Ridge Camping Hammock arrived in a long cardboard box and inside the box were two pages of instructions and hints for usage, the hammock, the hammock fly, two hoop poles, a stuff sack for the hoop poles, and a stuff sack for the hammock.  The one thing that I noticed right away as I dug through the box and read the instructions was that there was nothing included to hang the hammock with.  Right out of the box, the Blue Ridge Camping Hammock just a hammock. Any equipment or accessories needed to hang the hammock need to be provided by me.  Not a shock, but still a bit of a surprise. 

Manufacturer's Description (from website):
It can be used either as a tent hammock or on the ground as a bivy tent. Blue Ridge camping hammocks are made of the finest materials, including a nylon pack cloth bed, rip-stop nylon rain fly and no-see-um netting. Camping hammocks are safe, comfortable, easy to set up and really protect the occupants from flying insects and the elements. It's also light weight, weighing only 4.25 lbs. Users don't have to carry added bulky weight such as ground tarps and sleeping pad. Blue ridge camping hammocks are a leader in the three season tent category.
Large no-see-um net canopy, hammock body made of coated nylon pack cloth, Waterproof nylon rain tarp, Waterproof nylon border on the canopy protects against water blowing up under tarp, Strong aluminum-alloy poles and shock corded aluminum archpoles for the canopy, Double coil nylon zipper, Large net bag inside hammock, Nylon rope, Heavy duty nickel-plated steel rings, and Brass-plated grommets reinforced with nylon webbing.

Tester's Description:
Once I got the Blue Ridge Camping Hammock hung in the backyard for inspection, I was a bit surprised as to what it was truly like.  It was large, inside and out. The bottom was blue nylon and the top was made of white netting.  Each end of the hammock was held up by a spreader bar and rope set up that allowed the body of the hammock to be stretched tight and open.  When packed, the spreader bars unsnap in the middle and become shorter for easier stowing.  The rope ends all tie to a hang loop that is used to connect the hammock to whatever hanging apparatus I devise to wrap around the available trees.  The hoop poles that provide the interior headroom and hold the top of the hammock tight are held upright by an elastic cord which hooks onto the hoop pole and then attaches to the hang loop.

The hoop poles consist of four - 17 in (43 cm) segments that snap together in order to form a loop. They slide easily into the nylon loops on the hammock and snap into grommets on the webbing straps located on each side and end of the hammock. Basically, they go into the Blue Ridge Camping Hammock much like a tent pole goes into a tent.

The entrance was on the right side (when lying in the hammock) and was shaped like a half circle.  It was easy to unzip and get myself into the hammock.   The door provided easy entrance and exit from the hammock and I didn't feel like I was cramped contorting myself to get inside.   Once I got inside the hammock, there was plenty of leg and head room on the inside. There was no ridgeline (hoop poles do the same job on this hammock), but there are two interior mesh pockets that are for storing items. 

On the outside of the hammock there are webbing loops that I think are for staking the door's bottom down when the hammock is used as a tent.   There are also four Velcro patches on the bottom of the hammock that are for securing the rainfly during extreme weather.

Initial impressions:
After unpacking and working with the Lawson Blue Ridge Camping Hammock for this initial report, I have noticed several things.  The first is a big concern for me and it deals with the stitching in different parts of the hammock. While inside the hammock I noticed long threads hanging from the stitching on the Velcro patches are connected to the outside bottom of the hammock. I also noticed in several areas that I could see daylight through the stitch holes when lying in the hammock.  Hopefully I am just being nitpicky about these things, but I will keep an eye on them during the testing period.  

The next thing I noticed was that when I initially put the hammock up for photographing, the instructions were not that clear. It was beginning to rain and I needed to get the fly on the hammock quickly.  I grabbed the two printed pages of instructions and tried my best to figure out how to get the fly in place.  If there were pictures to go along with this part of the instructions, I think that it would have made installing the fly easier and quicker for me. As it was, it took three tries and at least six readings of the instructions before I got the fly installed almost correctly.  Next time though, I know how it goes on and shouldn't have a problem.

My last comment is about what I expected from the company website and what arrived at my door.  Based on the pictures and my preconceived notion of what a hammock is, I expected something slightly different.  The only way to describe this is to say that I view the Blue Ridge Hammock as more of a tent that is designed to be hung rather than strictly as a hammock.  This is not a bad thing, it just busted my preconceived notion of a camping hammock to pieces.  Despite the differences, I can honestly say that I am excited about testing this hammock. It is a different sort of shelter and it appears to be roomy and comfortable, but these are items that my testing will sort out later.  

Reviews > Shelters > Hammocks > Lawson Blue Ridge Camping Hammock > Thomas Vickers > Initial Report