The Jeff’s Gear Hammock is meant to be of multiple uses for the backpacker.

1) It can be a gear hammock

I have used it successfully during a five-day sojourn in the southwest of France (Pays Basque), during which I have slept in a hammock hung between two trees under a tarp. The weather was very wet (it rained heavily and almost continuously but for one day) and temperatures moderate (40°F to 54°F / 7°C to 12°C).

For the first two nights, I had hung the Gear Hammock above my sleeping hammock. I had set the tarp quite low in order to get the best protection, so I found the Gear Hammock was almost always in the way, practically resting upon my stomach.

On the third night, I loosened its guys so it went down a bit, and hung beside my sleeping hammock as shown on the top picture. I found that setup much more efficient, as I could easily rummage about in it when I wanted a piece of gear; it did rest against my right side, but didn’t feel cumbersome; I got in / off the sleeping hammock on my left side, so the Gear Hammock wasn’t in the way for that matter.

It has been quite handy to keep all my gear by me, under the protection of the tarp. For once, I didn’t have the usual mess on the groundsheet under the hammock, and I only had to hold my hand to grab the hose of my water bladder.

2) It can be a pack cover

I didn’t have the opportunity to test it in the field in the past two months, but I don’t question its ability to protect my pack from the rain: as it is a seamless piece of waterproof fabric, there is no way for water to go through. 

However, I have already made two reservations in my Initial Report:

- the shock cord is quite difficult to tighten, as it doesn’t slide easily in its gusset; as it is, I find the change from gear hammock to pack cover quite tiresome.

- it lacks some width to fully protect my ULA-P2 pack.

3) It can be used for water storage

That one has been a tricky test; I did it on some sunny day of October, as I was dayhiking in some forest about 25 miles (40 km) in the south of Paris, temperatures were in the 57°F-64°F (14°C-18°C) range with almost no breeze. Along the trail was a rather big pond sloping gently on one side (see picture), and I decided to test the ability of the Jeff’s Gear Hammock as a water collector and container.

The first difficulty I encountered is that it kept on floating on the surface of the water; there was no way I could make it sink in order to collect water. After a lot of effort, I eventually succeeded in getting about a gallon (4 liters) of water in it.

Second difficulty: I had a hard time trying to hitch the karabiner in the four corner loops with one hand, as I was carrying the whole thing with the other hand. The problem here was that the wet grosgrain loops were completely limp, and I couldn’t find the hole with the karabiner tip.

Well, the picture here shows I eventually had it hanging from a tree branch, but it wasn’t finished yet: I still had to empty it before resuming my hike.

That’s when a third difficulty occurs: because of the shock cord, the Jeff’s Gear Hammock cannot be made flat, and water kept on running from one corner to another. I had to turn all the corners upside down in order to get rid of all the water.

At this stage, I won’t say it doesn’t work as a water storage container, but I would certainly appreciate some manufacturer published recommendations for using it more efficiently.

4) It can be used as a field sink or tub

As a waterproof  piece of fabric, the Jeff’s Gear Hammock spread out on some pit can act as a field sink or tub. I didn’t test this in the field, because I never encountered a natural pit close enough to some water source (I don’t carry a shovel when hiking), so I did a simulation in my bathroom. I spread the Gear Hammock out in the opened sink, and turned on the water. No problem: it retains water and can be used as a sink. To empty it, I grabbed one of the long sides and pulled until the water flew out from the opposite side into the sink underneath; I could do likewise because the sink was smooth and there was no risk of damaging the fabric. It still has to be tested but, in the field, I guess I would have to carry the Gear Hammock out the supporting pit and empty it in the same manner as point 3 above with the same difficulties.