16.   Earlier this year I started watching a great YouTube Channel - "Jeremy Rhydes" a feller who does a lot of Adventure Motorcycling, Camping, Snowmobiling and working on stuff. I really liked his camping hammock videos so I started looking into these neat cntraptions a little further.

15.   After a bunch of research, watching/reading reviews, etc I finally settled on an EBay Free Soldier camping hammock which was only $50 CDN shipped to my door. It's surprisingly a great quality unit with sturdy construction, good materials and a fly screen to keep the bugs at bay. When it arrived I did a test setup in my garage to see how it looked.

14.   Inside the hammock I plan to use a decent quality closed cell foam pad. According to my research you need either this or an under-quilt to stay warm even when using a decent sleeping bag.

13.   My new sleeping bag is a North Face Aleutian which is rated at -7 Canadian which will be fine for the fair weather camping I plan to do.

12.   In May I loaded up Project Foreman with the hammock plus a couple new accessories and headed out in the woods for a real world test set up.

11.   Outdoor Pros (formally OP Hunting) is now carrying Hennessey hammocks which are high quality but are considerably more expensive than this Free Soldier hammock. Overall they are still a pretty good value. However I did pick up a couple Hennessey accessories including their Snakeskin hammock covers and a Hex rain fly.

10.   The snake skins stay permanently attached to the hammock by sliding them over the main straps before heading out on your first trip. Now your camping and it starts to rain you can take down the bug screen ropes and slide the snake skins over the hammock to collapse it and keep it dry. They also make the hammock easier to set up & take down as you don't have to worry about  the hammock touching dirty/wet ground.

9.   This hammock is a gathered end design that comes with two long nylon main straps that suspend the unit, you simply tie them off on two trees about 12 feet apart. Height and tension you have to judge and maybe adjust especially setting it up for the first time. On today's set up my straps were about 5' off the ground, I kept moderate tension on the hammock so it wouldn't sag too low. The fly screen on the free soldier hammock is set up by using 2 sticks fed through bungee loops on each end of the hammock, then some Paracord tied to each end & back to the tree just above the main straps. This keeps the fly screen up off you while inside the hammock. You can also choose to use the hammock as a standard open hammock by leaving the fly screen collapsed and lying on top of it like in pic #16.

8.   The Hennessey Hex fly is made of a high quality waterproof material and includes six tie-off ropes, one at each corner. These stay attached to the fly and are stowed away neatly inside pockets sewn into each corner of the fly.

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7.   The two main strings were tied off on the tree about a couple feet higher than the hammock straps. The other four ropes can be tied off to other trees, rocks or tent pegs depending on your location.

6.   This hammock is by far the most comfortable thing I've ever set up to lie down in. I cant wait for the weather to warm up a little and stop raining to get out and use it overnight!

5.  

2.   The great thing for backpacking or even ATV camping is that this takes up very little room compared to a tent, the largest benefit is that the ground can be uneven, rocky or even wet and you can still sleep comfortably. I use the top bag for Paracord, the middle bag contains the hammock, the bottom bag the Hex Fly.

1.   Of course I did mention that this was also an ATV ride which I did eventually get to after taking down my hammock. It was a beautiful leisurely trail ride under a setting sun, pretty uneventful but certainly enjoyable!

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith