ripstop nylon hammock repair?

Posted by: robi

ripstop nylon hammock repair? - 06/23/12 11:09 AM

Hey All!

Loaned a homemde Speer type hammock to friends, got it back with tear. It starts right from the edge, goes through the velcro strip for the bug netting and about an inch down.

I gave the hammock a test run, got in took a nap no problems, but getting out the material rip (that's why it's now an inch long). Suppose stress/weight of me getting out right at the tear was the problem.

I want to sew it but I have had bad luck repairing tents in the past...

So, how would you all go about fixing it?

Thanks

Robi
Posted by: phat

Re: ripstop nylon hammock repair? - 06/24/12 12:54 PM



I had the same thing happen to my speer. What I ended up doing was finding some regular old nylon and sewing myself a new hammock bottom.

So what I did was took a seam ripper/utiilty knife to "unsew" the strapping, took the old bottom out, made the new one to size, with hemming and velcro, and then re-knotted the ends and then re-attached and sewed the strapping.. it wasn't that terribly difficult to do and I would definately prefer that to a bottom with a rip in it - which might fail at a very inopportune time.

Posted by: Gershon

Re: ripstop nylon hammock repair? - 06/25/12 10:55 AM

I might try some ripstop sail tape.

I used to use tape on an old ripstop parachute and it worked fine.
Posted by: Dryer

Re: ripstop nylon hammock repair? - 06/25/12 12:17 PM

A picture would really help but it might be a simple patch job. Sail tape won't work long term (i sail...tape is for emergencies and doesn't hold much tension). If a sail tears, depending on the material and age, it's either a replacement or a sewn patch. You can sew around the sail tape and it might work.

If I'm understanding your description, a sewn in doubler patch might take care of it and still look good if you do it right. A pic would help to better understand your rip.
On a home made hammock/tent/tarp, a tear is sometimes a blessing as it exposes an unforeseen stress point, leaving you with a better product once repaired.
Posted by: robi

Re: ripstop nylon hammock repair? - 06/26/12 05:10 PM

ok. I will get a picture of it off to you guys as soon as I can.

Thanks

Robi