>>2709788>>2709797I don't claim to be an expert but I have camped with a hammock for a few years now and I can fall asleep in one in minutes and sleep for 10 hours without stirring once, so it obviously works for me. I also slept through several thunderstorms with this setup so for me the weather protection is adequate.
The hammock:
The most important aspect is the size. For a grown man (180 cm) you want it to be at least 320 cm long, the longer the better. Width is not negligible - up to a point, it increases comfort by letting you lie more diagonally (in case it's not obvious, this is how you lie in any hammock - diagonally, not straight). Anything below 150 cm should be discarded. My 2 favorite hammocks are 350x150 and 320x180 and there is not much comfort difference between them. The other overlooked quality is the stretchiness of the material, you want there to be none. If the hammock stretches, it will feel like it's squeezing and constricting you, especially in the shoulders. Manufacturers don't measure this in any way so you might have to get lucky there. I assume the established brands have this figured out, but smaller home workshops might be hit or miss. The good ones I have are made of ripstop nylon (I don't know if the ripstop part is important but I have another nylon one that is stretchy garbage) and the other one is just labeled polyamide.
A structural ridgeline is pretty much mandatory - it ensures your hammock sags the same way every time you hang it. Look up what the recommended length is for your hammock size, but feel free to experiment as it's only a guideline. Despite what some people claim, your hammock ridgeline is load-bearing so be sure to make it out of something that can actually take your weight. You should probably just buy 20 meters of 3mm dyneema (Amsteel in the US) - with a piece of wire and some youtube tutorials you can make your own adjustable ridgeline, continuous loops and whoopie slings to save a ton of money and weight.
