The Ultralight Hummingbird Hammock (7oz)

The Hummingbird single person hammock weighs just 7oz, is rated to hold 275 pounds, and is made in USA by an FAA certified parachute rigger.

I’ve been carrying the Hummingbird hammock with me on weekend hikes and day hikes for several weeks now and have to say that for someone who wasn’t really into relaxing in a hammock I’ve been totally converted. The Hummingbird hammock was recently successfully funded via Kickstarter and is in the process of going into full production – good news for those of you that missed the Kickstarter project or who didn’t originally back it.

Truly Pocketsized

The main reason why I’ve never bothered to take a more serious look at a casual hammock for hiking was because I didn’t want to carry the extra weight or bulk for a hammock that wasn’t also my shelter. At a mere 7oz and roughly the size of a coffee cup packed inside it’s integral carry pouch, the Hummingbird lives up to its name – it’s tiny. It is able to accomplish this by the incredibly light but strong calendared ripstop nylon it is constructed from.

Soft Carabiners

I’m no expert when it comes to hammocks or rigging them. I know my knots extremely well, but I have to say that I wasn’t entirely sure how to rig the Hummingbird hammock and not because it’s complicated – far from it. The inventor/designer of the Hummingbird hammock introduced me to a new term “soft carabiner” and explained how to use the short lengths of cord that are already attached to each end of the hammock to form the soft carabiners.

Soft carabiners are similar to the systems used to hold a skydiver to the lines on a parachute, which makes sense given that the designer is a parachute rigger. Soft carabiners are impossible to cross load and are much stronger per ounce than a traditional carabiner. These are then used to attach to whatever webbing or cord you prefer to use for hanging your hammock.

In keeping with the whole ultralight theme I used two five foot lengths of Technora cord from Gearward that is rated to 600lbs. Each length weighed just 0.16oz. When you combine the Hummingbird hammock with the two lengths of Technora cord used to attach it to the trees it adds up to 7.32oz for an entire hammock system. That’s pretty amazing to me.

Available for Pre-Order

The Hummingbird single person hammock Kickstarter campaign is over, but because of the continued interest in this amazing lightweight hammock the designer set up a webpage where you can place a pre-order. It is currently only being offered in the bright green color shown in my photos, but other colors such as orange and light blue will be available at a future date.

The regular price for the Hummingbird hammock is $58.00, but if you enter the special coupon code “BRIANGREEN” at checkout you will receive 10% off your order bringing the price down to $53.0. For that you get a compact, ultralight hammock designed and made in Colorado Springs by an FAA certified parachute rigger using the strongest and best quality materials used by the skydiving industry.

Disclosure: The author of Brian’s Backpacking Blog was provided with complimentary sample of this product for the purpose of evaluation, testing, and feedback. He was under no obligation to publish a review. His thoughts are his own.

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