Lawson Hammock Blue Ridge Camping Hammock

Firstly it annoyed me that this doesn't even contain tree straps or guy ropes, so arrives incomplete.Took this on a 10 day canoeing expedition, camping by the side of lakes. It quickly became the joke of the trip. By the end of the trip if anyone made a mistake we were saying they "lawson hammocked" it. That was how fed up I got with the thing.I thought it would be quick and easy to set up and solve any uneven ground problems. In truth it was slow to put up (finding suitable trees and securing it usually took twice as long as my friend putting up his tent)Before I left I realised I would need a large sleeping mat to accommodate the slip of the floor and the uneven sleeping surface. Doubling the size of my mat essentially negated the small size of the tent. It could do with a way of securing a mat as this still slipped around under me and the mat ended up riding up the walls.The shape of the tent is upheld by two tiny bungee cords from the attachment points. While these didn't fail in this trip they didn't inspire faith in the quality of the product.The zips were flimsy and failed half way, so that was annoying and I got eaten by bugs.Then the crux, it stormed one night and I ended up running round the thing in my pants at 3am trying to stem the leaks under the woefully inept fly sheet... Which is held in place by some little bits of velcro. After that I made guy ropes for it and started erecting it under a tarp. More bulk, more time.It was quite comfy to lie in, the spreader bar definitely does do it's job and give you a better lying surface. But this was the only feature of the tent that I felt did its job wellI also tested this as a bivvy. It was hard to get in and out of didn't feel very secure. It was storming that night and, while I did sleep, by this point I was also tarping over it so couldn't tell you whether it would have held up to the conditions on the floor. I guess it's low profile so probably but you would have been soaked trying to get in or out because the access on the floor is so poor.Overall this is probably overkill to put up in your garden as a leisure hammock and not thought through enough to make a reliable piece of expedition kit. Won't sell it as the zips have failed on the inner so 200 pounds down the toilet. Being 'made in the usa' is not a selling point to me, how about being made 'to a high standard' instead. I would not recomend this product and cannot see a scenario where it is worth using.

So far so good. 6 very comfortable nights now. The biggest disadvantage is I use to wake up at dawn when on the ground and would have the whole day of messing about in the woods ahead of me, now I don't wake until 8.30ish!!!!! So yes, I'm getting a good night sleep. Still feel uneasy on entering it as it does move around quite a bit but this is my first hammock. I'm am 6'4" and can lie straight (just). I still use a 3x3 tarp over the top but used the provided cover on my last trip to provide insulation as it was -2c. The internal pockets are useful for your torch and water bottle. I tried to use my camping mat in the hammock and that failed as movement during the night pushed it out from under me. An addition I would love (maybe I will take it to a seamstress) would be a sleeve on the underside that you could slide your mat into. I have instead bought one of those cheap silvery insulation sheets (like ones for car windows) that clips on underneath to help insulate the sleeping bag compression cold spots. As it is exspensive and I was hesitant when purchasing I will try and answer any queries (if they are reasonable). Good quality. Will update with any product faults if they occur............right, off to the seamstress!

Love this hammock so comfy and big inside the only down side is it's a bit tippy but you can stake the sides down. It is also handy as a bivy encase you have no trees a great bit of kit, definitely one to have in your hammock arsenal.......

Great item for the spring and summer so far! Very comfortable, and airy. I do use a tarp instead more than the one supplied as it's not so claustrophobic. However, the rain tarp supplied does knock off the breeze and keep the warmth in on a chilly night, so it does have its uses. Will be using it more.

Simply the best bit of kit I own. So versatile and the best nights sleep in the wild you can have.My partner loved mine so much she now owns one.Highly recomended and the service and advice from Lawson is second to none!

Great bit of kit but way to low ,any more than one night it’ll drive you mad ,very well made

clever design is a spacious hammock and a bivi to ground tent

realy nice