DD Hammocks Scout

Two and a half year ago, my son got his own hammock. A DD Hammocks Scout. So, since last year, when I started this blog, I've been thinking about writing a review for it. But what am I to say? I haven't spent even five minutes in it.
So I asked my nine years old son. "Could you help me with something?" And this is what we told me...

Comfort

It's really nice and cozy. It's not so hard, but just enough. You don't have to have so much stuff in it to get it to be softer, like some hammocks you have to put in jackets or blankets to get it be soft enough to lay in.

The lay during the night is good. You lay very nice, but I don't know what's the best about it. Compared to dads DD Frontline and UK Hammocks Woodsman X, my DD Scout has better balance and is a little tighter which is good.

Materials

The material is soft to the touch. Very smooth. It doesn't let the cold air in.

What's missing

If I want to change something?... I don't know... Yeah, one thing is to have the bag a little bigger. It's a little hard to put the hammock back in the bag. The ropes could be a little easier to tie. Today they are a bit... Hm... Hard? Other than that, it's perfect!

Conclusion

It's a good and comfy hammock. I really would recommend it!

Dads additions

The hammock is quite nice. It's cheap, and rather light. The weight doesn't bother me that much, most of the time we go car camping together. But in a year or two we might do a little hike, but then he'll have to carry it for himself ;)

For my ease of mind, I made a bug net for it. I didn't want him to wake up and have mosquito bites everywhere. I asked him if you would prefer an attached bug net, but he doesn't know. This is most likely due to that he doesn't like change. If something is in a certain way, it should stay like that.

It's not that easy to setup. I don't like the lines attached to it when you get it, but my son won't let me change them :) I would like to have either tree huggers and rings or tree huggers and whoopie slings. That would have made it so much easier for me. But hey... It's his hammock.

But I like the size of it, 2.35 by 1.3 meters. UK Hammocks has one fairly the same size, 2.1 by 1.2 meters. And they are both the same price (£15 at the time of my writing), shipping might vary though, and availability.
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Fredrik

DD Hammocks Frontline

About two years ago, I bought my first hammock. A DD Frontline Hammock. I've been rather satisfied with it, but not 100%, so I've been looking at others all the time. Sometimes I've been looking at making my own, and other times looking at buying a new one. Why? I'll try to sort things out below...

Size
The size of a hammock is very important, both the length and the width. Your length and build determines what is needed for your comfort. Me, I'm about 1.86 meters tall and weighs in just below 80 kg. I'm fairly athletic and guess that I my shoulders are a bit wider than average. DD Frontline comes is 2.7 m x 1.4 m and that gives you a rather small space. There are much bigger hammocks out there if you're a big guy, but you might manage with this one as well.
As I said, this is a bit on the small side for me. I have read several other persons saying that this is big enough for them, and they have been taller than I am. So... It's very much a personal preference.
The width might give you some shoulder squeeze though. It does for me if I don't find the right lay. This can be handled in different manners, they say, but I haven't been able to fully adjust to it.
The weight of a hammock obviously depends on the fabric, and the amount of fabric. And DD Frontline is 860 grams (hammock only). To that you need to add the weight of your preferred suspension system.

Design
The design of the hammock is really straight forward. It's a rectangle of the above mentioned size (2.7 x 1.4 m). The extra you get, is a attached mosquito net and spreader bars for the same. The new model also has tie-outs, for spreading the hammock and pegging it to the ground (that might help with some of the shoulder squeeze I get in it). The suspension system is of the simpler kind. One long piece of rope that you tie around a tree. I don't really like this set-up as it's very hard to adjust once you're done.
One good thing though, it has zips on either side of the mosquito net which allow for entry/exit on either side of the hammock. And this also gives that you don't have to decide which side is head and foot.
When I got mine, it came in one colour (green), but now it's available in four different colours.
In the package, there are two spreader bars for the mosquito net. that helps getting the net up and out of your face when you're in the hammock.

Lay
Most often I lay on the diagonal in my hammock. The reason for this is (as you might know) to get a more straight lay. Many people say you should string your DD Hammock rather tight, but I think I prefer it a bit more slack, almost 30 degrees.
One thing that I have noticed on some occasions is that a crease/ridge can form in the middle of the hammock. I have gotten rid of it by forcing the sides of the hammock outwards.

Insulation
The hammock has two layers, so you are able to use a sleeping pad in between for bottom insulation. I have tested with both a foam pad and an inflatable pad. Both work really smooth, but I prefer the inflatable one for comfort. The only down side of this solution is that it can be a little tricky to get the pad to be exactly where you want it. When you move around during the night, it's a little to easy to end up outside of the pad and it can get a little cold.
Instead I would recommend using an under quilt.

Modifications

I have made some modifications on my Frontline. The biggest is the change of suspension. I actually just hung it once using the stock suspension before moving over to whoopie slings and tree huggers. Now that has been changed as well, and I'm now using a strap with a carabiner around the tree, the same strap then goes down to the hammock where I have two rings. Fasten the straps in the two rings and tie it of using a quick release knot and you're done! This is very easy to adjust and is a lot quicker to set up than the stock solution.

Conclusion
I think DD is a fairly good hammock. I don't have many to compare it to, but it does what you expect, keep you of the ground :) Though the size is a bit small and therefore it's not for me.
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Fredrik