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Thermarest Slacker Hammock Bug Net Review

The Thermarest Slacker Bug Net works with any hammock including parachute hammocks that don't have their own ridgeline

The Thermarest Slacker Hammock Bug Shelter has a large zippered opening and floor making it easy to enter and exit, while protecting your gear, shoes, and clothing from bugs and creepy crawlers at night. It also works with any camping or backpacking hammock, including the Hummingbird Ultralight Single Hammock (shown above), the ENO Sub 7 (shown below), the Thermarest Slacker Hammock, and other parachute-style hammocks that don’t have a ridgeline to hang a bug net from.

Thermarest Slacker Hammock Bug Net

Compatibility
Protection
Ease of Setup
Durability
Weight

Modular Bug Protection

The Thermarest Slacker Bug Net is a spacious bug cover that's easy to setup and compatible with a wide range of hammocks.

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The Thermarest Slacker Hammock Bug Net has a floor so you can store gear and clothing with you during the night.
The Thermarest Slacker Hammock Bug Net has a floor so you can store gear, shoes, and clothing with you during the night to keep it dry on wet ground or prevent bugs and creepy crawlers from getting into them.

The large zippered opening makes entry and exit a cinch. The zipper is bi-directional with large zipper pulls on the inside and outside, making them easy to find at night and in the dark.

Specs at a Glance

  • Weight: 16.1 ounces, w/ stuff sack, 15.5 ounces, without stuff sack, 12.9 without webbing ridgeline (easy to replace with lighter weight cord)
  • Materials: No See-um netting w/ 50d nylon bottom
  • Height: 55 in / 132 cm
  • Net Length: 132 in / 318 cm
  • Floor Length: 60 in / 152 cm

The bug shelter had an integrated strip of webbing as a ridgeline with end loops that clip into your suspension system carabiners or attachment points. The webbing is exposed inside the hammock so you can hang lights or other items to it. The ridgeline length is also adjustable so you can raise the bug net off your face and body, giving you plenty of room to move around underneath.

Setup is super easy and can be done before or after you hang your hammock. The two ends of the bug net open, so you can run your hammock suspension through them, before cinching the netting closed using a cord lock to keep bugs from entering.

There's plenty of interior space in the Slacker bug net without having to guy out the sides further
There’s plenty of interior space in the Slacker bug net without having to guy out the sides further

The Slacker Hammock Bug Net also has a floor, which I consider a major plus, because you can store gear within easy reach and off wet ground. It also provides a good way to keep critters away from your gear and clothing that you don’t want to deal with at night or the next morning like spiders and slithery things. I don’t own a dog, but the floor of the Slacker bug net is certainly large enough so that your dog can sleep inside on an insulated pad. In a pinch, you could even use the bug net as a tent (floor) if you needed to go to ground in cold weather since it’s 60″ long or a shorter person can sleep below you, double-decker fashion, using a common bug net.

While the ridegline does an excellent job at creating interior volume and keeps the mosquito netting off of your face and body, you can create still more volume by tying the sides of the bug shelter to your tarp, the ground, or adjacent trees.

The bug shelter's ridgeline webbing clips onto your suspension system
The bug shelter’s ridgeline webbing clips onto your suspension system.

So how does the Slacker Bug Shelter stack up compared to other hammock bug nets? Having a floor is a fairly unique feature, but one that adds significant weight to the bug shelter. While the side zipper entry is convenient, it also adds extra weight, bringing the Slacker in at about twice the weight (a half pound heavier), of the pull-on, sock-style, ultralight bug nets that are available from cottage hammock manufacturers. If you’re backpacking and an extra 4 to 8 extra ounces trump the benefits of the Slacker, I’d opt for a lighter weight alternative. But if you’re hammock camping and gear weight is less important, then the comfort and convenience of the Therm-a-Rest Slacker Hammock Bug Shelter is a nice upgrade that’s compatible with a wide range of hammocks.

Disclosure: Thermarest donated this product.

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