SectionHiker.com Backpacking Gear Reviews and FAQs 
The Therm-a-Rest Slacker Single Hammock is more comfortable than many camping hammocks because it’s much longer and wider. It’s also made from a single piece of polyester that’s much softer to the touch and warmer feeling than hammocks made with thin parachute nylon. When you add these factors together, you get a much more luxurious hammock that’s nicer to sleep or lounge around on. Best used for car camping or sleeping in youth hostels and dorms, the Slacker comes with carabiners, but you’ll still need to purchase tree straps and a suspension system to hang it from trees
Specs at a Glance
- Weight: 16.5 oz without included carabiners, 18.9 oz with carabiners
- Packed dimension: 7″ x 10″ / 18cm x 25cm
- Weight Capacity: 400 lbs / 181.44 kg
- Material: 100% polyester ripstop
- Hammock Length: 116 ” / 295 cm
- Hammock Width: 63″ / 160 cm
Construction
The Therm-a-Rest Slacker Hammock is made with a soft polyester fabric that’s comfortable and warm to the touch, unlike many other camping hammocks which are made using thin parachute nylon fabric that feels like it’s sucking the heat out of your back. Cut from a single piece of fabric, the Slacker doesn’t have any seams in the hammock body, making it more comfortable to sleep on, as well as durable, since seams are a point of failure and subject to wear, tear, and UV damage when used outdoors.
The Slacker includes a sewn-on pocket that hangs from the side and can be used to store electronics of items you want easy access to at night. The pocket doubles as the hammock’s stuff sack, so you don’t have to buy one to stow it in a backpack. The ends of the Slacker are gathered with webbing and provide more width at the head and foot ends than other gathered end camping hammocks that are tightly bunched with cord. It also includes two wire-gated carabiners that you’d attach to a suspension system. There are lots of compatible suspension systems that will work with them, including Therm-a-Rest’s Slacker Suspenders or ENO’s Helios Whoopie Sling Suspension System, shown below.
Dimensions
Sized at 116″ x 63″, (9’8″ x 5’3″) the Slacker is a generously sized single hammock that is larger than many of the single hammocks sold by other manufacturers. Longer and wider hammocks are almost always more comfortable than short narrow ones because you can lie in them diagonally. This creates a flatter bed-like surface for sleeping (also good for side sleepers) instead of a banana-shaped one where your head and feet are positioned higher than your butt and midsection.
Wrap Up
There are a lot of different net-less camping hammocks available these days and it can be difficult for first time buyers to understand the pros and cons of the options available. If gear weight is your top priority, there are lots of hammocks made with lighter weight parachute nylon to choose from. If comfort is your priority, then the Therm-a-Rest Slacker Single Hammock is an excellent choice because it long, wide, and made from a single piece of fabric without any seams. Therm-a-Rest has also assembled a nice suite of add-ons for the Slacker Single Hammock if you want to use it with mosquito netting, underquilt insulation, an insulated hammock pad or a tarp.
See also:
Disclosure: Therm-a-Rest provided the author with a hammock for this review.
Good review. This looks really well put together and it’s probably a much better beginner hammock than an eno. BUT there are better options out there from “cottage” manufacturers that are lighter, longer, cheaper and more customizable. They aren’t as widely known and you may have to do some extra research but it’s probably worth the effort. Comfort is king on the trail.
and they only cost 3 times as much! this is a simple camping hammock, not a mosquito hammock. Big difference.
Would you be able to sleep on your side or stomach in this?
yes, of course (if you’re under 6 feet tall).
Great review and some very good information for people looking to try out hammocking, but please take a look before spreading misinformation. Dream Hammock, Warbonnet, Simply Light Designs, DutchwareGear and a bunch of others all make great 11ft netless hammocks, with the SLD TreeRunner and Dutch 11ft netless both coming in cheaper than the Slacker. No knock against the Slacker hammock at all, but there are great cottage options as well. They are not all expensive netted hammocks. Thanks again for a great hammock primer.
I’m trying not to take offense about spreading misinformation.
But you’re going to have to help me with that math.
The least expensive Dutchware netless is $42. Then you get nickled and dimed for mods, suspensions, accessories and shipping. Hey I love Dutch’s gear and use and recommend quite a lot of it, but it isn’t cheap. Same goes for Dream, Warbonnet and the other cottages (which aren’t really cottage companies anymore – let’s be honest).
The camping hammock market is one space where the high prices of cottage company gear is biting them in the ass, compared to the ENO’s of the world that off shore their products and can sell them dirt cheap, even through wholesale.