Type - Spreader Bar Hammock
Weight - 68 oz
Colors - Green
MSRP - $170
URL - http://www.lawsonhammock.com

There are a few reasons why the Blue Ridge Hammock has gained a loyal following. It's a great value. It does double duty, working both as a hammock and as a full-featured bivy sack. The Blue Ridge uses a split aluminum spreader bar to make a broad, flat sleeping platform that speaks to many campers. Unlike unstructured and even structured ridgeline tents, the spreader bar design doesn't have climbing sides and feels a lot like sleeping on a cot. For $160, you get a hammock, a rain fly, and a bug net. That's a solid value for a shelter that can be used in the air and on the ground.

Pulling the hammock out of its stuff sack, all you have to do is unfold it and snap the spreader bar halves together before you hang it. You're on your own for suspension lines. We used a daisy chain and ‘biner setup, which adds a few bucks to the bottom line, but makes setup and teardown so easy that we feel it's worth it. The door is a U-shaped zipper that can be opened from either end. Unzip it and put your butt on the edge and scoot back. As comfortably flat as the sleep surface is, this is the only hammock we felt could roll on us.

Getting past that feeling didn't take long, though. Inside the hammock, there's plenty of room to spread out. The surface is so flat that you could easily get away with using an inflatable sleeping pad as insulation. You'll find a couple of pockets for odds and ends and a place to hang a lamp, should you decide to read after dark and telegraph your position to anyone within eyesight of your hasty camp. The rain fly won't lie on your face thanks to a couple of arch poles that also hold up the rain fly. The fly provides excellent protection from the elements, but it also completely blocks the outside view, reducing situational awareness to near zero.

Pros: Dual use, comfortable.

Cons: Can't see anything with the rain fly down, tippy.