#THERM A REST SLACKER HAMMOCK SKIN#

If the tree is small enough, the strap can be double-wrapped around it, but the fit has to be just right. The catch with the two-piece design is the suspenders can’t shorten beyond a certain point unless hanging from giant trees, there’s always a certain length of blank webbing leftover between the bark and the buckle. It would have been nice to make the two pieces of webbing different colors as some of our testers sometimes got stuck for a moment trying to figure out which piece was the one that goes around the tree. Once you get the hang of the Slacker’s suspension system, it’s not too hard to set up. Therm-a-Rest also makes a self-inflating mattress sized to fit inside a Slacker that was new in 2017. It comes with four aluminum stakes – creating a complete package for quick and easy protection from the weather. (These cords have reflective threads – why couldn’t the suspenders?). The rectangular Slacker rain fly ($90) has six stake out points with integrated cords and sliding metal length adjusters. The suspenders are black and hard to see at night. The design allows for finer adjustments than daisy chain suspension systems, and it eliminates clipping and unclipping to find the right fit. The Slacker suspenders ($30) have a unique two-piece design: each one goes around a tree with a girth hitch, but instead of the standard daisy chain, it has a sliding metal buckle attached to a separate piece of webbing to clip the hammock to. It closes with a single small plastic buckle. It’s large enough to hold a hardback book, and it fits the hammock itself without much effort. The Slacker’s stuff sack is attached in the middle, and was the biggest in the test. Therm-A-Rest also makes a double version. The Slacker is roomier than most one-person hammocks – there’s ample space for lying diagonally – but it’s definitely not large enough for two average-sized adults to rest comfortably.

The result is more head and foot room and looser side edges. The design creates less tension in the fabric than models that are gathered more tightly at the ends. The fabric is gathered at each end and sewn onto a webbing loop with a wire-gated aluminum carabiner attached.

#THERM A REST SLACKER HAMMOCK SKIN#

It feels good against the skin and supposedly dries faster than nylon, though our testers didn’t notice a difference in the field. The fabric is a soft ripstop polyester with just a little bit of give. It’s also one less feature to worry about wearing out. Our testers found this made it more comfortable overall, since some people don’t like to feel lengthwise seams underneath them, especially if there’s no pad or sleeping bag in use. The Slacker Single is a one-piece design, which means there aren’t any seams along the edges.

Therm a rest slacker hammock