The Kammok Roo hammock and Kammock Python straps were in my pack for our 3 night hike on the Buffalo River Trail. Kammok has been around for a few years now and they have a comprehensive lineup of products for hammock camping. They offered to send out their Roo hammock, Python straps, and the Dragonfly bug net for testing. We will take a look at the Dragonfly in an upcoming article.
The Kammok Roo is a gathered end hammock measuring 67 by 120 inches. The hammock body is made from a proprietary diamond ripstop fabric called LunarWave. I like the soft feel of the fabric and there is not a lot of stretch. Triple stitched seams are used throughout the Roo for plenty of strength. Kammok‘s Racer Slings are threaded through sewn channels at the end of the Roo. Racer Slings are super strong, and are moisture and abrasion resistant. Kammok‘s Kanga Claws carabiners attach the hammock setup to the Python straps.
The Kammok Roo is built for toughness and reliability and I found this hammock to be very comfortable as well. The Roo is plenty wide and Kammok says the hammock is big enough for two. By lying in the hammock at an angle a flatter sleeping position is achieved. Sometimes the gathered ends of a hammock can cause ridges or tight lines in the hammock body. I‘ve heard this referred to as calf ridge and this can be a bit uncomfortable. I‘ve experienced calf ridge in hammocks but not in this case. Wider hammocks can sometimes have floppy sides that fall into the face but again, I don‘t have an issue with that in the Kammok Roo.
A small but nice feature of the Kammok Roo is the addition of gear loops on the side of the hammock. The loops could be used to keep an underquilt from sliding out from under the hammock, or could be used for a convenient place to hang a headlamp or other gear.
The Kammok Python straps were the second piece of my hammock setup. The Python straps are basically a daisy chain of loops measuring 3/4 inch by 10 feet. At one end of the strap is a loop and roughly 2 ½ foot section of strap for wrapping around trees. The strap passed through itself to form an anchor point. Just select one of the 18 loops to hook the Kanga Claw onto for each end of the hammock and setup is done. I thought that fine adjustment of the hammock would not be possible with the loops but no finer adjustment was really needed. The Python straps are rated at 250 pounds each or 500 pounds total.
The Kammok Roo with Kanga Claws weighed in at a hair under 1 ½ pounds in its waterproof stuff sack. The Python straps tipped the scales at barely more than ¾ pound in their included stuff sack. Comfort and ease of setup have added a bit of weight to this hammock setup. The ultralight and thru hiker crowd may not choose this hammock, but car campers, kayakers, backyard nappers, and the weekend backpacker should really like this setup.
In short, I got three great night‘s sleep during our hike. I may not carry this setup on every trip but I do like the gear a lot. I can envision myself napping in the backyard quite a bit in the near future. MSRP for the Kammok Roo is $99.00 and the Python straps will set you back about $29. Click here to visit the Kammok website.
** Through the end of 2015, Kammok is offering the following bundle: Kammok + Straps + Dragonfly net for $128 (basically, you get the dragonfly for free!) **
– Mark