u/Gerb006

It was virtually free. It was real easy. They lit super easy and burned really well. So I want to share this method with everyone else. This might be well known to others. But it was totally new to me. I will start by saying that I live in the city center of Tucson. If I can pull this off in a city center, almost anyone can do this.

Tools needed: Cotton Balls, Solvent, Pine Pitch.

I have a gallon of denatured alcohol for my alcohol stove. So that is what I used for a solvent.

First, I put somewhere around 5oz of alcohol in a small plastic bottle. Then I went to my local park and collected pine pitch oozing from the pine trees. I actually found that collecting pine pitch with a chop stick worked best. I put the collected pine pitch in the bottle of alcohol and it dissolved into solution. Then I used a bunch of cotton balls to soak up the solution in the bottle. I placed them outside in a cherry tomato carton to allow the alcohol to evaporate. Once the alcohol had evaporated and they were dry, I had slightly crusty and hardened cotton balls that were totally impregnated with pine pitch.

They easily light with one strike of sparks from a ferro rod and burn much longer than a cotton ball would on it's own. I guess this is very similar to petroleum jelly/cotton balls. But it is more natural and cheaper, and probably works better also. A ziploc bag of cotton ball fire starters is so light that it feels like packing a bag of air.

As the title says, that is generally my question. I already know my preference. But I'm curious to hear if you have a preference.

For reference, I have 4 hammocks. Two commercial (ENO) hammocks with underquilts, ridge lines, and bug nets. I also have two hammocks that I have custom sewn myself. The main differences are the two custom hammocks were sewn out of MUCH heavier polyester material (4 yds) and I whipped the ends, instead of sewing in a dedicated channel. This was a very intentional decision because by whipping the ends, it eliminates stress on the stitching of a channel. It makes sewing a hammock REALLY easy. Hem all the way around, whip the ends, and your pretty much done. I have noticed that most commercial hammocks tend to have sewn channels, and most hammock sewing tutorials recommend sewing channels in the ends. Is my preference really that strange? Yeah, by doubling over the ends for whipping, I do lose a few inches off each end. But I'm not going to miss a few inches off of a 12ft hammock.