Hennessy Hammocks are being used in disaster relief efforts and the people who are using them are finding them to be very effective solutions to the problem of finding a dry, comfortable, bug-proof place to sleep in a flooded, mosquito-infested area where malaria and other insect-borne diseases can occur. Our lightweight hammocks with mosquito net and rain fly have been used all over the world in places such as Haiti, New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and Banda Aceh in Indonesia. We also receive letters from smoke jumpers and SAR personnel telling us how important their hammock is as part of their kit.

Wilderness Firefighters use Hennessy Hammocks:

Hennessy Hammock in Banda Aceh following the tsunami.

Photo: This picture sent by a relief worker from Banda Aceh shows that a hammock can be pitched even in an area that has been devastated by flooding.

Relief worker's hammock tied up beside FEMA truck after Hurricane Katrina.

We are also developing a freestanding modular system that can support an indefinite number of shelters. If you are a volume buyer interested in such a system please contact us.

Letters from Disaster Relief Workers

"I thought I would write and thank you, Hennessy Hammock was the essential piece of mountain rescue equipment when we had to carry a walker with a broken ankle, off Mount Snowdon, here in the UK.

We had just come over Crib Goch, when one of our group turned their ankle on a loose rock. It turned out that Simon had broken his ankle and was quickly unable to put any weight on his left leg. We were still on the ridge with 500 ft. of sheer scree slope either side of a 3 ft. wide path.

We had no way to easily move him until I remembered the hammock in my pack. We were able to get him onto the hammock and use the ropes across the rucksack pads to carry him down to the car park at Pen-y-Pass. Although this is one of the most tiring things I have ever had to do in the hills, I am grateful we didn't have to make a rope stretcher(I have never managed to make one in less than 30 minutes when practicing). We got help from people grabbing the sides and I expected the hammock to have been destroyed with all of the manhandling and scraping, but I am glad to report that I still use it with no signs of the rough treatment that day."

Best regards, Nick Waldock

By the way I used it 4 nights during the most recent Hurricane deployments for Gustav and Ike. Everyone else was sleeping on cots and swatting mosquitos in La. and Texas while I slept like a baby. The outside of the net was covered with large birds that they call mosquitoes.

Thanks, Ronny

Another Katina photo: Hennessy Hammock pitched inside a vending machine shack by a relief worker at a Mississippi medical center.

"Hello, Just wanted you to know I slept in your hammock for our entire deployent at Hurricane Katrina in Hancock County Mississippi ...this is not the first time I've spent my nights in it. This time, however, I slept every night of the 2 week deployment snug, cool, and mosquito free. This picture is the first night on site at the Hancock Medical Center. I ended up setting it up from luggage rack to luggage rack on some of the vans we drove over in. Later I found two columns that ended up being the final setting....Your product is WONDERFUL."

"Greetings, First allow me to say that I have enjoyed your products for several years and have enthusiastically recommended them to friends and co-workers. I have used your hammocks (namely the Ultralight Backpacker) for travel to a variety of locations primarily while responding to man made and natural disasters. Some examples include Seattle, Vancouver, Turkey, El Salvador, Liberia, Rwanda, Albania, and currently in Iraq. In every location I have been the envy of my compatriots......one quick example was in El Salvador '99 just folling their earthquake, I was with a medical team establishing remote clinics. During one night of the second week there, we experienced an "after shock" of 6.6. I awoke the next morning to questions of how big I thought the quake was. I responded "what quake, it was a week ago". Apparently it had awakened everyone else during the night, as they were all in the usual terrestrial tents, and I slept straight through."
D. R.

Hi Tom.
I am a Canadian Ranger on North Island (Port McNeill). I now own 3 pairs of snakeskins, two Hennessey Hammocks (Exped), 2 HHSSs, and a 30D hex rainfly (perfect kit). I was actually turned on to my first Expedition by Brent (now our Sergeant) from Sointula. I was talking to a member of Search and rescue in Salt Springs who mentioned they swear by your gear. So thanks for creating such quality and functional gear.

Andrew Neilson