Tom, that is a GREAT idea! My initial reaction was "No, you can't put a hole!!! It'll rip!!!!!" But now you got me thinkin....

I would be willing to try it, but there is one thing holding me back. If it DID rip, I'd be out the cash I spent on it. Any sponsors. If it rips, I get the cash, if it don't...no cash! Either way, we all get to know if it will work or not.

love
nick

Cordura is some tough fabric. I think that you would have to be doing something really wrong in order to have it split apart. Using good sewing techniques is in order. So is a call or email to NT.

Tom

Friday night I thought I could beat the odds of "60% chance of showers after midnight." At 1:30am it began to drizzle off and on until 4:30. Being porous and flat the portaledge stayed dry but the treeboat had a gallon of water in it.

Nick, in the interest of science I'll contribute towards a new treeboat if yours is ruined, but I don't think it will be.

Years ago when a Treeboat guy was planning a trip to the tropics, we burned a 1/4" hole and set a grommet in the center of his Treeboat. Like you, I had some concerns about this drain breaking the integrity of the fabric right where the hammock carries the greatest load. We never heard a complaint from the user. In the spirit of "no news is good news" I assume no problem developed.

But that's not good enough for me to assure you that a grommet drain is ok. Tom Dunlap shares my hunch that a patch of reinforcing fabric might restore the strength around the drain. We're excited to try this now, and give it some serious field testing.

I'll post here to let you know what we find out. In the meantime, we'd love to hear reports from the field about treetop bathing...

Sophia