Haven Hammock Tent Review

In my endless search for the most comfortable base camp sleeping arrangements, I have crossed many bridges. I’m a bigger guy, so there are a few things (cots) that are immediately ruled out. A big sleeping pad on the ground is very acceptable, but not something I look forward to after a day or 10 of hiking and/or glassing in awkward positions.

For a long time, the best solution I could find was a Bass Pro/Cabelas Outfitter XL cot. While it’s plenty big and fairly comfortable, I got tired of lugging it around and setting it up. If you’ve ever used one, you’ve probably uttered some swear words while trying to fit the bars on the ends.

Every year during my search, I’ve always taken a quick glance, but not a hard look, at a hammock setup. I’ve always loved the idea of my entire camp bed fitting into a tiny drawstring bag. However, everyone knows the drawbacks of hammock camping. Hammocks are finicky, they flip over, you have to have a decent set of trees to hang one on, and they roll you up like a burrito. Being in a banana position is great for a nap, but an all-night foldup just doesn’t do it for me.

Enter the Haven Tent.

When I first saw this in an ad on Instagram, I remember saying out loud, “Damn. Finally, someone figured out hammocks.” I watched every video on the Haven website and was convinced that I had found the perfect sleeping system.

The Haven Tent is a completely new take on hammock design. The founder of the company, Derek Tillotson, was on a mission to “make sleep the highlight of camping,” so his focus was on comfort over portability. It does not look quite like the hammock we’re used to. Although it hangs between two trees or ground stakes, it is very different. It hangs in the same way, but it’s a rectangular shape with spreader bars on either end. Once set up, the square ends and cambered center appear to be the exact opposite of a traditional hammock, but they serve a great purpose.

This hammock allows you to lay flat. Completely. Flat.

At first, I was excited, but not completely convinced. Could my 6’3, 220-lb frame actually lay flat in what’s basically a hanging tent? The answer is yes.

I went for the Haven XL (big boy edition) after seeing a video of a gentleman who stacked up to 6’9, ~275 lb climbing into it with room to spare on either end. This is the standard Haven Hammock Tent that’s made of familiar Polyester tent material. Here are some specs from the website:

Hammock Body Details:
Material: 210T Polyester
Waterproofing: 4,000 mm
Distance between end loops: 108 inches / 274 cm

This system also includes a separate rainfly. Here are the specs on that.

Rainfly Details:
Weight: 13.4 oz / 379 g
Material: 20d ripstop nylon
Waterproofing: 4,000 mm
Rainfly Dimensions: 112x80 inches / 284x203 cm

So, how did it actually work?

To get my first crack at real-world use of this system, I took it to Chris Denham’s legendary gear testing ground of Angel Fire, NM. We were filming a camp-based archery elk hunt, so I figured there would be plenty of opportunities for naps and full-nighters.

The Setup

I’ll be honest here. My ego got in the way of this being extremely simple. I decided that I was fully capable of figuring out how to construct a hammock tent with a full belly and a rested mind. That was not exactly the case. It turns out that there are some artistic tricks to hammock setup that I had to do some very-little-service YouTubing to fully comprehend. There were quite a few pieces, parts, straps, and other things that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around.

Climbing In

However, once I understood the principles, the setup was, as advertised, extremely simple. The good news is that the kit includes hardware that allows full customization of the layout, orientation, and stiffness of the hammock. It’s all very well thought out and nearly dummy-proof.

I typically use a Klymit Klymaloft XL pad everywhere I go. It’s supremely comfortable and not too heavy. It fit so well that you’d have thought it was built in. I climbed inside the Haven, and I almost immediately fell asleep. Believe me when I tell you that it is an absurdly nice place to be. There is more room in it than in my one-man bathtub-style backpacking tent, and the zippers and gear pockets are all in exactly the right places.

I was lying completely flat, and it didn’t seem to give at all in the vertical plane. I managed to snap this silly wide-angle photo the next day with my phone to demonstrate how comfortably I could sprawl out and lay in it before I started to drift off.

I awoke a few minutes later to a few raindrops hitting my nose. I had forgotten to add the rainfly! It took me all of 45 seconds to set up the nifty little shelter system, and I was back to my nap by the time I got the zipper closed. I believe they suggest setting it up diagonally for easier in/out, but my quick square setup worked just fine. The bug net allows for great ventilation and, you guessed it, keeps the bugs out. That afternoon, I had the most luxurious cool, dry, comfortable siesta of my life.

Since then, the Haven tent has not let me down. Unfortunately, the whole system is just a touch too heavy and bulky for backpack hunting due to the amount of gear we typically carry. However, It’s perfectly manageable (and worth it) for a pleasure trip. I had high hopes for this system, and they were nearly all exceeded.

With a little bit of practice, it’s faster, simpler, smaller, lighter, and vastly more comfortable than any cot I’ve ever slept on. It’s also… a tent, so you don’t have to bring one! It’s a great excuse to sleep far from your snoring buddies. The world is still waiting on the double model for couples or… extremely close… hunting partners…

Haven offers two sizes, standard and XL. I’d recommend anyone over 6’ to go with the XL. Each comes in a variety of fun colorways, but I went with Forest Green because I’m not that much of a dork. There is also a heavy-duty 300 Denier canvas version that’s very appealing to me. I may be sold on one of those in the future.

Accessories

This is where Haven is really dialed. There are a few things that can make a hammock much more comfortable, and these folks have thought of most of them. You can outfit your hammock tent with full-length lights, trailer hitch stands, carbon fiber spreader bars, and more. I ordered the “Works Kit” that included the rope light, a tensioning string, a few extra straps, and a portable sleeping pad pump. I’d highly recommend that.

Haven also makes sleeping pads that are made to fit perfectly inside their hammocks, so I grabbed one of those just to be thorough. While it’s more of a no-frills pad, it’s fairly durable and comfortable, and I’ve since used it for a variety of trips for myself or as a loaner. My Klymit Klymaloft XL pad is home to me, and since that’s about the largest 1-man pad out there, any pad you have will work great with the XL. The dimensions on the site are accurate if you want to check your pad vs the standard-sized tent or canvas “Safari” version.

Final Thoughts

All of the Haven tents are excessively stress-tested, and I am very confident that mine will last quite a long time. Again, that Safari edition is calling to me, especially since I saw this video of Derek loading over 2000 lb into it.

As for the company, yeah they might be slightly more hippie than some, but Haven, headed by Tillotson, truly set out to make sleeping a highlight of a camping trip, and that’s even more important when you’re out hunting all day. In my opinion, they’ve nailed it, and their growing list of products has permanently changed the way I sleep for the better.

I’m so glad to have found this system, and I strongly suggest trying it out if you do any sort of base-camp-style hunting. You’ll be so excited to get back to camp, drink a beer, and climb into this thing.

Check it out via any of the links in this post or learn more at HavenTents.com.

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