I ordered this from Dream Hammock. Ripstop by the Roll/Outdoor Ink printed up the overcover fabric from a 1963 USGS map pdf.

Very comfy! Still love my blackbird, but enjoying a change.

That's brilliant!

Dig it! Tastefully done. Kind of a Bwca/Game of Thrones vibe working. Love my Sparrow.

nice, so many decent , comfy hammocks out there today.

trailcheif: "Dig it! Tastefully done. Kind of a Bwca/Game of Thrones vibe working. Love my Sparrow."

Thanks. That kind of describes me, to be honest....it terms of BWCA/GOT. (Not sure about the tasteful, but I try.)

Love the BWCA map overcover! How was the custom print process with RBTR?

Othello: "Love the BWCA map overcover! How was the custom print process with RBTR?"

tl;dr: Excellent! They did the work that made it work. (Same for Dream Hammocks, btw.) -- And both vendors were exceptionally nice.

I've ordered from RSBTR in the past, but this was the first custom printing. I'd seen some of their work with older maps they've put on their site, and that's what gave me the idea.

I wanted to provide a map that I thought would be "safe" from a copyright sense, so I got a USGS topo. I used the older series that's online because I liked the colors better. I picked the section from a solo I did a few years ago. (Entry LISN - 14, I think.)

First I sent a screen cap to RSBTR (Justin is who I ended up working with). He said that the resolution was too low. We had some more back/forth. Eventually I sent him the entire PDF, and he said he could work with that, but depending on the template used by Dream Hammocks, there might be "white space" showing. I told him I didn't expect an exact usable map and I knew the overcover would not match the map in terms of relative dimensions/layout, and whatever he could do would be fine. I also asked him which of several dragonscale variations would probably match best and he suggested the dark olive.

So I did the custom printing transaction through them (as I recall; can't fully remember that far). Then when setting up the hammock (order 8304 on Dream's site -- they have a lookup of completed orders), I referenced the custom print for the overcover and the dragon scale for the body. Dream came back and said that they thought they had enough dragon scale from other jobs to also do the hammock double-end bag, which was a nice touch. I think I also got a little bit back because the dragonscale was stock, so I didn't have as much of a premium.

Where I messed up, Justin sent a proof and I hadn't realized it. It got buried in my mailbox. So I was wondering why my order was on hold when the other orders from around the same time were going out (Dream works in order received on custom work, provided no holdups), I got a message from Deanna at Dream asking why I hadn't approved the proof.

I think the answer "I was stupid" is probably the only one that fits on why things got delayed -- it wasn't due to the vendors. I can try to upload the proof later when I'm not at work, so you can see how this map laid out on the printing fabric.

Again, I got cautions that parts of the map would be cut off. Again, I told them I didn't care. My goal was the look, not usability. (Although, tbh, some usability would be cool if I get back to that area or can show the hammock at a campout or something.)

So, once approved, I think I got the hammock in about a week. I didn't realize it'd shipped until I saw it on the Dream site, because their notices were a little out of date. I've been using their pics because they look awesome. (Their pics in this post.)

The hard part for me was I had to sign for the hammock but I was not around for the mail, so I had to wait several days to get it from the Post Office. I then pretty immediately got sick, and waited several more days to try it out.

I'm hoping for a bike campout this weekend, depending on how I'm feeling. If that goes forward, I'm definitely giving it an official test.

So, to go with the summary above, Justin was very helpful and did whatever processing was needed on the graphic.

I had decided to try a Dream hammock and I wasn't sure which, so I wrote to them around the first of the year with questions. Randy sent some videos to check out. From that I decided on the type of hammock to get, given the different styles and variations. When I was ordering I still asked more questions, usually with the Dream online chat. I think I dealt more with Deanna on those. She provided more info. I ordered back in March. Their custom queue varies, and was just ramping up for the summer season around when I placed my order. They have a time estimate on their site.

From some winter camping and such I figured I wanted the venting. I also got some internal storage. I'm used to the shelf in my Blackbird, and wanted a place to put things like a headlamp, my glasses, and a book. (The usual stuff that I have at night on a backwoods trip.)

Anyway, probably too much info. But if you have any other questions let me know. Overall, the process went quite well.

Now I'm considering a custom tarp through RSBTR and another vendor or by me sewing...I found a postscript file of the Chicago flag...and think that might be fun. (Maybe next year's tax return.)

Thank you for all of the fantastic detail! I just received a new custom hammock/top cover this spring, but that BWCA map print idea is too awesome, and there may have to be another [something] in my future. Furthermore, my daughter has been asking about a new hammock with a world map print. Good to know that it's an easy enough process. No surprise that Kyle and Justin and the Smurfs are great to work with.