Imagine the comforts of home, with the ever-changing backdrop of the great outdoors. I like sleeping outside as much as the next wannabe explorer or cowboy but have been spoiled by years of sleeping on a flat, comfortable mattress. 

Try as I might (and I find more reasons than most) I still only make it out camping a few nights each year. Not enough time to develop the calluses of rough living or whatever kept my pioneer ancestors going. Luckily, we live in a day and age when you really can have the best of both worlds. A good night’s sleep, wherever the road takes you.

Here I will outline a few of the features (the secret sauce) that make the Haven Tent system so special. It might get a bit nerdy, but for those of you asking for a deep dive into the world of lay flat hammock design… you’re in the right place.

Air Mattress

The Haven Tent is one of the first hammocks designed specifically for use with an air mattress. Not only does our mattress provide insulation, but the mattress also acts as a critical element of our design. 

If you’ve slept in a traditional camping hammock (not a Haven Tent), you probably have first-hand experience with shoulder squeeze. A pressure on your sides that comes from the walls of the hammock wrapping you up like a burrito. This gets really uncomfortable and keeps a lot of people from ever trying to sleep in a hammock again. 

This is where our air mattress comes in. Simply put, the horizontal baffles in our mattress help hold the sleeping space open. Eliminating shoulder squeeze and more closely mirroring your at-home sleeping environment.

Catenary Support Arcs

One of the first things you’ll notice looking at a Haven Tent are the two support arcs on either side of the hammock. Much like a suspension bridge, these arcs follow a catenary curve. This is a natural curve between two objects, like how a rope sags between two points. 

Rather than using a wall of material, like those used in traditional hammock construction, our low-profile arcs allow for strength with easy access in and out. With another nod to suspension bridge design, the hammock material hangs below the support arcs supporting the air mattress like the suspender cables supporting a road base. 

Practical and super functional, an added bonus of low sidewalls is the incredible view from inside the tent. There are no sidewalls blocking your line of sight so you can fully enjoy the world you came to see. 

Spreader Bars

On either end of the hammock body, you’ll find a collapsable pole that helps hold the internal space of the hammock open. It easily tucks into pockets that are secured to the support arcs on either side. Without the poles, the lay flat design still works, but there is less room inside the tent.

Structural Ridgeline

Yes, the nylon strap connecting the end loops of the hammock makes for a great handhold and helps keep the bug net and rainfly in place. But there is a lot more behind this structural ridgeline. 

Finding trees with just the right spacing is one of the many things that can ruin your night with a traditional hammock. Without a structural ridgeline, a traditional hammock can sag too much or be pulled too tight if the trees are too close or too far apart.

You’ll need trees to be at least 9-10 feet apart (3 meters) to accommodate the Haven Tent, Haven XL, or Haven Safari. But it’s not a problem if the trees are even further than that! As tree spacing increases, the ridgeline will carry more and more tension, but the hammock body and sleeping platform are held in place and will not change regardless of tree spacing. 

In the image below the tree straps and support arcs are at different angles. The structural ridgeline maintains the hammock shape even with the wide tree spacing.

Material Cuts

And last but not least, our patented design relies on a unique combination of fabric cuts. Lay-flat paradise is found when the materials are assembled with the other design features of the tent. With more material on the head and foot end of the hammock, you’ll notice that the air mattress actually curves upward when unweighted. The preemptive up curve counteracts the sag that occurs when you lie in a traditional hammock. This effect is even more pronounced with the XL and Safari tents, where the span is larger. 

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You can read about it, you can hear what others have to say about it, but at the end of the day… you just need to lay and experience the Haven Tents for yourself. We can’t wait to rock you to sleep!*

Derek Tillotson 
Haven Tents Founder

*Or if you don’t want to rock, use a piece of shock cord on the corner toggles of the tent. That will keep you nice and steady 😅😂 

Don't take our word for it!

David C - The Haven XL is absolutely amazing. I have never had any sort of hammock before. The idea of sleeping like a banana was horrible. Then I found the Haven. It is more comfortable than my bed at home.

Cody S - Love the tent. After years of long ruck marches and sleeping on the hard ground or military cots, I started to hate sleeping outdoors since it is so hard to get comfortable. This hammock system is the best night’s sleep I have had in years.

Keely H - My husband and I used our hammock tents for the first time over the weekend, and it was the most comfortable camping sleep I've ever had. Highly recommend!