What can I build a portable geodome (geodesic dome) shelter with that will support a hammock?
I would like to make a portable geodome shelter for camping, music festivals, and general fun. The internet has told me that it is possible to make a pretty sturdy geodome with just about anything from newspaper to human hair to crystal and back again.
I would like to make a shelter hearty enough to support at least one hammock and, in a perfect world, tall enough to stand up in. This model is appealing: http://www.eham.net/articles/11300 or possibly even a little bigger.
What should I build this masterpiece with so that it won’t implode with the addition of a hammock(s)? The website I quoted above suggests conduit; many of the prefab ones are made of PVC or something, which seems to me like it would be scary to hammock from. I don’t have a lot of experience with conduit (I had to google what it was), but it seems like it can be made from a variety of metals.
My thinking at this point is steel conduit. Is there anyone out there who is good at math, or who is knowledgeable about the capabilities conduit, who could back up this choice in a more educated sense than "steel is pretty strong… right?"
OR, better yet, anyone with actual experience hammocking from their portable geodome?
Also, if you have the time or patience to keep this in mind, I am hilariously poor, so while diamond rods would probably be ideal, that suggestion would be completely unhelpful.
Thank you, fellow internet people!
As a practical solution, I personally would separate the problem into two parts:
1. A light-weight geodesic dome. The dome struts would only be strong enough to support the canvas covering. Quarter-inch-diameter fiberglass struts are commonly used. Many camping tents are available, in a variety of sizes and at a reasonable price.
2. A separate metal frame to support the hammock itself. Here again, there are steel-tube or aluminum-tube frames available at a reasonable price.
This is a lower-cost, lighter-weight solution.