To those of you with calf ridge....

**Guinea Pig** · 08-18-2017, 22:29

Don't give up!!!

I have had a love hate relationship with my gathered ends for years because of the dreaded calf ridge, and am pleased to say that I have finally... FINALLY... solved it. I finally made a DIY hammock, and for the first time, tried a whipped hammock (I have always used sewn channel gathered ends). Problem solved. Of course, I had to rewhip the hammock about 6 times, but the 6th time was the charm.

First, I tried the basic gathered method (fold in half, gather pleats, and pulled ends tighter). Awesome foot box, but I still had a ridge.

Second, I tried the W method. It was better, but there was still a ridge. (Admittedly, I never pulled the middle tight as I did the sides, and I suspect that would have worked much better).

Next, Warbonnet style. This was my least favorite after I had been spoiled by a foot box (an affect of pulling the sides tight).

After a few more mix and matches, I finally tried a method a fellow forum member suggested, and if they read this, then thank you. It made all the difference. I put a 24 inch pad in the middle of my spread out rectangular fabric, gathered the ends while kneeling on this pad, and pulled the ends tight. Perfect!

The fabric around my knee/ leg is all tight now, and more bulbous. It gives good support to my knee, but doesn't cut into it anymore. (before it was thin lines of hard tension) I suspect the W method, had I pulled the middle tight, would have given a similar lay.

Just to be clear, I do still get a slight calf ridge if there aren't trees that are the perfect distance apart, but I am now able to maneuver my body to fully get rid of it (sliding butt over, moving towards foot box, etc.) EVERY time.

Anyway, I just wanted to let any of you on the fence who are considering giving up gathered ends like I was to keep trying, it is definitely possible to get rid of it.

**Phantom Grappler** · 08-19-2017, 07:25

Shug has an excellent video
Dealing with calf ridge in a hammock
Watch his video at least twice.
Longer hammocks can reduce or eliminate calf ridge pressure. Eliminate at least for duration of sleep.
Shorter hammocks, less than 11 feet usually have more calf ridge than hammocks that are 11 feet.
For my comfort, I got a 12 by 6 hammock--with almost no noticeable calf ridge. Shug shows how to smooth calf ridge while in hammock. Pull knees up to stomach and dig heels into fabric--slide heels on fabric as you straighten legs. His video shows this better than words.
Only problem with hammocks over 11 feet--you might need a larger bug net, and a larger tarp and a larger pack.
Good luck and if all else fails--there are bridge hammocks.
Watch Shug's video!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**Trail Troll** · 08-19-2017, 07:41

Thanks guinea pig, I'll try a pad on my next whipping. I hadn't had much trouble with it when I went to my DIY hammock (10'6"), except with trees that were extremely close.

**slugbait** · 08-19-2017, 09:52

Guinea Pig- is the pad 24" long, or 24" wide? What is the other dimension? Thanks, Slugbait.

**Guinea Pig** · 08-19-2017, 11:27

@ Phantom Grappler:
I love shug! It's funny, I have watched most of his videos. I tried most of the things in his video, and must say that before I whipped the ends, I was not able to use my heel to get rid of the calf ridge. A pillow did work, but I was hoping to find a method that was less reliant on more weight for backpacking.

@trail troll:
Your welcome! I know this sport can get a little overwhelming for some, and sometimes it's nice to know that there is an end (I have always wondered if people that said they didn't have calf ridge literally had it, but it didn't bother them as much). I'm going to get my first under quilt in a month, and am planning to use that with a pad. I suspect that will be a good method as well.

@slugbait: The pad I used was 24 inches wide, and 40 inches long. I don't think the length matters as much as the width. What I did was this. I took the 24 inch pad and placed it roughly two feet from one of the ends of the rectangular fabric laid flat. It was both centered in the middle, and running width wise. I kneeled on the pad and (since I made a sewn channel for the end) ran a cord through the sewn channel to gather it (to make it more uniform than if I pleat-whipped it). Once I gathered the end (while still kneeling on the pad), I took the rope out and put a rubber band around the gather, right below the stitching. Once I took the rope out of the channel I pulled the ends out further Then, I used just jeff's method to whip the end with rope. I did this for both sides. I removed the rubber bands after. I hope this makes sense! Just to be clear, when I use fabric in this paragraph I am literally referring to me gathering the ends before I whip it. Someone on the forum had this idea, and what a great one it was!

This method worked great for my body type, but maybe not for others. All I can say is definitely give it a try and see if it works. It seemed to make it tighter on the ends, and tighter in the middle.

Edit: The pad on the fabric was rolled up as well. So, I kneeled on a rolled 24 inch pad.