Take your tent setup as a backup.Originally Posted by framjam
I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet but there is a rather large number of folks, probably close to 30%,
that just can't get comfortable with hammock camping. Lots of reasons why.
Take your tent setup as a backup.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet but there is a rather large number of folks, probably close to 30%,
that just can't get comfortable with hammock camping. Lots of reasons why.
I have seen tents often at hangs. Welcome friends and guests.
I collect vintage camp stoves.
I roast coffee at home.
Hammock comfort is very personal. But 11' hammocks have proven to be a very good starting point. The majority of hammock users seems to be comfortable enough in a hammock of that length, irrespective of their body height. Are there hangers who are comfortable in a shorter hammock? Absolutely. There are also people who need a longer hammock. The only way to find out is to try.
However, I'm even shorter, and I have been very uncomfortable in a Hennessy Ultralite Backpacker (I think it's a 10' hammock) and a Hennessy Deep Jungle XL (on paper an 11' hammock). I like my Hennessy Safari, but even though it's very long (12'?), it's also very narrow. All Hennessy hammocks I have seen were cut in a way that made the useable area very small and the space very cramped. I say this coming from an even smaller Warbonnet Blackbird which is shorter than 10', but felt large compared to the Deep Jungle XL.
To the OP I'd also recommend going to a hang and trying different hammocks. If you like to sleep on the hard ground, try a hammock with one of the heavier fabrics, because heavier fabrics have less stretch. The HH Expedition uses a 70D nylon, and I would look for something similar - just wider (or with a roomier cut) and longer. Or try another hammock design like a bridge hammock or 90° hammock. Sometimes you gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince/ss
<3Sometimes you gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince/ss
Re. hang angle: I had it at almost exactly 30°. Is there adjustment---one way or the other---that should be done to change comfort-level for different humans?
Re. high foot end: I actually found that putting my feet further up the foot end was good, as it left my shoulders and face in a wider and taller part of the head end. Am I actually supposed to hang the hammock asymmetrically between the trees?
30 degrees is just a starting point, an average, not a religion. You can play with it by changing the height of your suspension on the tree or the length of suspension from tree to hammock.
Same with the foot end - height on tree or suspension length changes height. Most, when alone, rig the suspension so it comes off the center of the tree. If you want to hang close to a friend, you can (with a large-ish tree) run the suspension off the side of the trees so each hammock is the tree width apart - close but independent.
When kayaking, I sometimes end up without trees and do the same as you - I carry a ground cloth (visqueen plastic sheet) and a ¾ length therm-a-rest (old Guide model) for my Plan-B. At my height, ¾ length is almost full length. I put that on the sheet, then my hammock. Hiking poles or anything vertical (I carry collapsible REI poles - kayak: no weight issues) can hold up a tarp AND the bug net on the hammock; keeping it off your face.
One "splurge" (weight weenies, hide your eyes) is a plastic mallet (https://www.rei.com/product/729798/c...-mallet-puller) for pounding stakes. Everyone sneers when I bring it out and everyone comes over and asked to borrow it.
Yeah, I'm usually a paddler. I'm unaccustomed to thinking so much about weight (and so little about water-proofing).
This is my first solo hike, and I'm trying to find the balance between gram-weenie and TIRED hiker.
I'll play some with hangle (did I make a new word?) and foot-end height. Unfortunately, my backyard setup is height-limited by the fact that one end is on a home-made Madera stand, and I'll have to go buy longer 2x2s, if I want to hang any higher!
You could also sink a couple 4x4’s roughly 15’ apart.
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There have been quite a few discussions of that and 4x6 or 6x6 was recommended.
I collect vintage camp stoves.
I roast coffee at home.
If you go the post route, remember that the forces will be sideways - so the strength of the foundation might be more important than the strength of the post. You could considered putting a top piece between the two posts to abate that sideways force and just tell friends it's the start of a pergola or a wooden replica of Stonehenge. A lighter, more portable alternative is a commercial or DIY tripod stand. You make two - plenty of threads on that in DIY forum - and use them to suspend a horizontal bar. Many people use the pipe used for the top of a wire (cyclone) fence rail. They cost about $10 at Home Depot or Lowe's. You'll need two for a span greater than 10 ft. Just cut what you need from the second pipe (3 or 5 ft); it is tapered to fit into the end of the first pipe.The hammock and possible tarp are attached to the horizontal pipe. That is, the tripods don't hold the hammock, they hold the pipe horizontally.
I have rings at the side of the house so I understand about not being able to adjust all the parameters. My height and width are fixed so I can only play with suspension lengths to adjust sag and foot end elevation. Sometimes that means the hammock hangs much lower than I'd rig it in the woods. But as long as the bottom isn't touching the ground, it's okay (just not as graceful getting in/out).
Yeah, I'm not putting posts in my yard. It's already so small, and we have a lot going on in it. Any hanging solutions have to be temporary/removable/replaceable.
Also, my soil is so sandy that the foundation for the posts would have to be a 4-foot deep 12" sonotube, if it's going to work at all. The Madera stand, at a 20° angle, with 6" nails sticking out the bottom, pulled a 10" ground screw (inserted at 45°) out of my yard. I had to guy it to another (too-small) tree, instead.
Last night, I hung it tighter, so it was higher off the ground, too, but still only slightly less than 30°. I'll just keep at it, and see what happens.
Thanks, All!
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