Haven't felt the magic

[TominMN]

I have a HH ultralight explorer. I'm 6'1 and the extra length makes it way more comfortable.

Yup, I think a number of the HHs are a bit short for a lot of people and they don't know that things can be better for them by going longer. OTOH, the shorter ones are fine for some...

[BillyBob58]

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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?

Re. multiple nights: I did two nights in a row (Fri, Sat), two weekends in a row, as they conveniently provided me with the extremes of temp that I think I can expect for my August trip. Four weeks from right now, I'll be heading out on a four-night, five-day trip. I was hoping to get enough practice in both rigging and sleeping between now and then that it isn't weird. My backup "tent" is putting the hammock on a Tyvek sheet on the ground with the ridge line held off my face by my hiking poles...........

The higher foot end most often referred to means attaching the foot end strap higher on the tree than the head end is on it's tree. Ending up with the foot end of the hammock higher, so that a ball would roll down hill towards the head. Anywhere from a few inches higher to well over a foot. As opposed to trying to find level ground for a tent, and avoiding having your head downhill from your feet, kind of the opposite than on the ground. Depending on the hammock, many have found that if the hammock is hung level when empty, once you get in you will find yourself slipping towards the foot end all night, for some reason or another. Others claim the higher foot end helps with various other comfort areas, like decreasing calf pressure.

Re. grippy stuff on pad: I didn't mean anything with adhesive. I meant the thin rubber funnel-cake-looking stuff that prevents my screwdrivers from running around in the toolbox drawer. I was thinking of using that across the back of an SPE, instead of (or in addition to) the strips of elastic. If no one else has tried it, I'll give it a go, and report back. I'm not willing to give up on my pad yet, as it's also my go-to-ground mattress.

I have an old Speer Segmented Pad Extender(SPE) and it had grippy material such as you describe in the bottom, it was a big help in keeping the pad in place all night.

Are you uncomfortable in the hammock, or do you think it is some other reason why you have not gotten that really deep hammock sleep? Bridge hammocks are radically different than gathered end. If there is any discomfort, you might also try a knee pillow, as big as possible. Although, especially if really big, this might interfere with top quilt fit.

[BillyBob58]

Yup, I think a number of the HHs are a bit short for a lot of people and they don't know that things can be better for them by going longer. OTOH, the shorter ones are fine for some...

I'm one of those who does fine with the shorter ones, and I am 6'1". My 8.5 ft Speer has it's good qualities, I do fine in my HH Explorer(10? 10.5?) and my 10 ft Claytor is probably my fav non-bridge. But my 12 ft HH Safari is also at he top of the heap. I have a couple of 11 footers ( dif brands) that work very well also, but no better than my Claytor No Net. Possibly not quite as good, but close.

oh, forgot, another good one is th Switchback, maybe 10 ft long?