The edge of the rabbit hole...

[TheKiltedWolf]

Hey y'all, My name is Steve and I found this by accident. I am a bigger guy (6' and 330lbs) and when camping I can't get comfortable on the ground. I only camp out of the Jeep so I don't have a weight restriction but my tent and air mattress take up a lot of space. I even bought and tried a cot with a 3" foam pad. I sometimes get back craps and pinches in my back if I sleep flat for too long. I end up sleeping on the couch most nights, that and because my kids only wake me up at night and my wife is a light sleeper. The Navy taught me to sleep anywhere at any time. I did a search on YouTube for how to get a good night sleep for big guys, hammocks popped up. So over the last few days I have watched vids, read forums and here I am. I have ordered an 11' Onewind off Amazon and that should arrive tonight. I want to set it up in the basement and hang it from the support rafters to get used to it. The rafters are about 6.5' off the ground and about 16 - 17' apart. according to the hand calculator that should be plenty of room.
So wish me luck and I will be reading, creeping and watching...
Thank you!

Steve

[PopcornFool]

Welcome to to the Forum, life above ground, and the rabbit hole! Glad to see you giving hammocks a try. You'll find plenty of good advice from the members here.

One very important word of caution right up front ... please be very careful where and how you hang your hammock. If not hung perfectly (and every hanger here will admit that they rarely hang perfectly) a hammock can put tremendous forces on its anchor points. People have died hanging their hammocks from things that appear strong enough but really aren't designed to take the forces in the direction that the hammock applies forces. Most of those people (as far as I can tell) were either novice hangers, ignorant of the risks, and/or apathetic.

Hammocks apply primarily lateral forces. Home joist systems are designed to withstand primarily vertical forces. That's a recipe for disaster in my book. And disaster may not strike on the 1st hang but on the 3rd or the 7th or the 11th or the 23rd time you try it. You'll think you're just fine until you aren't. This is the reason I won't hang from pavilions, gazebos, sheds, garages, etc. Some builders cut corners and if I didn't physically build it myself, I have no real way of knowing how well a particular structure will handle the potential lateral forces from my less than perfectly hung hammock.

There may be builders, engineers, and geometry gurus on this site that will argue with me on this topic, but I needed to read very few real world news stories of hammock hangers dying in freak accidents in similar situations to make me risk averse. Forewarned is forearmed as they say.

I typically don't welcome a new forum member by putting a scare into them, but I wouldn't forgive myself if I later learned that your rafter hang plans didn't work out well and I hadn't said anything. Hammock hanging is generally a very safe and enjoyable activity, but there are some risks. You can easily mitigate those risks through knowledge, experience, and common sense. And there's perhaps no better place to gain the knowledge than from the fine folks on this forum.

[Phantom Grappler]

Steve, welcome to all the fun. When you camp, please post pictures of your hammock setup in woods. This is gonna be great. I’ve met many hammock friends on Hammock Forums, now we camp together in group car camping hangs. Drinking coffee by campfire.
And some of us backpack into forest for quick overnights.

Many of my stories round campfire are true…..
More or less

[TheKiltedWolf]

Welcome to to the Forum, life above ground, and the rabbit hole! Glad to see you giving hammocks a try. You'll find plenty of good advice from the members here.

One very important word of caution right up front ... please be very careful where and how you hang your hammock. If not hung perfectly (and every hanger here will admit that they rarely hang perfectly) a hammock can put tremendous forces on its anchor points. People have died hanging their hammocks from things that appear strong enough but really aren't designed to take the forces in the direction that the hammock applies forces. Most of those people (as far as I can tell) were either novice hangers, ignorant of the risks, and/or apathetic.

Hammocks apply primarily lateral forces. Home joist systems are designed to withstand primarily vertical forces. That's a recipe for disaster in my book. And disaster may not strike on the 1st hang but on the 3rd or the 7th or the 11th or the 23rd time you try it. You'll think you're just fine until you aren't. This is the reason I won't hang from pavilions, gazebos, sheds, garages, etc. Some builders cut corners and if I didn't physically build it myself, I have no real way of knowing how well a particular structure will handle the potential lateral forces from my less than perfectly hung hammock.

There may be builders, engineers, and geometry gurus on this site that will argue with me on this topic, but I needed to read very few real world news stories of hammock hangers dying in freak accidents in similar situations to make me risk averse. Forewarned is forearmed as they say.

I typically don't welcome a new forum member by putting a scare into them, but I wouldn't forgive myself if I later learned that your rafter hang plans didn't work out well and I hadn't said anything. Hammock hanging is generally a very safe and enjoyable activity, but there are some risks. You can easily mitigate those risks through knowledge, experience, and common sense. And there's perhaps no better place to gain the knowledge than from the fine folks on this forum.

Thank you and I get it, I will look. What I was going to hand from are the main 3 stack 2x20s beams. I can take a pic tonight but yeah is they are supporting the whole house and 300lbs of weight unseat them then that is a problem. otherwise I would have to mount to concrete. Or get a stand. I wanted to use the basement for Taekwondo and working out and big stand would get in the way.

[TheKiltedWolf]

Steve, welcome to all the fun. When you camp, please post pictures of your hammock setup in woods. This is gonna be great. I’ve met many hammock friends on Hammock Forums, now we camp together in group car camping hangs. Drinking coffee by campfire.
And some of us backpack into forest for quick overnights.

Many of my stories round campfire are true…..
More or less

I will gladly! I have a trip coming up on the 17th of May. I will pack my big king size blanket for an under quilt and my 0 degree bag. I don't anticipate it getting to cold but ya know in the northeast.

[PopcornFool]

I can take a pic tonight but yeah is they are supporting the whole house and 300lbs of weight unseat them then that is a problem. otherwise I would have to mount to concrete. Or get a stand.

300 pounds of of weight can equal a lot more lateral force. Play around with the Hammock Hang Calculator, https://theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/, to get a sense of what I mean. For example, with your hanging points 16 feet apart, and your hammock strung guitar string tight, only 300 pounds of weight can equal over 8500 pound of lateral force on each end of the suspension (over 17000 pounds of total force). I'm confident that you don't plan to hang your hammock anywhere near that tightly. I'm only noting that a person can generate much more lateral force than just their weight in a hammock. This is a point often overlooked by folks new to hammock hanging.

You'll have to make your own judgement call regarding whether you are confident with your own support points. I certainly don't mean to dissuade you in any way. Just wanted to share that tidbit of info - point out just one consideration many folks new to hammocks don't think about. There are many seasoned hangers here on the forum who successfully hang their hammocks in their homes and sleep in them every night. I'm not one of them, so I'll readily admit not an expert on the subject. I'm sure there are considerations and techniques for hammock hanging at home that others know much more about than I and I'm sure you'll be able to find some great advice for hanging safely given your own unique situation.

Enjoy diving in the rabbit hole! Have fun trying out new things. The journey is 90% of the enjoyment in my book. Glad you've joined us!

[TheKiltedWolf]

300 pounds of of weight can equal a lot more lateral force. Play around with the Hammock Hang Calculator, https://theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/, to get a sense of what I mean. For example, with your hanging points 16 feet apart, and your hammock strung guitar string tight, only 300 pounds of weight can equal over 8500 pound of lateral force on each end of the suspension (over 17000 pounds of total force). I'm confident that you don't plan to hang your hammock anywhere near that tightly. I'm only noting that a person can generate much more lateral force than just their weight in a hammock. This is a point often overlooked by folks new to hammock hanging.

You'll have to make your own judgement call regarding whether you are confident with your own support points. I certainly don't mean to dissuade you in any way. Just wanted to share that tidbit of info - point out just one consideration many folks new to hammocks don't think about. There are many seasoned hangers here on the forum who successfully hang their hammocks in their homes and sleep in them every night. I'm not one of them, so I'll readily admit not an expert on the subject. I'm sure there are considerations and techniques for hammock hanging at home that others know much more about than I and I'm sure you'll be able to find some great advice for hanging safely given your own unique situation.

Enjoy diving in the rabbit hole! Have fun trying out new things. The journey is 90% of the enjoyment in my book. Glad you've joined us!

I will post pics as I got it set up last night. I did play with the calculator and seemed ok. I don’t what other options I really have. Second note is I did lay in it for a little bit and found my butt getting a little cold so I might line it with a blanket.

[Phantom Grappler]

Fantastic hammock rigging! Yes it might be a little chilly—you might want to get an underquilt, Mad Money permitting.
For nightly use and not used for backpacking, you might want to get a synthetic insulated underquilt— I think it will tolerate nightly moisture from breathing and moisture coming from skin.
This moisture is sweat, but it does not bead up like sweat, because there is much less of it.
Daily use of a down insulated underquilt can have a build up of moisture.
All these comments are things I’ve read, but have not lived and have not studied.

A Man Cave!

[TheKiltedWolf]

Fantastic hammock rigging! Yes it might be a little chilly—you might want to get an underquilt, Mad Money permitting.
For nightly use and not used for backpacking, you might want to get a synthetic insulated underquilt— I think it will tolerate nightly moisture from breathing and moisture coming from skin.
This moisture is sweat, but it does not bead up like sweat, because there is much less of it.
Daily use of a down insulated underquilt can have a build up of moisture.
All these comments are things I’ve read, but have not lived and have not studied.

A Man Cave!

So last night was my first sleep, or attempt.
So I took an old navy woobie and strung it up as an underquilt. Seemed to work ok as my butt was not cold. My top got that was and I had to grab another heavier blanket.
I did wake up a few times. I tried to turn diagonal but kept slipping back into the middle. I will try and adjust the straps as I had my feet set higher, so I evened it out so I hope this works. I might also get a small pillow as well.
I know there will be an adjustment period but if there are any tips I am all ears.

[Phantom Grappler]

Some hammocks are shaped like a deep walled rowboat. This can prevent being able to sleep on a diagonal lay.
I don’t know enough about your hammock to say this is the problem.
And some hammocks are constructed with three pieces of fabric…like ENO style hammocks.
An ENO or ENO style hammock can be plenty wide, but due to its construction, it causes person to lay straight in line with hammock…and sleep in shape of a curved banana.

Maybe go to a group hang, and with other campers permission, get in their hammocks and check your comfort levels.

I don’t know, lots of things I don’t know…
I still enjoy guessing