After a year, hammock not comfy anymore.....help

[Syrrka]

Has anyone ever had this happen to them? I've been sleeping in a tablecloth hammock (10 footer) for about a year now. 2-4 nights a week. Indoors. This last week has been extremely uncomfortable and last night I actually slept on a pile of cushions on the floor, (no bed) because I couldn't sleep in the hammock. It is so weird. The whole thing feels like it is stretched out and gone wonky and I can't find my "sweet spot" anymore. I got calf-ridges and parts of it are firm while the rest of it is not...It just feels off.... hard to explain.

I'm thinking of making another one...this time an 11 footer, but I am only 5 ft tall and don't know if that will make a difference. Any advice? Maybe different fabric????

[craige]

I've not had the same issue, although on one of my hammocks (cheaper fabric) i noticed that the ripstop grid has become a little skewed. I have seen a few people post problems with the tablecloth fabric, mostly with it ripping though.

I would say that a new hammock is definitely the answer at 5' tall an 11' hammock probably won't be any better, I don't notice that much difference between a 10'6" and 11', haven't tried 10' yet but I'm 6'3". How about some of Dutch's polyD fabric, or you can buy a premade one for $30 I've heard good things about that stuff, and dealing with Dutch is always a pleasure.

[Pipsissewa]

For an every-night sleeper, I would think that a double layer tablecloth hammock would be the way to go. You're not worried about weight and I for one prefer the crinkle taffeta polyester over the "stretchy" feeling of ripstop nylon. I started to worry about the strength of my first every-nighter--a single layer tablecloth hammock, although nothing bad ever happened. For my second every-nighter, I made a double layer tablecloth hammock just for durability. And I love it. Good luck!

[brazilianguy]

I've been a year in my hammock now. I haven't experienced anything like that. It sounds like the fabric has stretched unevenly. A new hammock sounds to be in order. I find that a fabric that doesn't stretch much to be way more comfortable.

I sleep in a double brazilian hammock, its the most comfortable hammock I have, I have 5 of them, I find that the ropes at the end really stretch the 'bed' area much better than any gathered end. LINK

[IRONFISH45]

If your body has not changed, I would get rid of the "Table Cloth" hammock. There has been a bit too much discussion about the reliability of their product being used in a way unintended by the mfg.

Dutch's hammock is a good way to go. You will need to supply your own suspension to the hammock. You could also start from scratch and make your own hammock.

Evidently several members and some people I know in person find the longer the hammock is the better they like the lay.

My experience as a short person is the bigger the hammock, the more of a pain to get out of it especially in the middle of the night. I like to be able to see around me, with the larger hammocks all I can see is what is above me. At close to 62 inches tall, I have switched to a bridge hammock, mainly because it is very easy in/out, plus I am able to see all around me.

Once again, it comes down to personal preference, you really need to try before you buy. There are so many choices, style, size, fabric, length. If you are able find a Hang in the near future, there you would be able to test and see what you might like.

I wonder if a percale flat sheet would work for an emergency hammock. Salvation Army and other resale shops frequently have higher quality either new or like new sheets for a few dollars. Some department stores have their ugly sheets marked way down, the weekend is the best time to shop for majorily deep price cuts, especially holiday weekends.

[Firesong]

Most of the issues with tablecloths were ripping at the channels suggesting the sewing was too many holes per inch. Creating a perforated area to tear along. Mine went because the person I sold it to decided to have s3x with her boyfriend on it and put a knee through it. I believe they are fine. If it's whipped at the ends re whip it. Odds are they are slipping. Give it a go before throwing it out.

[Thumbs]

I would check to see if the gathered end has slipped on you. May have an issue with some parts of the hammock pulled tighter than others.

[BillyBob58]

This issue has come up a couple of times before. I can't remember the details about who or which hammock was involved. But when it has come up, a little light bulb came on in my head. It suddenly occurred to me that, though I have had calf pressure problems, a little or a lot, in the majority of non-bridge hammocks I have slept in, I have not always had them right off the bat. For example, if I get in my HH Explorer UL, I will probably have calf pressure, though this is one of my hammocks that I can sometimes find a sweet spot where I don't have it. But this was my first hammock which I used, for the 1st time ever in any hammock, on a 1 week trip in the Wind River range of WY. I had plenty of problems related to the learning curve of the hammock and the HH Super Shelter, but I do not remember any issues with calf pressure until way after this trip. I think maybe the longer we sleep in these things the more they stretch and possibly the feel of them changes.

Another question I have had is: do they ever recover from the stretch? Because here is another weird thing I have had happen: my Claytor No Net is one of the few non-bridge hammocks that I almost never have a calf pressure problem that is enough to bother me. Like my HH I have used it on and off for many years. But on two different week long trips, the same bad thing happened on the last night of the each trip. I had been sleeping in total luxury, as much as 10-12 hours a day, then all of a sudden something goes crazy in the leg comfort area. Impossible to find a comfortable position for my legs, the usual pressure so many folks report, plus almost like a shelf had developed in the leg area on one side of my hammock.(hard to describe) I think I got it to where I could at least sleep the 1st time this happened by changing position so that my head was now in the opposite end of the hammock. The 2nd time/trip when it happened I got out and raised the foot of the hammock up way higher than I normally do, and then things were back to within reason at least. But no problems until I had been in it all night for a week straight.

Was this related to the hammock fabric stretching? I don't know. But always when I go to use that hammock again some time in the future, all seems back to normal. Which sort of makes me wonder if it gets stretched after continuous use and then recovers.

Final thought: I have never yet had this "change" happen in a bridge hammock, nor have I read of such a complaint from a bridge user that I can remember. (But my longer trips have either been with the HH Explorer UL/HHSS or Claytor and PeaPod) But I'm thinking: if a bridge hammock stretches, you just sink further down into the hammock, but your body/legs do not have to lay across any new ridges which are being caused by that stretch. Maybe?

Now where all of the above goes out the window: Quite a few folks have responded, long term every night users who have had no such trouble. So I don't know the answer for this mysterious problem.

[chad14]

Now where all of the above goes out the window: Quite a few folks have responded, long term every night users who have had no such trouble. So I don't know the answer for this mysterious problem.

This could be because the hammock becomes stretched to the max after a week or 2 and the user gets comfortable with the stretched hammock. Also, More every night hammocker are using heavier material because they are not hiking in with it.

[hutzelbein]

I've read about "deformed" hammocks here a couple of times. Can't remember if they were Table Cloth hammocks, though. I guess every fabric wears out at some time. However, the good thing about hammocks is that they are cheap. Compared to mattresses in any case.

If I were you, I would order a couple of yards of several decent hammock fabrics and make a couple of hammocks from different fabrics in different lengths. You might find a longer hammock more comfortable - or you might not. I'm 5'4" and I'm currently using a 12' hammock made out of 1.9oz ripstop nylon indoors. I like it very much. Some longer hammocks feel better to me than some shorter hammocks. But I find the type of whipping and hang angle make way more of a difference. However, in my experience longer hammocks are more forgiving and can be hung with a steeper angle - which is an advantage to me, because my room does not allow me to hang my hammocks at angles between 20° and 30° (unless I want to sleep hanging high in the air).

In any case, it doesn't hurt to have more than one hammock. They take up little space - and the next time one wears out, you won't need to sleep on the ground