90 Degree Hammock Tent

[Johnny Gunz]

Thanks for all the work and updates OTD

I've been using mine more (no overnights) and have some observations:

-At 6'2", I'm probably too tall to comfortably use an inflatable pad. I received my Big Agnes Insulated Ultra Air Core LW, and it fits the pocket perfectly. But, since it expands the sides out, it shortens the end ever so slightly. Or, a better description may be that it takes the slack out of the end of the foot box, not allowing my feet to push the material out. I need all the length I can get.

-I noticed that with the pad, there seems more of a banana affect. Maybe it's my height, but it doesn't seem nearly as bad without a pad.

-At this point, I actually prefer the comfort without the pad, even though it's very comfy with pad. Without the pad, it conforms to your body as a hammock should. If I roll to my side and go fetal, my legs don't slide around on the hammock, the hammock collapses and conforms to my legs. It's hard to explain, but it feels really good.

-A top-zip sleeping bag can be used much easier with this hammock. I used a GI Intermediate cold bag and it was pretty easy to get into by laying it out and open and setting in it. I just had to stretch the sides and ends a little. Much easier than in a gathered end for sure. But, as the bag is bulky and has a hood, it took up too much length for me. For a shorter person, this would be the bomb with a pad. It's a lot of insulation and padding. This is probably what I'll do for my wife. This 90* is the first hammock she has ever said she would sleep in.

-The head to toe swing is nice. It's slight, but I can feel it. For those not sure about it, we swing from birth (momma holding us) to the grave (rocking chair) that way.

-One side pocket perfectly holds two remote controls or a good sized paper back book.

[OlTrailDog]

I am in absolute agreement with you on the "conforms to your body" and "feels really good" aspects without a pad. For myself the optimal compromise is with a partial pad (or partial pad combined with a UQ or jacket) that provides insulation for my torso and UQ (or jacket) for the foot end. This allows the collapsing for comfort, body conformation, and extra ease in entering or exiting. I have corresponded with Luke and he said he typically uses short inflatable with his jacket for the foot end as his normal setup.

Sometimes I've wondered if the head/toe swing versus the side/side swing is simply a made up argument for folks looking for something to grouse about. I find myself actually trying to make the hammock swing head/toe some more when I first crawl in and as I am getting settle in.

[paskit]

Okay! Yesterday I replaced the nylon spacers that were rather expensive with WalMart beads (500 for a dollar). Nice thing about the beads is they are cheap and already have rounded edges. I spent the night in the backyard in the rain. I am convinced that for my height (length) this is a wonderful mod. As you can see from the pictures going progressively from no beads, one bead, two bead, three beads, and back to no beads helps spread the weight systematically and builds the lazy S into the hammock lay. Done correctly, there is enough knee support and yet foot relief (toe box) by having no beads at the foot end suspension strings. The three bead strings are directly under my knees and since knees have flex the stress on the three bead strings is minimized. When lay in the hammock and tug on the suspension strings it definitely does not seem to place undue stress on any particular set of strings.

One observation is that you need to exert more effort to exit the hammock due to the "uphill" effect of the raised part of the lazy S. Not a problem, just an observation. Coincident with that is possibly taking more care to make sure your butt is more centered in the hammock lengthwise when entering the hammock by bunching up the end and sitting well into the hammock before loading it. Doing so may help to reduce possible stress on the shortest stings in now in the knee area. May not be important, but as this is experimental I am trying to be cautious. Using an inflatable pad in the hammock also aids in spreading out the load stress when entering the hammock.

I do not find any problems switching into a side sleeping position with the lazy S suspension mod. Side sleeping is phenomenal in a 90 degree hammock because the ends move in toward the center, and there is so much more room than in a conventional hammock. This is especially noticeable if you use a underquilt, or an underquilt and a 3/4 length foam or Thermarest pad in the foot section. The UQ (either a Costco down throw or Arrowhead 3/4 Ridge Creek) with a 3/4 pad (either closed cell foam or Thermarest prolite) is my preferred system. This is because it is warm, relatively light weight, and yet provides a little rigidity at the foot end which keeps the foot end of the hammock from collapsing toward the center and maximizes foot comfort for me. Experimentation continues.

The tarp is a silnylon 8x12 that I've had for years and worked great in the rain and wind last night. And the hammock stand is from the Amy radio antenna you can get on ebay for an easily portable hammock stand system that I can use with either the 90 Degree or WBRR by adding another section in the ridge line.

OlTrailDog--
I'm intrigued by your S-curve bead mod, and want to try it. Bought my beads, but now, to my great embarrassment I find I can't make a girth hitch through the hole in the bead. I'm truly knot-challenged! I've tried it every whichway, and studied your photos, but just can't grasp the concept. I'd be very grateful if you could post a pic or even an idiot-proof verbal instruction showing how it's done. Thank you!

[OlTrailDog]

I will give it a go. First lets try a verbal, if that doesn't work I can break out the camera for pics. I tried several methods and the last method was my preferred way in that it hid the bead beneath the fabric at the bottom of the suspension as shown in post #50 in this forum thread.

hang the hammock with a little weight in it. This gives you better control and spread the suspension out in order to better keep track of the suspension strands.

Pick the first suspension cord you want to adjust and pull it down taut (this is to locate the bead at the very bottom of the suspension loop in order to evenly divide the stress between the two strands of the individual loop).

I marked the very bottom with a fine marker so that I made sure I was putting the bead at the very end, and thus, dividing the stress between the two strands.

pinch the stand loop tight with the mark at the point of the V and insert it through the bead hole.

When the V goes through the bead, pull out enough to make a loop that will go back over the bead.

Wiggle it snug.

It should be at the very bottom of the suspension strand loop and you can wiggle in under the fabric so that it is hidden like in the picture at post #50 for this thread.

Note: the tiny zip ties I used in the pictures really are not needed and were not sufficiently strong enough not to break when weighted as I climb in and out of the hammock.

If the bead pops, you are not using strong enough beads, for example the Walmart beads didn't work. But so far the brass and fluorescent DIY fishing lure beads have held up well as did the nylon spacers. IMPORTANT: I also used a dremel tool or counter sink tool to make sure the edges on the bead holes were rounded enough not to cut the cords. I also had to drill out some bead sizes in order to get the suspension strands easily through. It just occurred to me that a loop of fine wire, like a needle threader, might work great too.

[paskit]

I will give it a go. First lets try a verbal, if that doesn't work I can break out the camera for pics.

Thanks! This did the trick. I also realized that the beads I'm using are too small to keep the snugged-up loop from climbing back up the curve of the bead and coming loose. So I just pulled the bead through the loop before snugging it, and that locked it in place. Voila!
Thanks again.

[Jimswms]

Anybody have any tricks for trees that are further apart? I find that this hammock needs to be hung so high up the tree, that it interferes with the tarp that needs to be hung below the hammock suspension. I just got a Warbonnet GT, which seems like it'll be just about perfect. I don't have this issue with this tarp, hung from the same trees with my Amok since it doesn't need to be hung quite as high.

Thanks

[biggy]

What is the ridgeline length of the wbgt. The stock cf tarp is 7'6" to help prevent contacting the hammock. Not a solution just some info for you.

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[Jimswms]

What is the ridgeline length of the wbgt. The stock cf tarp is 7'6" to help prevent contacting the hammock. Not a solution just some info for you.

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

Yeah. That's definitely an issue. It's 9'. Works great with the amok hammock.

[OlTrailDog]

Anybody have any tricks for trees that are further apart? I find that this hammock needs to be hung so high up the tree, that it interferes with the tarp that needs to be hung below the hammock suspension. I just got a Warbonnet GT, which seems like it'll be just about perfect. I don't have this issue with this tarp, hung from the same trees with my Amok since it doesn't need to be hung quite as high.

Thanks

All hammock designs have their idiosyncrasies and limitations, including distance between hang points. One limitation of the hammocktent 90* is the shorter distance between hang trees. But then again, it is also a strength that it can be hung between closer hang trees.

Although I have never tried it, I imagine you could lash together a couple of poles for one or both sides that give support lift to the tree straps. Have to experiment with this when the weather turns nice again.

I was very pleasantly surprised a couple of weeks ago when I hung my hammocktent 90* between two trees in the yard that were 18 feet apart. I expected either the hammock to sag too low when weighted or for the tarp to be too high, like you observed. It actually turned out to be excellent in spite of very windy conditions. I was evern happier when I determined this 18 foot distance between the trees in my yard worked great for my Raven and WBRR. The only real downside was this is the only place in the yard that I don't seem to have a wireless connection and can't watch Netflix before drifting off to sleep.

PS: Never mind the second image as I couldn't figure out how to remove it.
MountainWildernessMarpatAmokTarp_9.jpg