I recently bought a Explorer Asym Deluxe for an upcoming bike trip I had -- I was really excited about it. A hammock promised to fix everything I hate about tents -- no complicated set up, no poles, no hard ground... just relaxing, comfortable night's sleep.
It didn't work out that way, and i'm not sure why. I bought a 11-foot hammock (edit: rated for people 7-foot tall and under) for my 6-foot-1-sized body and I just couldn't get comfortable. I mean, getting in and out was kind of hard (getting into the sleeping pad and getting the sunshade pad under me was a challenge of its own), but that wasn't the problem -- I just couldn't fall asleep. I tried multiple angles and sleeping positions (straight doesn't work, but the angle position had me pretty darn flat, but it took awhile to find the sweet spot), but it didn't matter. On my back, on my side, or at a angle between the two, I just wouldn't nod off -- and my neck kind of hurt... I feel like my head was being pushed against the side or bottom of the tent, without much freedom. I tried to pull myself higher or lower in the hammock to fix this, but it didn't seem to make a difference.
I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Maybe I didn't hang it at just the right tension or angle...? ...but if it's that fragile of an operation, maybe it's not the best choice for my cross-country tour. It would certainly save money just to use a tent for this, and then try a hammock again later when I don't need to rely on something so new for so long. (The trip is for about two months and I leave in a couple of weeks).
Any Thoughts?
Bookmarks