Shoulder squeeze at any amount of sag.

[hiroshima1320]

What kind of fabric are you using? How are you gathering the ends?

Polyester fabric. Pretty much zero stretch. Gathered with a triple sewn channel and rope.

[sidvicious]

In addition to (lacking) hammock length, it might also be (too much) fabric stretch. If you buy a longer hammock, maybe don't take the lightest available fabric but at least something mid-weight. At your size, you might also appreciate more width. Dutch now sells extra wide hammocks that might be worth a try.

cowboy hutzelbein makes a good point here regarding the stretch factor. go heavier fabric and/or double layer. it'll definately help if you have serious squeeze issues. width is your friend too, if the length'll use it; its relative.

[dingbat]

Just for fun, try a full size pillow. Thin but firm works best for me. I just picked up a Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Delux (23.5x16x5.5) and it does a pretty good job alleviating shoulder squeeze. Though not quite as good as a regular pillow, I think it'll do and is waaay easier to pack.

[SilvrSurfr]

Polyester fabric. Pretty much zero stretch. Gathered with a triple sewn channel and rope.

I love polyester fabric, but I think I'm in the minority. I also use triple sewn channels with Amsteel continuous loops. So what is the width of the fabric after hemming?

Also, are you sure you've got a proper diagonal? Sleeping banana style can cause serious shoulder squeeze. Since you're coming from a short Wally World hammock where getting a proper diagonal would have been a problem, you may still be sleeping in it incorrectly.

Also, just out of curiosity, how tall are you and how much do you weigh?

[jamaulwall]

I have the walmart equip hammock and it is short but it is a thick low stretch polyester fabric. I actually quite like the fabric though it's too heavy for backpacking. I'm 6'1" 190 lbs. and I'd say a longer hammock will certainly help with the shoulder squeeze. A wider fabric might help as well if you are really broad shouldered. I am another one who likes a low stretch polyester fabric but in your case I might suggest a Dutch Hexon. 60" is wide enough for me on an 11' hammock but I'm thinking about getting a wide hexon hammock for lounging. You might consider that as well.

[sqidmark]

I have hammocks in the following fabrics, all single layer:

• hexon 1.0, 1.6, W1.6 and 2.4.
• polyD 1.4
• dobby 1.9
• hyperD 1.6
• GT Ultralight of unknown poly weight.

Of those, the 1.6 and up are the only fabrics that I found tolerable regarding shoulder squeeze. Well, to be honest, I haven't spent enough time in the polyD to recall it's effect on shoulder squeeze, but I find it very uncomfortable for my head/neck. I made it for my 2nd granddaughter who weighs about as much as a potato chip and can sleep in anything.

2.4 has the least amount of shoulder squeeze, but I've settled on 1.6 as a compromise for backpacking. Of the 1.6 fabrics, I recently made the hyperD for my 1st granddaughter because she really likes the crimson color. I'd say it is about equal to hexon 1.6 for shoulder squeeze, but it does offer a softer hand and slighter better lumbar support. I didn't find the W1.6 to be of any greater benefit, but I'm a small person. So far, my wife can only tolerate 2.4 and dobby, but for back/hip issues not shoulder.

I have locked shoulders, left and right, so I'm very sensitive to shoulder squeeze. I know that until I've landed in my sweet spot nothing else I do is going to help. Have you tried alternating left and right lays to determine your preference? I think that's step 1. Once that's done, is your head very close to the fabric edge? I find that I need to be fairly close to it. If you're finding a lot of extra fabric there, try shifting your butt an inch or so closer to the head side. Shifting your butt slightly to either side of hammock centerline can have great impact on finding 'your' spot. I lay right, i.e. feet right, and find that moving my left arm onto the 'shelf', with elbow slightly bent, seems to alleviate pressure on my right shoulder. I'm baffled as to why that helps, but whatever works. Try shifting your knees into the figure four position (aka ballerina), first one knee than the other. One post above suggested a pillow might help. I use an inflatable, about 1/3 inflated for neck support only. I also find that an inflatable under my knees seems to help as well. Since a hammock is only supported at two points, whatever you do at one end or side also has some effect at the opposite. Sometimes subtle changes are all it takes, likely a combination of very subtle changes.

All that may seem like a lot of work to go through, but in the end you stand to benefit. For example, 2 nights ago I slept in my hexon 1.6 std which I shortened to exactly 11' from 11'8" (I didn't cut it, just whipped one end). I slept like a baby all night and woke up ache free. Last night I slept in bed, woke up in the middle of the night with my right shoulder in agony, woke up in a.m. not so refreshed. In bed I toss and turn all night. In the hammock I seem to be pretty much content to stay in one basic position. Just for clarity, I/we prefer longer lengths, but for backpacking we're trying to find the minimum length that we can tolerate and 11' is it.

Lastly, keep in mind that no matter what changes feel like while you're jumping in and out, spending the whole night in the hammock is the only way to test for success.

[hiroshima1320]

Ok, so I measured today, just to see exactly how long the hammock is. Apparently instead of 4 yards that I asked and paid for, I got 3. I'm at 8'8"ish. So, judgement reserved for now. I wasn't paying attention when the lady was cutting out the fabric. Won't be doing that again. I also didn't measure. I just assumed and sewed it. Live and learn I guess. The fabric was 60" wide, so around 58" hemmed. Has anyone had any luck sewing a few inches of fabric on either side to make a hammock wider? I have some other material, but it is narrow. I also have a couple of failed attempts at parallelogram hammocks I could cut up to get the width I need. I've been trying to achieve the best results possible with cheap material before ordering something better, but I may just skip that.

[hiroshima1320]

As far as a diagonal lay, I'm as far diagonal as I can get. Head almost to the end and feet almost off the opposite side. Both my Wal-Mart special and my homemade attempts have been very low stretch fabrics. I'll get some better fabric and give it another shot though.

[karbo]

try a head end spreader bar.

[SilvrSurfr]

Ok, so I measured today, just to see exactly how long the hammock is. Apparently instead of 4 yards that I asked and paid for, I got 3. I'm at 8'8"ish.

You're at 8'8" ish? Geez, must be hard to find dates, and you always have the Guinness Book of World Records people following you around.

I assume you mean the hammock is 8 ft. 8 inches? That is short. I wouldn't bother trying to sew strips on to make it wider. It's probably wide enough and the strips will be annoying.