90 degree hammock for occasional side sleeper with shoulder injury

[diallonortv]

Hi Guys,

I am looking for a confortable hammock for the trail. I am back and side sleeper ( but i only sleep with my left shoulder on the ground not the other side ) . I was trying to lay down on a Parachute hammock with 45 degree angle and it squeezed my right shoulder ( the one that have injury ). So i wondering if i will not have the same thing with either Async hammock or even bridge hammock. Therefore i am considering the 90 degree gamma ul hammock, but i am not sure about it because it feel it need to be hang higher than any other hammock with will reduce the opportunity to hang it, i was also looking at ultra light stand ( for when i camp in place you have reserved fixed spot ) like this one http://www.ddhammocks.com/product/ul...nd?from_cat=44 but with a 90 degree hammock i am not sure it will be high enough.

The three hammock i am considering are :

Warbonnet blackbird xlc ( i am 185 cm / 6 foot and 90 kg )
Warbonnet ridge runner
90 degree gamma ul

My first priority is comfort ( i am insomniac ) and the second is weight.

Vincent

[dhkayaker]

Hi Vincent. I have two WB xlc and just ordered my 3rd 90* hammock tent. The xlc are great, but for comfort and side sleepers, the 90* gamma, beta, & gamma ul or 2.0 can't be beat. My 1st was a gamma and I sleep very well on my back or either side for side sleeping. Xlc isn't comfortable, for me, on my side, but fine sleeping on my back. Family of four that backpacks is why I have so many. And I'm replacing one xlc for the 90* Beta I ordered today. I'd love to get the new 2.0 version, but at over $400, not gonna do it. Luke at hammocktent has the Beta, w/pad sleeve, in bargain basement page for $97 US shipped. I'm going to add my Sea to Summit nano mosquito net to it making it fully enclosed, but removable. The Beta is a good route without investing too much.
As for a hammock stand, mine is the galvanized pipe type, 1", portable and modular. I can set it up to hang two 90* hammocks, or one 90* & one gathered end, or just one hammock, either type. The side uprights are 7', top width 8', bottom stability feet 4'. For gathered end hammocks, I add a coupler and another 8' top bar for 16' total span. On the feet, I have 2-2' bars connected by a T and the upright 7' topped with another T( for modularity adding more hammocks) or an 90* elbow to top 8' bar. Then depending on which hammock I either add another 8' with coupler & T on the end or, for a 90* hammock just a T down the other upright to other feet stabilizers. Hope that's not too confusing. There's images online through ultimate hang website. I liked this design as its not too difficult to unscrew joints for portability and/or adding more hammocks. It's also easy to build once you have the threaded pipes & joint fittings. Good luck

[dhkayaker]

Sorry Vincent, my stand is anything but ultra light. I only take it on trips where we're car camping and trees aren't always available. The 90* beta is 18oz. And 21oz. with my add on bug net, the same weight as a regular Gamma. The Gamma UL are hard to find and about 14oz. I've had a WTB ad for week or two for a gamma ul with little results.

[OlTrailDog]

The Gamma UL v 2.0 is by far the most comfortable hammock I have used. Albeit, my experience is limited to a WBRR, a DH Raven, and the 90 degree. The WBRR was my first hammock and I liked it a lot for ease of set up, easy to get in and out of, the full zip bug net, the saddle bag and head end storage, but for me personally the shoulder squeeze was more than in my other two hammocks. Plus, you need to be judicious with the tarp set up so that the bars don't wear on the tarp. I liked my other two hammocks so much that I didn't see the need to keep the WBRR and passed it along to one of the bridge hammock aficionados. A quality hammock usually is easy to resell if it isn't your cup of tea, the same for the DH Raven and Hammocktent Gamma UL.

I really like my DH Raven very much and would consider selling it. I really like the comfort, the top cover, the top cover or bug net hangs out of the way nicely, and it is easy to hang. But I personally do not think it is as comfortable as my hammocktent Gamma UL v. 2.0 ( I have a v. 1.0 prior to the 2.0 ).

The Hammocktent Gamma UL is very light, has an integral bug net, but no cover, I find it very easy to hang, I can use it with a variety of pads and using a pad of some sort is by far the most common method of providing longitudinal rigidity and warmth, (there are threads detailing the various permutations of pads and IQ (interquilts that go in the pad pocket). Another advantage of the hammocktent is the differential cut allows insulation in the pad pocket to loft, no so with the WBRR and the insulation becomes squished. Therefore a UQ or insulated pad is needed for the WBRR, as a IQ doesn't work well. The best feature of the hammocktent is the flat lay and wide lay for side sleepers, it also makes a camp chair if deployed correctly. Personally, I found the v 2.0 to be a substantial improvement over the v. 1.0 and have reviewed my observations elsewhere in the forum. The suggestion to try a Beta or borrow a Gamma UL is a good idea because not everyone likes a 90 degree hammock or they do not meet the height and weight limitations as per Luke's website.

I do not find it any more difficult to deploy than my GE DH Raven. The hang trees need to be closer or you need to learn to hang the tarp below the hammock suspension on super wide hangs (I've successfully used hang trees and poles 25' apart).

Lastly, my hammock stand consists of nine aluminum military camo netting poles (ten for the DH Raven with four ridge line poles vs three for the gamma ul ). I have two tripods and the ridge pole suspended from the tripods. It isn't "light weight" but it comes apart into four foot sections and is light when compared to other hammock stand alternatives. Bottom line is it is good for the back yard, inside the garage or dog trot, or for truck camping.

[OlTrailDog]

I thought I would add that I think most Hammocktent and other 90 degree hammock owners find it more challenging to work out the bottom insulation and a proper fitting tarps. However, many have gone before and have experimented with both a good deal, so it is not insurmountable. Plus, there are some excellent after market tarps now available as well as the OEM tarps from all three 90 degree vendors: Hammocktent, Exped, and Amok. In a pinch, most folks have pads from ground dwelling and I've made do with an inexpensive 10x12ft. silnet tarp on several occasions.

[hutzelbein]

All three hammocks are very good hammocks. Depending on who you ask, you will get a different rating of comfort, though, because comfort is very subjective. I own all three hammocks, and to me the XLC would be the most comfortable hammock, with the 90° hammock being a close second. The ridgerunner is not bad, but simply not as good as the other two. However, this doesn't mean that you won't feel exactly the opposite once you tried all three. Unfortunately you need to try a hammock to find out if it works for you. Additionally, there are different fabrics that influence comfort. You might like the 1.1 DL XLC but hate the 1.7 DL XLC. And as if it wasn't difficult enough, the insulation is a major factor as well.

I have always like the Blackbird, but it only reached its full potential when I started using it with the Wooki underquilt. And I had the opportunity to lie in a 90° hammock for half an hour when it was insulated with two thin foam pads and found it very comfortable. I slept in it the same night with two Therm-a-Rest self-inflating pads because I sleep very cold and was worried that the foam pads were too thin. That night was the worst I have ever spent in a hammock. The pads made the hammock too hard; it was as bad as sleeping on the ground. Nonetheless I bought the 90° hammock and will start experimenting with different ways of insulating it.

In a nutshell: try all three hammocks (and more if you get the chance) if you can. Have a look in the "for sale" section and see if you can pick up something a bit cheaper. Or buy new, test it, and sell it on if it doesn't work for you. Go to a hammock meeting if you can find one near you. That's the cheapest way of trying a lot of different hammocks. But don't be discouraged if a hammock doesn't work for you immediately. Sometimes you just need to hang it a bit differently - or use it with some other insulation. Good luck!