Does 3/4 Length Allow For Wider Lay?

**Cory Hess** · 10-13-2017, 08:01

Originally Posted by markr6

I always thought a La-z-boy chair was more comfortable than a bed...so I'm not on this "lie flat as a board" bandwagon. Or even a little incline like those adjustable beds.

Have you tired lying at less of a diagonal? Or is your comfort zone at a wide angle? Sometimes I feel like the "standard" is to lie wide as possible just because someone said it years ago and it sort of stuck. Personally, I keep my body at a fairly slight angle and feel it eliminates any UQ issues. I feel flat with my head slightly elevated. But of course comfort is key, which depends on your hammock, height, etc.

I'm very comfortable in a La-z-boy, and would love to be able to drag one of those into the woods with me to get a good night's sleep.

I actually did stay at a campsite in the UP where some previous occupant left behind a recliner. This was 20 years ago though, before I was worried about leave no trace, and I really got a kick out of it.

However, being stuck in a hammock I've found that the wide angle is more comfortable for me. I don't know that it's the flat lie so much as I'm a wide guy with a busted up knee that forces me to sleep certain ways. The standard hammock width puts weird pressures on my knees which I'm probably super sensitive to on account of my prior injuries. I've tried less angle in the wide hammocks and had the same issue, just to a lesser degree. In fact, this thread was borne out of the realization that I had stopped sleeping in my hammock because of the shallow angle my UQ was forcing me into.

I have hooks set up in the basement, where my home office is, so that I can experiment with my hammock setups. On nights where I had to work late I would set up the hammock, work until I was passing out, and go hop in the hammock for a restful sleep. Lately, I've had my UQ on so that I could experiment with it, and I've found that when it comes time to go to bed I was opting to going upstairs because I just wasn't sleeping well in the hammock. Earlier this week I was debating selling my 12 footer and hung it up to get pictures. Once it was up I hopped in and was amazed at how comfortable it was. I decided that I couldn't sell it and set it up to sleep in that night, including putting on the UQ. When I went to lay down that night all of a sudden it wasn't as comfortable and I realized it was because the UQ was forcing me into a different angle and it was bugging my knee.

My first hammock was a Chameleon and there were a couple mornings where I woke up unable to walk because of issues that arose with my knee. The wide hammock and extreme angle has solved these issues for me, but have created the other issue of lack of equipment geared towards that style of hammocking. I'd love it if I could be normal and use standard equipment, but I never did take the Chameleon backpacking for fear of waking up out in the woods unable to walk out.

**Cory Hess** · 10-13-2017, 08:06

Originally Posted by GadgetUK437

Let Shug show you (at 1:32s).

HTH

Thanks, I checked that out. I want to say that I attempted that but had an issue. Before I go too much further and say something that isn't true I'm going to string up my UQ at some point today and give it a go. I can't say for sure that I was trying that exact thing without having the UQ up to experiment.

**sqidmark** · 10-13-2017, 08:08

I don't have a wooki but fitting to a 12 footer should not be a problem at all. You can't really make it out in my photos above, but I use a mini-ucr on each end of the quilt to adjust it however I want it. I can't see any reason the same exact thing or similar wouln't work for the wooki. This seems like it may be the most practical solution for you. The wooki just won't have any extra width, unless they'll customize one for you.

Agreed that the CDT's are not really all weather without spending a lot of time, and then they just get heavier (assuming multiple layers).

**Cory Hess** · 10-13-2017, 08:09

Originally Posted by Campdavid

The whole reason I switched from having the shock cord run the whole length is that it messed up my diagonal lay. It just never felt right. So I tinkered with things and these have proven to be good solutions.

This is exactly what I was hoping for. Somebody else that's a weirdo like me and how they resolved this to a successful UQ experience. Thank you.

I also want to thank all of you for trying to help me out. It's humbling to go on the Internet and clumsily explain my issue to some strangers and have them genuinely attempt to fix me up. Sincerely, thank you all.

**Cory Hess** · 10-13-2017, 08:24

Originally Posted by sqidmark

I don't have a wooki but fitting to a 12 footer should not be a problem at all. You can't really make it out in my photos above, but I use a mini-ucr on each end of the quilt to adjust it however I want it. I can't see any reason the same exact thing or similar wouln't work for the wooki. This seems like it may be the most practical solution for you. The wooki just won't have any extra width, unless they'll customize one for you.

Agreed that the CDT's are not really all weather without spending a lot of time, and then they just get heavier (assuming multiple layers).

I'll reach out to Warbonnet and see what they're willing to do and then try to research the Wooki a bit more once I know my parameters. Thanks, I appreciate the suggestion that I could possibly make it work.

**sqidmark** · 10-13-2017, 08:26

Oh I know how ya feel. I have neck, shoulder, back, knee and ankle issues. Getting rid of the pressure of the primary was the big attraction to the clews for me. All of the solutions mentioned here are based pretty much on the same principal.

I'm slightly behind (of course) but I'm heading out to MAHHA right now!

**TrailSlug** · 10-13-2017, 08:53

Have you ever considered a bridge hammock. It would solve all of these issues and you do not have to worry about getting on a diagonal at all. Plus the UQ's suspension is a none issue as it's up and out of the way and requires zero adjustments.

**antern** · 10-13-2017, 08:58

as sqidmark mentioned, a clew-type suspension makes a HUGE difference in getting better coverage, in my opinion anyway.

I have had a similar issue: comfortable in the hammock, but never getting comfortable with the quilt attached. I could just never get it set right, or if I did, it was a one-time thing, and I had to go through all the problems the next day. I also have a 12ft hammock, which made conventional UQ suspension problematic since they are made for smaller hammocks.

A while ago I saw this post here: https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ead.php/132651 and wanted to try it at some point. Like you, I have never sewed anything other than a button before so I didn't want anything that required too much skill.

This was totally doable with his instructions and it gave me no issues (read the whole thread since others have made helpful comments). And what a difference it made to the fit. It fits perfect every time, with extremely minimal adjustment.

I do think I'm going to change it again though. Ideally, for the best fit, the nettles should come together as close to the end of the hammock as possible, enabling maximum spread and ensuring as close a match in shape with the hammock as possible. In my opinion, and certainly with the result of my work, the clew takes up too much valuable space. I saw something on that thread that I am going to borrow, and that is essentially to drop the idea of the clew knot altogether, and just attach the individual strands of shock cord directly from the hammock to the base of a carabiner. I think that would give better performance and be a lot easier and quicker to put together (especially for those of us who don't sew)

**Otter1** · 10-13-2017, 09:20

Originally Posted by TrailSlug

Have you ever considered a bridge hammock. It would solve all of these issues and you do not have to worry about getting on a diagonal at all. Plus the UQ's suspension is a none issue as it's up and out of the way and requires zero adjustments.

I found JRB underquilts to work perfectly and easily on Bridges.

**Cory Hess** · 10-13-2017, 09:34

Originally Posted by TrailSlug

Have you ever considered a bridge hammock. It would solve all of these issues and you do not have to worry about getting on a diagonal at all. Plus the UQ's suspension is a none issue as it's up and out of the way and requires zero adjustments.

I have looked into them, but I'm a big guy and most bridges have a lower weight rating and bigger guys complain about shoulder squeeze. I know there's one bridge that's supersized that's being developed, but it's not on the market yet. I love everything about my gathered ends except how the underquilt feels.