Well, not too low... That's not comfortable.
Hey all,
This week represents my first foray into hammocking, though I've been interested for a couple years as a lighter option to a tent. I was doing a little bikepacking on my fatbike and started to think about how nice it would be to be able to hang a hammock 'twixt a couple trees rather than having to find a good spot for my tent. Never got around to making the switch til this week, though.
I have a Colibri Travel hammock from La Siesta that I received as a gift, and a skeeter beeter pro that I bought for myself. I'm hanging in my basement from some wall anchors I bought from Dutchware. I watched several videos of people setting up hanging spaces in their homes and convinced myself that my interior walls could handle it... But then thought better of it and decided to attach the anchor hardware into the concrete of the basement walls. I've hung over night the last three nights and everything is still solid.
First night was me in the S.B.P., hung upside down to hide the bug net cause there aren't many bugs in my basement!Mixed reviews on that first night... It was comfortable, no question, but I knew it could get better. I had done the math and thought I had my hang pretty well dialed in, but it wasn't as great as I'd hoped for the first night. For warmth, I used a down comforter from the guest room, suspended underneath in my other hammock and because it's a huge blanket, it doubled as my top quilt that night.
Night two, I adjusted my hangles and ditched the quilt-support of my second hammock, opting instead to lay ON my quilt in the hammock and still use it as a TQ. I had heard that compressing the down effectively eliminates it's effectiveness, but I figured I was indoors... How cold could it get? The answer was, still pretty freakin cold! Compressed down is worthless! Though it wasn't chilly enough to drive me back to my bedroom, I definitely felt the effects of CBS! I'm a cold sleeper, but I was glad this is still my indoor-trial phase.
Night three, I decided it was time to work on the slight calf-ridge I had going on. I took the next step and watched a couple videos on how to set up a ridgeline. Armed with the hammock calculator and videos from Shug and others, I descended into the basement in search of even more comfortable sleep. All I had to make the ridgeline was some 550 cord, so I'll have to get more appropriate cordage later. After measuring hammocks, hang distances, and crunching numbers, I started experimenting with different length ridgelines. On average, I think my ridgelines are rather shorter and more tight than they are supposed to be. I wasn't so concerned with getting the "correct" length, but rather a good looking sag that resulted in the most comfortable diagonal lay. Again, I read that the ridgeline isn't supposed to be "guitar string tight", but when I lay in the hammock and pluck the ridgeline, it sounds like an open E string on my bass... I didn't get a tuner out or anything. It could be a C... I did this for both hammocks before going to sleep in the Colibri (cause it's wider and more comfortable). Still on top of the comforter in the hammock. I'm gonna jump on the DIY Costco option in the next week or so... Even have my grandmother's sewing machine to help me along... (So many firsts on this journey).
So that's it. I'm headed back down tonight (actually typing this while sitting in the Colibri). I'm sleeping better in a $40 piece of nylon than my expensive tempurpedic bed. There's probably a life lesson somewhere it that fact. There's a lot to learn about hanging. So many options. I'm sold on it.
My name is Nathan, and I'm a hanger for life.
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