avoiding the gap

**GregfromHolland** · 03-02-2018, 15:08

Hi there,
After hijacking an other thread (Sorry SteveE) I realised I might better open a new topic on this.

I hope to find some advice on cold legs that I experienced on my last hang.

My hammock is a SLD trail Lair, 11ft, combined with a long UQ from Cumulus. (I am 180 cm 5.9ft)

I'm new to the gathered end hammock (I have a 90* hammock too) and find it more complicatd than the 90* which requires hardly any tinkering.
I've read a lot here, and saw a fair deal of youtube videos to know that having a good night sleep in a GE can be a bit of a hassle when new to the game.

And on my first winterhang of course I ran into a variation of the famous CBS.
My butt was warm, my back was warm, my feet were warm but from the knees to the feet I felt cold.

At first I hoped It would get warmer by itself, being a naive optimist, but it didn't.
So being awake anyway I figured I might aswell go and try to find a solution.
So I changed how tight I had the suspension, more tight had no better result.
I tried to change the lay of the UQ into the same diagonal that I had. No result.
I checked the end baffles and tightend them more, and loosend them more, both with no result.
Still cold legs.
I tried mimicking underquilthooks and keep the uq really tight agains the hammock...
Still no result.

Then I felt between the hammock and the UQ and I noticed a gap created by my lay in the hammock which the UQ could never fill.

So I started changing my lay.
More diagonal, less diagonal. Gap still there.
I scooted myself more towards the footend. Felt comfortable as a lay, but still the gap was there.
Moved myself more towards the head end... no effect.

In the end, being seriously tired, I realised I had a foam sit pad and used that. It worked, but barely.

So after a lot of talking my question is, how do I avoid the gap?

Many thanks in advance for your shared wisdom!

I have two pictures to illustrate my issue. (one being a lousy schematic drawing)cold spot.jpg gap.jpg

**jabraso** · 03-02-2018, 15:57

The gap is the void under the "calf ridge" and minimizing that helps (there are lots of tips and videos on here for dealing with calf ridge). I fought with the same gap constantly with my first synthetic quilt (even in "labratory conditions" indoors) and couldn't get around it using standard suspension. I ended up switching to a clew suspension which works, but I much prefer standard suspension . My down throw and DIY down quilts haven't had as much of an issue for whatever reason.

**bkrgi** · 03-02-2018, 15:57

Do you have a ridge line on the hammock? if so take it off and tighten the suspension so it truly changes the angle of the hang. It is tough to get rid of the gaps as any wee little air space will be cold = cold body parts. Is why at -12c temps I just add another UQ that takes up the airspace reallly well.....For my 0* UQ -12c is my cut off and the need to add the 20* is a must.
Keep playing with it but also realize there is a limit as to what a quilt can realistically do in the cold temps.....is a fine line so don't push things.

**OutandBack** · 03-02-2018, 16:00

Hi Greg, I don't have all the answers but I believe this leg gap you are talking about is why Hammock Gear designed developed and offers a leg shelf on all their full length UQs. They call it something else I can't remember the name. Basicly they tighten the fabric in the leg area to try and fill that gap. They also came up with the duel suspension that many copy to help with fitment and elimination of gaps.

It is strange some UQ have a big issue with this gap it was the reason gimmicks like triangles and UQ hooks are offered and then other UQs even with single suspensions need no extra support and they fit perfectly.

**GregfromHolland** · 03-02-2018, 16:12

Thanks for the input! Much appreciated.

I don't experience any calfridge while laying in the hammock. But I think seeing or reading that hanging the foot end higher could be helpful against calfridge.

So I will try that too next time.

The ridgeline is fixed. (permanent) So I don't think I can remove it. Maybe I can shorten it, that would result in more sag. Would that do any good?

Tapatalk

**GregfromHolland** · 03-02-2018, 16:16

Thanks OutandBack.
I will research that.

Tapatalk

**OneClick** · 03-02-2018, 16:29

This really gave me trouble in the past, even more than the common CBS. Some things you mentioned were helpful - tightening the primary suspension and loosening the cinch cord on the ends.

I think the best solution was switching hammock. It seems strange, but two hammocks with identical dimensions but different fabrics totally changed how this gap formed (or didn't form at all). For me, I think the firmer fabrics like 1.7 nylon made it worse. I could never close that gap and my legs, especially the left leg, got really cold.

Sometimes just hanging the hammock differently "magically" solves it. (tighter, looser, trees further apart)

I would post some good threads about this discussion we've had in the past, but according to esmith, I'm "out of control" and "constantly spreading vitriol" by doing so. So unfortunately I'll have to stop here.

**SteveE** · 03-02-2018, 16:40

I noticed that when I used my underquilt I wasn't laying as diagonal as I was when I don't use it. I haven't noticed the calf ridge before so I'm wondering if it does come down to how diagonal you can get. I'm also going to try scooting up a bit towards the head end of the hammock...just a bit to see if that helps. I saw the videos that suggested tightening the secondary suspension at your head and foot side however I also saw a video that did the opposite. Looser on the head and foot side in order to allow a more diagonal lay. I tried this and noticed the hammock was looser and I was able to get more diagonal with the head and foot sides looser....

I also think the tree distance, strap height etc all came into play with my experience of having cold butt and thighs....Need to get that down better as well (I do)

**Brewmaker** · 03-02-2018, 17:15

Good luck with your tweaks, I'll be interested to hear what works for you. I have a HG Incubator and as OutandBack mentioned, it's constructed to help avoid this. I havent been in very cold temps yet, but others seems to say it works well