The only objective disadvantage of width is added weight. And as with hammock length, there is a point of diminishing returns. A hammock that is wider than you are tall does not improve the lay. At home I like very wide hammocks because blankets and pillows almost never fall out. For hiking, weight is far more important, so I would never carry a very wide hammock.
With regards to floppy sides: this is mostly psychological. Some people don't like it, but apart from being floppy, the fabric doesn't really do anything negative. It shouldn't even interfere with "the view", unless the wind billows the loose fabric.
Also, I'm only 5'4" and I have never had more problems getting out of my 11' x 76" hammock than getting out of my 11' x 58" hammock. A bathtub-shape is a result of fabric stretch, not fabric width.
And last but not least, underquilts only have to cover you, not your hammock. I use the same underquilt with my widest hammock as well as with my narrowest hammock, and it works perfectly fine. I found it actually surprising that I don't lie noticably more diagonal in a wider hammock. That's why the Wooki underquilt works just as well as any traditional underquilt.
I must disagree with hutzelbein. I made an extra wide, extra long hammock believing it would be more comfortable and totally worth the extra weight and bulk. I used it for over a year. Totally blocks my view. It's like I'm in a cocoon. The fabric was annoying me by flopping on my face, so I ended up with two knotty mods. In the end, it isn't even more comfortable to me than my smaller hammocks.
Don't get me wrong. It's comfortable and all. I use it winter camping when I want to be in a cocoon. For warm weather, I want to be able to see out an get a better breeze on my face, though.
Of course, if someone else hangs their hammock or lays a little differently, or prefers their feet or head higher or lower than mine, their experience will be different.
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Well, hammock comfort is a very complex thing. In my experience, the most important factors are:
1. user
2. fabric
3. length / width
4. shape / design
User: Some people are more, others less "sensitive". Some people can sleep well in a tiny hammock, others can't even sleep in their favorite hammock if it's not hung perfectly.
Fabric: In my experience, if the fabric isn't right for the needs of the user, nothing can make the hammock comfortable.
Length / Width: Only at this point, length and width come in. And they belong together. A short but very wide hammock will not be very comfortable; a long but narrow hammock won't be either. And for both the law of diminishing returns applies. Going from a 7' to an 8' hammock means a drastic increase in comfort for most users, while very few would even notice a change in comfort when going from 14' to 15'. The useful width is tied to the length, but there's really is no point in going more than a couple of inches beyond the user's body height, because this is the maximum width you would be able to use if you were able to lie perpendicular.
Shape / Design: A lack of length or width can be compensated to some degree by the shape or design of the hammock, e.g. cat-cuts or whippings.
How long and wide was your XL hammock? Which fabric did you use? How much sag did the hammock have? How tall are you? Which hammocks are you comparing the XL hammock to?
I never noticed that my view was blocked more by my 11' x 76" hammock than by my 11' x 59" hammock. But I prefer most of my hammock with less sag than most other people do, and the fabrics have very little stretch. The part of the hammock fabric that blocks the view is only that which is weighted. The surplus width simply falls away. I can increase the view by lying more inline. Of course I don't lie very "deep" in the fabric, because it doesn't have much stretch. I have tried hammocks with more stretch, and like you felt like being in a cocoon. I didn't like that at all.
I made a 12' long 7' wide one - love it and UGQ and HG fit no adjustments necessary - but all my hammocks are GE 12'.
I use this for winter as it allows me to wrap sides over me if I need to block wind (1.7MNT fabric).
This is it and my synthetic double layer 7.5z climashield UQ I made too. On the ground is a down comforter I use in the summer (40⁰ maybe at best).
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