How do y'all do it?

[Rouskof]

[*] Accessories matter. Full-length underquilts put pressure on my outside foot which drives me INSANE and leads to sleepless nights unless I find a position that minimizes this. 3/4 length quilts might be an option, but I also toss and turn when sleeping so a foot pad can be just as infuriating. Similarly, integrated bug nets can be annoying unless the side tie-outs are set just right to keep them off my face. I've settled on full-length quilts and sleeping on my side to avoid the pressure.

Hehe, I recognize myself. Have you tried the wooki, from... Warbonnet ?

[KYHiker]

I'm 6'2" and 210ish. I made my own 1.9oz 11ft x 60"wide hammock. It worked well for me but since I bought and tried a 1.6oz hexon SLD Tree Runner off the forums here I have found the comfort I was looking for. The magic is in the width and length of the hammock. If your over 6' tall go with an 11' hammock. My SLD is a wide model, around 70", and I get a better/flatter diagonal lay. Calf ridge is not an issue for me typically because I either do the figure 4 with the leg or I side sleep. If the calf ridge is the issue, try a bridge, but try a wide version of a gathered end first!

[Mr. Gillam]

Which XLC / Traveler hammock do you have? Do you use the Traveler XL or the regular?

If you have a double layer, try a single layer - if you have a single layer, try a double layer. For me, fabric stretch is the culprit in 90% of the cases of a hammock being uncomfortable. I suspect that it's also the main reason, why I have never warmed to the Ridgerunner: it's probably too stretchy for me.

XL


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[gunner76]

it is pretty well known that the BB line requires more fiddling to get it dialed in than other hammocks.

I disagree that the BB requires more fiddling than other hammocks. I own and use 3 BB's and 1 XLC.

I always recommend to new hangers to attend a group hang where you can check out a variety of hammocks and most times the owners will let you get in them and check them out. Also, you can ask the more experienced hangers to check out your set up to make sure you are doing it correctly. At the hangs I host I like to check out first time hangers setup to make sure they have everything set up properly and check out the UQs as it is very hard to make sure a UQ is snug if you have never done it before.

You might be one of the folks who do better in a bridge hammock.

[SilvrSurfr]

I find simple, gathered-end hammocks to be much easier to master than hammocks with integrated bugnets. Give me a Fronkey bugnet and a Dutch Netless and I'm happy. There's no bugnet restricting the direction you can lay or anything like that. I've been using the Dutch Netless for five or six years and almost always get an excellent night's sleep.

However, it's always a shock to move from bed to hammock, so I have a hammock hanging in my office - I usually try to sleep in it a night or two before I hit the trail, just to get acclimated. Occasionally, I will snore in my Dutch Netless, but that's usually from not having the foot end higher than the head end.

I won a Dutch Chameleon at a raffle last year - it's a comfortable hammock and I have no problems sleeping in it. In fact, I usually take the Chameleon whenever my beagle Joey is going to be sleeping with me. Much as I hate zippers, they seem to calm Joey and make him realize he is not going to be able to escape. However, when he wants to get out and go to the bathroom, he will start scratching at the bugnet! No harm so far because I'm a light sleeper and I will not tolerate behavior like that (and I don't ignore him either).

Eventually, I'm going to try camping with Joey in a Dutch Netless with Fronkey bugnet. Hopefully, he will like it as well, and won't figure out how to jump out!

[JeepinPete]

I've come to the conclusion that I simply do not sleep through the night when camping, whether in a tent or in a hammock. But my body feels much better after a night in the hammock, so that is what I use.

I spent a lot of nights in the back yard figuring the hammock thing out, and that has saved me a lot of grief figuring those things out while camping. If whatever I did isn't working, I just go in for the night and try again another night. There is no reason to suffer, unlike trying new things out on the trail. Over the last year and a half, I have spent at least 15 nights out back.

Another thing I noticed is I sleep better if the day has been physical. For example, a couple weeks back I went with a bunch of guy on a paddle down in south Jersey. By the end I was beat. Slept well, but was still up three of four times during the night. In a bed we roll over and reposition ourselves without waking, but I at least cannot do the same in a hammock.

Thus far I have tried a cheap Amazon hammock, a Hennessy, a 12' home made, a Grizz bridge, and now an Amok. The Amazon was too small, but a cheap way to try things before diving deep. The Hennessy was just too firm for my tastes. My 12' is made of 1.6 HyperD, and is very comfortable to my back and neck, but my knees never seem to stay happy (and I have no issues with my knees otherwise). I tried the Grizz for about 2 minutes, it was way too tight in the shoulders. Fortunately my daughter adopted that one.

Tried the Amok last weekend, and it is a different beast. Very much like a tent in the air.

[Johnny Gunz]

I had issues with a BB XLC while my buddy claims its like sleeping on a cloud. I tried a few things and ended up with one of Justbills (Townsend) Big Luxury Hammocks. It's a recessed bar bridge made for fall and heavy people. I'm not heavy, but I'm 6'2". Now, the first one I tried was HEX 70 and required a pad for true comfort. I bought a 1.7 (?) Hybrid version later and it's just superb! I love using it. I can also get pretty comfy in a Trek Light Gear Double, which is like an ENO, but nothing can touch my Biggy Deluxe.

So, don't give up and also realize that what works for some, or even most, may not for you. I had given up on camping due to sleeping on the ground being miserable. Hammocks have me back camping. You just have to try to find the right one, or type.

[Monkeyboy42]

I find simple, gathered-end hammocks to be much easier to master than hammocks with integrated bugnets. Give me a Fronkey bugnet and a Dutch Netless and I'm happy. There's no bugnet restricting the direction you can lay or anything like that. I've been using the Dutch Netless for five or six years and almost always get an excellent night's sleep.

However, it's always a shock to move from bed to hammock, so I have a hammock hanging in my office - I usually try to sleep in it a night or two before I hit the trail, just to get acclimated. Occasionally, I will snore in my Dutch Netless, but that's usually from not having the foot end higher than the head end.

I won a Dutch Chameleon at a raffle last year - it's a comfortable hammock and I have no problems sleeping in it. In fact, I usually take the Chameleon whenever my beagle Joey is going to be sleeping with me. Much as I hate zippers, they seem to calm Joey and make him realize he is not going to be able to escape. However, when he wants to get out and go to the bathroom, he will start scratching at the bugnet! No harm so far because I'm a light sleeper and I will not tolerate behavior like that (and I don't ignore him either).

Eventually, I'm going to try camping with Joey in a Dutch Netless with Fronkey bugnet. Hopefully, he will like it as well, and won't figure out how to jump out!

I actually agree with everything here. I use a diy gathered end with a fronkey net. I’ll never go integrated again, unless needs must. My dog (a papillon) curls up just fine in mine!

It always takes me several nights to acclimate. I can’t hop in a hammock after a long period in a bed and expect a good nights sleep. Same is true of ground sleeping for me! What helps on the trail, is exhaustion from long days hiking or canoeing. On my yearly long trip taking out college kids, I have three nights of travel on the drive up to canada to acclimate.

I normally use melatonin the first few nights. I highly, highly, HIGHLY reccomend this! My kiddo with a sleep disorder brought this into my life. Don’t expect night #1 to be perfect. Your body and mind have to adjust to the change. You’ve been sleeping in a bed your whole life, and you’ve slept in a hammock a dozen nights. It’s not an instant change for many of us.

All this said, I’m a belly sleeper at home, but learning to side sleep, due to back issues. In a hammock I have learned (quickly) to 1/4 side sleep (halfway onto my side) and back sleep. Full on side sleep and especially belly sleep causes weird hyper extension that doesn’t work for me, although there has been the occasional restless night that I try it!

[TallPaul]

Do they have group hangs in Indiana? Finding some fellow hangers and trying different hammocks and setups may help

Another idea could be to share some photos (or a video) of your setup. That may help us troubleshoot

[XJ35S]

I appreciate all these tips.

I have been sleeping good in my diy G.E. at 65" wide. My two 11' hammocks I bought, both have sewn extra material on the sides that add to the width, now both of them bother me to no end. I've tried a bunch of the solutions on the forum. Not a knotty mod yet though.

I've been thinking of a darien. How is the integrated bug net bothersome? To the lay or just too much inconvenience?

What is the widest 11' hammock with a single width piece of fabric, I.E. No stitching?

I am hanging the bought 11' in my bedroom with a 13 foot width. Is that the problem? I still have a set ridge line I think it's 108"