Well, guys, this old timer is feeling a little foolish. Foolish because I have just come to realize something that I actually have known for over 10 years. But, only recently has it dawned on me that this is a total solution to a major problem and that I should stop fighting this obvious solution and spending endless hours trying to find out some other way to accomplish this simple task, and/or buying other hammocks that are reputed to not have calf ridge problems..
Some of you might know or remember that I am a bridge hammock man, at least most of the time, ever since I was two or three years into this game. The number one reason for that is that it was a 100% cure for knee pain, calf ridge pain, and even side torque/Twist. Also, I have for the most part found them exceptionally easy to insulate, assuming an UQ that fit the hammock fairly closely, and was not too long. Not a bad list of accomplishments.
But of course, just like the gathered hammocks, the bridge hammocks have their own set of negatives. Not necessarily for me, but for many people a lack of shoulder room or squeeze is a major issue. I was never actually uncomfortable, but even I can appreciate a looser fit in the shoulders. But far more important than that is the spreader bars and their tendency to contact a tarp, requiring a wider fit and/or a larger tarp. Particularly if desiring to close the ends of the tarp to block wind. And the bars are of course more weight to carry and more things to keep up with. I might also worry about them breaking when I'm deep in the wilderness, not that I've ever had such a thing happen or even come close to happening. But it is a step away from simplicity. Also, one of my bridges requires several more feet of distance between the trees than all of my other hammocks of any design. It is amazing how often this could be an inconvenience or keep me from hanging exactly where I wanted to.
Also, I used to love my Peapod wrapped around my Claytor no net hammock. I also retained a fondness for my much-maligned Hennessey hammock super shelter(HHSS) which was really only usable on my Hennessey hammock, which was pretty good but not always my favorite gathered end. So on some of my past week long trips where I would hike deep into the Wyoming wilderness many, many miles from the nearest trailhead and car, more than once my bridge hammocks got left behind for one of those others. And on at least one night of each of those trips I ended up regretting that decision due to some knee or calf ridge related problem that messed up my sleep. Most nights I was just fine, but on a couple I found myself thinking" why the heck didn't I just bring my bridge hammock".(Strangely, I don't ever really remember a problem with calf pressure during my first couple of years using almost totally the Hennessey. But sometime after that, for unknown reasons, it became a consistent problem–a little or a lot, occasionally or always with some hammocks)
Anyway, I ended up mostly switching to bridges, but I also entered into about 10 years worth of experimenting with how to solve the lower leg related problems in a gathered hammock. More sag, less sag, longer or shorter RL, more or less diagonal, higher foot end, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Lots of things helped, but nothing consistently solved the problem, although almost with some hammocks usually, and almost never what other hammocks.
Now I always knew about the knee pillow trick. I had even used it once or twice, although probably with just a narrow stuff sack version. I also clearly remember eight or 10 years ago, one of the common threads where someone was having calf ridge problems, in that case with a war bonnet blackbird, and all of these different suggestions were being given in attempt to help, but just could not be done. Finally War Bonnet Guy said something like: When I am getting too much calf ridge, I usually just put a stuff sack under my knees which also gives me some insulation boost".
So I have always known about this, but for some reason have never committed to really trying it out consistently. Instead, I devoted untold hours trying multiple tricks, and bought a whole bunch of hammocks of various types, just trying to solve mainly the calf pressure problem, and to a lessor degree the knee extension or side torque problem. So did a bunch of other people here.
Then for some reason, reading Leiavoia's thread on this subject finally made the light bulb go off in my head. And I have recently been experimenting with larger stuff sacks of various sizes in various hammocks, or dry bags and of course it works like a charm.(One caveat: I have not yet tried it for sleeping overnight, that will be the acid test). Now every hammock I have is perfectly comfortable in any position I am likely to sleep in. I don't need an 11 or 12 foot hammock. Or, a really wide hammock. They all feel pretty much the same now, which is to say, very comfortable. Last night I pulled out my old Claytor no net. Now admittedly, it's one of my gathered hammocks that has little or no calf ridge problems, but it is also the one that gave me fits in leg discomfort on 1 night of 2 different week long trips. Only short tests so far, but mega comfy in all areas.
Next I pulled out my ancient HH Explrer UL from 2006, my 1st hammock. I have had more serious and more consistent calf pressure problems with this one over the years, though side sleeping solves that. But with a nice fat stuff sack under my legs, I have never been in a more comfy hammock. This trick also seems to improve side comfort by placing the pillow between my legs. I was even comfy laying with zero diagonal.
So maybe I no longer need a bridge hammock? Won't know for sure until I do some over night testing. But for now it seems this old trick means I can use pretty much any hammock, and leg comfort will just not be an issue. Thanks Leiavoia for helping me remember this. Now as well as my Speer, I need to pull out my Blackbird and give it another try!
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