How quick did it take for your first fall or flip?

**Crazytown3** · 04-16-2019, 12:21

I've missed the hammock and sat in my UQ twice, both within a day of each other, and both in the middle of the night after 'a break'. I couldn't believe I did it the second time, but I did, and I'm sorry to say, I yelled some bad words.

**cougarmeat** · 04-16-2019, 12:52

I believe "... missing the hammock and sitting in the UQ instead ..." is a rite of passage. Once I wanted to see if those "key fob" carabiners would work.

Brokenbiner.jpg

It didn't.

**StrungUpNewfoundlander** · 04-16-2019, 13:28

I fell, as a slow rate, the very first time I sat in my hammock. Twisted strap buckles (following all of my messing around). My fault and lesson learned.

**Trail Runner** · 04-16-2019, 14:00

Originally Posted by MAD777

Took me a few years to sit in my underquilt, missing the hammock entirely, after a bathroom break in the wee hours. I waited another year to make sure I could repeat the act, and sure enough did. It's been a few years since, but I'm very particular about making sure I know the difference between hammock & underquilt.

That's pretty much my experience as well. I did it once camping in a GE hammock and once about a year later in my house with my bridge hammock. The one in the GE hammock wasn't so bad as the ground was relatively soft but the one in the bridge sucked as I slammed my a** on the hardwood floor and bounced the back of my head off the wall. NEVER AGAIN!

**WanderingKansas** · 04-16-2019, 15:23

Originally Posted by MAD777

Took me a few years to sit in my underquilt, missing the hammock entirely, after a bathroom break in the wee hours. I waited another year to make sure I could repeat the act, and sure enough did. It's been a few years since, but I'm very particular about making sure I know the difference between hammock & underquilt.

My first real hammock camping adventure! I was in Rocky Mountain National Park, expecting lows around 40 degF. I sat in the quilt and broke the quilt suspension! I was honestly scared in that moment. I knew it wouldn't be a good night if I couldn't get that underquilt hung. I used some spare cordage and came up with a makeshift suspension.

Now, I always teach users to sit in the hammock, sometimes even pushing the underquilt away and bringing it back under AFTER entering the hammock.

**scrope** · 04-16-2019, 16:09

Originally Posted by deadeye

I wonder about some of the flipping and falling stories I've read - seems nearly physically impossible to flip a gathered-end hammock with a ridgeline accidentally, yet they claim to have had to cut their way out.

I don't know about one with a ridgeline but I can assure you that's it's possible to flip one. When I was first starting out, I set up my GE hammock between two trees and it was before I knew about the 30 degree hang angle, so I set it up almost horizontal. When I got in it flipped right over and dumped me into the integrated bugnet. So there I was, face down into the bugnet unable to reach the ground with my hands trapped between my body and the bugnet. The good news was that nobody was there to see it. The bad news was that there was nobody there to help me. After much futzing around, I was finally able to right myself and there wasn't even any damage to the bugnet. Experience is a good teacher.

Sometime later I set up a hammock with a marlin spike hitch and wasn't very careful about the placement of the toggle. A gunshot sound later and I was flat on my pride on the ground. Never found all the parts of the toggle. Experience is a good teacher.

Still later, I set up with a UCR but didn't have it set to keep the constrictor tight. It was a slow letdown to the ground. Not even my pride was hurt. Experience is a good teacher.

I know a lot of things to NOT do and survived intact to learn these lessons. I'm just wondering what new lessons I'll be learning in the future ;-)

**Olde Man** · 04-16-2019, 17:59

Got up in the middle of the night to answer the call of nature. When I got back in the hammock I grabbed the hammock in the front and the under quilt in the back before sitting down. After falling on my back, I was a full awake.

**tsshaw78** · 04-16-2019, 19:42

This past January I was testing a ad-hoc underquilt and I didn't carefully open my hammock trying to get into it and I missed it and went right to the ground. I was only 18 inches off the ground over mulch, so not a big deal.