That's interesting. The advice I got was "no smaller than your thigh".Originally Posted by Recalc
Remember asking about tree width to another hanger when I first started out. He said the minimum width should be at least the size of your ankles. Then he looked at my ankles, smiled, and said "I don't think I'd hang off of that".
I just put one end around my neck and the other around the tree. We play tug-o-war for a bit. Whoever wins supports my hammock for the night.
I think, generally, the bigger the ankle, the heavier the hanger... but I have difficulty imagining any size person for whom that "ankle rule" seems like sound advice.
Looks like a good ankle width, isn't it?
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"Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it.”
― Winston S. Churchill
Blondie is this a good tree... Capture.jpg
I'm sure your advice is right on the money. Remember struggling with acronyms, abbreviations, hang angles, and just about every other thing "back in the days". There is so much to know. FWIW, I'm convinced the experienced hanger would not have hung from my thigh either.
I usually pick the thinnest tree available, but no thinner than my thigh, because thinner trees have thinner branches and probably hurt less should they fall on top of me. If I need to hang from a particularly flexible specimen, I try to support it by tying it to another tree.
With the distance I prefer as short as possible. The limiting factor is the tarp length. Shorter distances mean I don't have to push up hammock and tarp suspensions, and there is less leverage on the trees. There is also less bounce in the hammock suspension. You would be surprised how bouncy even a low stretch suspension can become with increasing tree distance.
My favorite trees are pines about 6inch diameter followed by oaks of the same dimension.Least favorite is a Scaly Bark Hickory.That scaly bark is a bit of a pain to deal with so I avoid it if possible.
I have noticed that young pines usually don't have dead branches laying around on the ground as much.
Hutzlbein makes a good point about younger thinner trees because you will usually notice they have less dead wood and in general might be a little bit more healthy.
However,at the end of the day I usually settle for something less than ideal so long as I don't think it's gonna kill me later.Also helps to look around at any trees leaning that could cross you should they decide to roll over in the night.
I usually shoot for 14 of my feet heel to toe give or take a foot and 5-6 inches diameter at least for the tree size.
Awesome trees though! One of my favorites in general (not for hanging). There's a small grove of shagbark hickory trees nearby where I do day hangs. Easy to hook that bark and pull it off even when being careful.
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