For me to sleep comfortably, I need to be in a sort of recliner position........ Upper body sloped slightly upward, a bit of a "land" or butt shelf to the knees, and lower legs sloped downward slightly. I just discovered the Amoc Draumr yesterday on the internet, which seems to fill the bill.......But they are beyond pricey!
I've been toying with a different concept. It would have two load bearing side panels, and a separate bottom sewn in so as to give me the sleeping position of a recliner laid down. I sleep like a baby in a "zero gravity" recliner outdoors, but that is hardly a backpacker's device. The hammock would have a lateral tube air mattress in the bottom to keep the bottom spread and avoid the cocoon thing, and would use spreaders at each end. It wouldn't be tippy like a yard hammock with a spreader because your weight would be well below the spreaders. An overquilt would complete the package other than for bug netting and a fly.
The side panels & bottom panel concept is one I've never seen done, but would suit my needs, allowing for a true three dimensional hammock. The "butt shelf" or seat area, would allow me to sleep in the upper end without sliding to the center, and in fact it might even make sense to hang on an angle instead of a straight line. With the spreaders designed to merely keep the top open, it might make sense to attach only one end of each spreader so you could pull the other end toward the center and close the hammock up. The air mattress would make a nice wide bottom allowing you to move around. There are lots of questions.... like how deep should the bottom be, how much of an issue is the stress on the seams? There definitely are high and low stress areas, and the design needs to take this into account. What materials to use?
This is just at the idea stage, and I'm considering building a prototype. Considering the fact that an air mattress would be used, it would not be unreasonable to simply use lacing as a bottom using some very strong cord,, but lacing calls for high stressed grommets with reinforcing around them...... ultimately a simple sewn in bottom is probably the best option for weight and strength. With the separate sides and bottom panels, it would be fairly simple to make a double bottom, the lower panel being very light material, spaced an inch or so beneath the load bearing bottom. This would create a dead air space, and some batting such as is used in quilting could even be inserted between forming an additional layer of insulation......... Ideas and thoughts come quick and fast, are examined and discarded or set aside for later review.
The Amock Dramur which I discovered just last night on the internet looks like it solves a LOT of my issues......... for less than I could probably build a hammock for......... It has tension straps that allow you to convert it to a chair, or anything from that to a flat lay. I like the huge open space with lots of stash pockets, etc.
Draumr.jpg
https://www.amokequipment.com/collections/hammocks
H.W.
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