Any chance that I'm just not cut out from hammock camping?

[dakotaross]

Try hiking a full day, then see how it works.


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[oldbiker]

I don't hike but motorcycle travel. Been using a hammock for 10 years now. I never sleep well the first night out but do the rest of a trip. Used gathered end hammocks until I lost my bladder to cancer a couple years ago. Due to having to hook up to a night bag I had to go to a RR bridge for the cut away sides for drainage. Love the bridge but always slept fairly well in the GE ones.

My suggestions from my experiences are the same as above. First your bailing is not helping. Move outside To some trees where tweaking is more possible & where you don't have the choice of bailing. Do at least 2 nights to see if second night is better. Second get a top quilt or use a sleeping bag so your not chasing it everywhere. Third after trying the first things if still no joy try a bridge. Your efforts will reward you according to the effort put into it.

Robert

[BillyBob58]

Its okay to admit that hammocks are not miracles ("heresy!").

I don't sleep well (or at all) in a hammock either, but i find that i rest better in a hammock when backpacking.

At home i lounge in the hammock and sleep in the bed.

For your specific "legs feel cramped/bent" issue, try a Huge Knee Pillow. I do this on trail and at home and its makes "Huge" difference.

This first. It solves a lot of problems I have sometimes with gathered hammocks. And it is easy enough to try out, and free. Since you are sleeping indoors, just grab an extra pillow and put it under your knees and see how it goes.

Others mention bridge or 90º hammocks. I find that these also solve several potential problems associated with gathered hammocks, most especially calf ridge. I have had many a great nights sleep in them(as I have in gathered such as Claytor No Nets and HH Explorer UL and a few others). But, that means buying a new hammock to try, and some folks have issues with them. So you might also. Some(not me) complain about lack of shoulder room in WB or JRB bridges, and every one has to carry spreader bars(not an issue at home or car camping), or convert hiking poles to use as spreaders. The 90º hammocks(no spreader bars) require either special tarps or just figuring out how to hang your tarp with the long axis at 90º to the hammock ridge line rather than tree to tree parallel to the RL, and can be a bit weird getting in and out. Also, might require a pad rather than an UQ, depending on which brand 90. However, I can't imagine anyone complaining of lack of shoulder room in a 90, as my Hammock Tent 90 has more shoulder room, with or without a pad, than anything I have used. Also, that hammock can be used with something called an IQ(inner quilt), either with or without a pad. It is a bit tricky, and might require some slight mods (like Kam snaps) to make it easy, but any quilt/bag(or clothing) can be slipped into the 3" deep pad pocket, which will allow it to loft 3" beneath you. And always stay in place with no gaps in my limited experience.

So in my experience, those style hammocks solve many issues I sometimes have with gathered hammocks, though they also bring some new issues of their own. (though for me, none that are a significant problem). But a knee pillow also solves a lot of those problems for me, and is free. The bigger, the better. The only problem I see that a pillow can cause is top quilt(TQ) fit, with drafts around the knees. (should not be a problem with a sleeping bag). If that is a problem, using a smaller, less wide pillow might still solve the calf ridge/knee extension/foot issues, as well as any TQ/draft issues. But you are using a blanket, so as long as it is wide enough to cover all, should not be a new issue. OTOH, you mention some problems keeping the blanket in place. A foot box might help with that. Do you have a summer sleeping bag? Try that, unzipping it and using it as a quilt, feet in the foot box.

I was lucky in that my first ever use of a hammock was on the trail, after a long days hike over mountain passes in the Rockies. In my HH UL Explorer with Super Shelter. My first night though I fell asleep quickly, it ended up a freezing misery, had to abandon the hammock for a pad on the ground. But I figured out better how things worked on the following nights, and slept warm and blissfully after that. A long days hike and no other place to bail out to helped, as it did on future trips. But sleeping in the back yard has always been a big challenge, just hard to fall asleep, no matter how warm and comfy I am. Ear plugs help. But I'm sure if I did so night after night, I would soon be used to it and have no problems. Good luck, I hope you figure it out! But, it probably is not for every one.

[Phantom Grappler]

MikJW, it’s even worse for me
I’m not cut out for this planet, the sooner I get back to my home planet the better.
This spring, when it warms up a bit, get with a local hang in New Jersey, maybe two local hangs, since you might be overwhelmed your first group hang.
Ask questions, get others to trouble shoot your rig.

With rotator cuff surgery, you might still be healing, and have phantom pains. I strongly recommend you get a wide hammock.
Minimum 11 feet long
Minimum five and a half feet wide
Wider is ok
Maybe a width in inches 66 to 72 inches

My hammock is a simple gathered end
12x6 Very comfortable

When you go to local hang, ask veteran hammockers for permission to lay in their hammock, to see what you would like to get.
Remember to remove knives, keys, pens etc from your pockets and remove your shoes before trying their hammock for size and comfort.

If I got paid to tell lies...
It just wouldn’t be as much fun...

[Lost1Croc]

I’d recommend If you’re a bigger fella always go with the largest strongest version of whatever hammock system you use, especially if you’re new to hammocking or camping gear in general. Once you get experience with all your gear, you can figure out what can be paired down or at least lightened up.

I’m a 5’8” stocky guy who’s never going to weigh 170 lbs, even when I was young lean, and mean Infantryman, so I speak from a wealth of backpacking experience with carrying too much stuff to getting a summer base weight on a 4 day trip to at about 10-12 lbs. But, you have to be able to find the joy in crappy weather or crappy trails conditions. Embrace the suck, that’s what makes it fun


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[deadeye]

Sleeping in a hammock is a pretty radical change from your daily routine, so I think it's normal to have some adjustment period - some adjust in 5 minutes, others take a while. I think it makes a huge difference being tired after hiking all day, so I'm with the crowd that's suggesting a real-world trial. My first nights were in the backyard where I had a choice to go inside, and often did, but now I usually have a great night's sleep in the hammock.

[cmoulder]

Are you sure you got the correct lay direction for you? I’m a head right / feet left sleeper. If I try to flip in my symmetrical hammock, I just never get comfortable.

^^^^^^^^Absolutely give this a try.

In the past few months I've had the opportunity to introduce 3 total noobs to hammocks, only for short afternoon naps, and although they are all right-handed they all distinctly preferred head-right/feet-left. I was using a symmetrical hammock in each instance and tried not to influence them one way or the other. I know that conventional wisdom is that right-handers prefer head left, but there are many, many exceptions. It is the same for me... right-handed but a very strong preference for head right in a hammock.

[chromedome]

Something under my knees/calves was a game changer for me. It pretty much eliminates any calf ridge, and takes any uncomfortable pressure off my legs and feet. At home or when car camping, I use a regular bed pillow.. When backpacking, i use my empty pack. Also when I roll over on my side, I put the pillow between my knees.

[LowTech]

When we talk head left/right, which way are we viewing the hammock? From outside at the footend, or inside on my back, or . . .?
I know which way I prefer, just haven't got a grip on how it's referred to.

[cmoulder]

When we talk head left/right, which way are we viewing the hammock? From outside at the footend, or inside on my back, or . . .?
I know which way I prefer, just haven't got a grip on how it's referred to.

I was going to say "Seriously?" but there actually is some confusion.

The conventional description of "Right lay" is head-left/feet-right and "Left lay" is head-right/feet-left. Why foot position takes precedence over head position remains a mystery to me. To compound it further, right lay is also sometimes referred to as "Normal" and left lay is "Reverse."

Conversely, I don't understand where there is confusion about head-right. If you're in the hammock you're not outside looking at yourself from the foot end, which would require some pretzel logic to reconcile.