Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    michigan
    Hammock
    Warbonnet Blackbird XLC
    Tarp
    HG Palace
    Insulation
    HG incubators and
    Posts
    155

    Stomach sleeping in a bridge hammock

    Just wondering if it is possible. I have used GE hammocks for years, but side/stomach sleep at home. Thinking about trying a bridge hammock

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Cary, NC
    Hammock
    Yes
    Tarp
    Doors for sure
    Insulation
    Love some down
    Suspension
    Usualy helps
    Posts
    409
    I have 3 bridges and never found them good for sleeping on my stomach. I am a stomach / side sleeper on a mattress, but after years in different hammocks, I've learned to find my sweet spot in a gathered end (half way on my side and back). I still like my bridges, but don't take them every time backpacking to save a little weight. I hate to say that it is a lot of trial and error, but with the right stretch and positioning, a gathered end worked for me in the end. Everybody is different, though.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Ottawa, Ont.
    Hammock
    WBRR, Amok Draumr 5
    Tarp
    MECGuid, Superfly
    Insulation
    Arrowhead UQ
    Suspension
    Stock Buckles
    Posts
    123
    You'll probably have better luck with an Amok Draumr.

  4. #4
    New Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Location
    Greensboro, NC
    Posts
    10
    With the right bridge hammock, you can sleep very comfortably on your stomach. I do it all the time in my design. Check out the 1 minute mark of the video in the thread below. That's me lying on my stomach in mine. Super comfy.

    Just Bill on the forum here sells a range of models I think you could stomach sleep just fine in. thisgearsforyou.com


    https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ighlight=howdy

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Valpo, IN
    Hammock
    Towns-End Luxury Bridge
    Posts
    1,746
    Yar... I find my opinions on this topic changing over time somewhat...

    There are ridgerunner devotees who claim they can stomach sleep in there.
    Amok fans who seem to claim the same.
    Ground dwellers of course can point out you can just skip the whole hammock thing if it's really a problem.
    I've seen a gathered end user or two shove pillows and other things into the hammock and contort themselves into something resembling belly sleep in that their face was down and I could see most of their back: They seemed happy so who am I to argue.

    And somewhere there is a homeless guy or college kid happily sleeping in some inconceivable position in a place you wouldn't even care to sit down nearby.

    Point being: It's up to you.

    Mechanically speaking:
    You'd at least want to be flat enough to do it.

    Now what I mean is that you need your belly to be at an elevation at least close enough to your shoulders and knees that it doesn't hurt and there is not any negative pressure on your spine.
    That is really where the rub is... the word HURT. If you're a flexible, youthful person... you can get away with many a thing an older, inflexible, and rough worn person cannot.

    I still believe that my premium bridges do have that ability because they will 'invert' in the center under higher tensions. "The math checks out" so to speak.
    I haven't tried the Amok to compare, but unless I'm missing something (like dropping your legs far enough to take pressure off your back perhaps)...I don't quite see it.
    I do not believe that the average person would agree that the Ridgerunner, Banyon, or even the end bar bridges I build have that ability. The math don't really add up unless you modify things a bit.

    Realistically speaking:
    At the end of the day it's simply not a bed. So when someone says 'can you belly sleep?'... my current answer isn't quite the same 'buy my bridge and you'll find out' that it used to be.

    Do I roll onto my belly for a bit... yes.
    Can I sleep that way... yes.
    If I adjust the bridge properly can I eliminate negative pressure on my lower back... yes.
    Even with multiple lower back problems... yes.
    Is this the same thing as laying on my stomach in a bed... nope.

    So if the question is really: In a bed I sleep on my belly. Will lying in a hammock on my stomach be the same as lying on my stomach in a bed?

    I think the answer is universally no.

    I would say the same thing about sleeping on a sleeping pad on the ground.

    Can you splay your legs out, bend one or both knees, or do all the things you do in your bed without falling off your sleeping pad... no. You'll find yourself halfway off the pad most nights, or lightly waking to get back on the pad. Do you consider that stomach sleeping? I can't really say if that's good enough for you or not. For some it's a big complaint, for others it's just 'part of using a pad'.

    Can you do some of those things in a really nice bridge... sure. You also can't really 'fall off' in the same way you can with a pad... but you may find that frustrating in reality moreso than comforting.
    In much the same way you may find that, belly ballerina, froglegging or supermanning out might cause you to bump into the edge of the bridge or cause something to shift a bit.
    Much like the pad... is this good enough and just part of using a hammock... or is it a deal breaker?

    At some point I think you need to make the call for yourself on what is 'good enough', because really that is the question.
    I've had a few folks use my bridges and fall in love.
    I have plenty of folks who sleep in them full time... and a handful who didn't like them at all.
    I've had a few folks use them and actually become better gathered end users... that one is still a bit weird for me but I think I understand it better than I used ta.

    Most try a bridge because something else 'failed'. While a bridge is the most 'cot-like' and therefore 'bed like' experiences... do you sleep on a cot? Have you tried belly sleeping on a cot? If sticking a leg out to oneside means your leg falls off the cot... is that comfortable belly sleeping? If you find yourself waking on the cot because you keep scooting too far to one side or the other due to the narrower space... is that comfortable belly sleeping? If not... I don't know that the bridge will do much more for you. It's simply not as wide as a bed, so many of the benefits of belly sleeping are not there.

    About once a week I sleep on my belly for a few hours on a hardwood floor (CPAP Issues). I find this quite comfortable with one leg bent 90 degrees and flat next to me. I can do something similar in the bridge, but not exactly the same. And I wouldn't really want to sleep quite that way in the bridge either...course I don't actually find the position comfortable even on a memory foam mattress. But for some reason on the hardwood floor it does the job. Point being- it just isn't the same thing.

    Ultimately though... I think that I personally have found that I 'work with' the bridge. If my back or shoulder is acting up... I may even spend a few hours belly sleeping because I personally am having a specific issue (HURT). But when I'm not specifically hurting then the best way to sleep in a bridge is that semi-side position mentioned earlier... while it doesn't sound like it... it's an easy position to adjust and does provide the cradled, supported, no pressure point experience that gathered end users describe to those who cannot find it in a gathered end. For some folks... a bridge provides the support and consistency that their body needs. I find this most true for folks with various injuries or just some hard won miles on their odometer.

    I also find that many bridge users are like me in that it's not so much that they cannot find a comfortable position with other options.... it's that they can only find one. IE... there isn't a single magicial 'sweet spot' in a good bridge. There are a few of them and they are easy to replicate night after night. So if you are a bit like me and you find that a few hours in ANY position gets to be a bit much... the bridge lets you easily find another good position and go back to sleep. Ultimately that was my personal issue (and others) with a gathered end. naps... okay. All night... nope. Perfect on tuesday, not so much on wednesday. You just need more than one spot you can reliably find.

    Though everyonce in a while I do find that I actually do sleep all night, in one spot, without moving at all... and it is pretty magical.

    So back to the bridge making folks better gathered end users... I suspect that is the reason. Almost like training wheels for a hammock... it helps folks learn to trust the 'ride' in a hammock. To get comfortable in that position, trust it, and ultimately have that magical 'aha' moment that all the hammock folks were preaching about to you when they told you to get off the ground.

    In finally finding that 'magic' in the bridge... you may be better equipped to go back to a gathered now that you 'know what yer looking fer'. That thing that eluded you when you first got into hammocks ended up showing up in a bridge... and maybe giving a gathered end another go is worth a shot.

    I will say though- that gathered end users make the worst bridge customers, lol. Yes they are both hammocks- but no they are not the same. Brand new folks do well with bridges... they don't have anything to unlearn.

    PS... sounds like you gave the RR a go... and good luck to you. Like many of my posts... this is for the next person wandering through.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Cary, NC
    Hammock
    Yes
    Tarp
    Doors for sure
    Insulation
    Love some down
    Suspension
    Usualy helps
    Posts
    409
    Quote Originally Posted by Just Bill View Post
    But when I'm not specifically hurting then the best way to sleep in a bridge is that semi-side position mentioned earlier... while it doesn't sound like it... it's an easy position to adjust and does provide the cradled, supported, no pressure point experience that gathered end users describe to those who cannot find it in a gathered end. For some folks... a bridge provides the support and consistency that their body needs. I find this most true for folks with various injuries or just some hard won miles on their odometer.
    I've found that the semi-side sleeping position works best for me in a bridge or gathered end. It just took trial and error and time to figure it out. I love my gathered end hammocks and my bridges for different reasons, but usually sleep in about the same position in either. One thing that might be off the wall or changing the engineering dynamics of the bridge that I do is sleep with my head at the narrower end of a bridge allowing me to flare my legs in the wider end. Since I am not flat on my back or stomach, my shoulders don't mind the narrower end.

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Valpo, IN
    Hammock
    Towns-End Luxury Bridge
    Posts
    1,746
    Quote Originally Posted by Dvankirk View Post
    I've found that the semi-side sleeping position works best for me in a bridge or gathered end. It just took trial and error and time to figure it out. I love my gathered end hammocks and my bridges for different reasons, but usually sleep in about the same position in either. One thing that might be off the wall or changing the engineering dynamics of the bridge that I do is sleep with my head at the narrower end of a bridge allowing me to flare my legs in the wider end. Since I am not flat on my back or stomach, my shoulders don't mind the narrower end.
    Yar, I'd have to agree with you on both counts.

    Having really started with the Micro bridges, it slightly forces you into semi-side sleep.
    The Happy Medium size is wider than the other end bar options, and that is basically the foot end of the Luxury or Big Guy... so I have always found that to be enough room for me for the most part.
    I tend to switch back and forth at home, and I prefer the wider end when I toss in a standard pillow and watch TV, but do prefer the extra leg room if I am belly sleeping and or my hip is acting up and the extra leg room is needed. I still think the Happy Medium is the most practical size... but hard to argue with the space of the Luxury.

    I don't do it a ton because I think it's hard on the bridge, but if you haven't tried it yet: Switch the poles and sleep with your head in the foot end. (Long pole in the foot end, short pole in the head end). That turns the foot end into a very shallow/wide end bar type set up (like the RR) with a very deep but spacious foot end. It also creates a 'trunk' of sorts between the spreader bar and the adjustable end you can toss your pack in. Kind of a nice trick for a stormy night as it's easy to pitch your tarp low/tight and stash your gear close.

    Options... that's still the main appeal of a bridge for me.

    That said I've been in my end bar prototypes for the last five months or so and doing pretty well with those.
    Coming in about 12 ounces or so with Carbon fiber spreaders and despite being personally over the weight limit (240ish in a 200lb ish target) the 1.2 hybrid is holding up well.
    Hopefully I can do more with those this summer.

    Not quite SUL gathered end weights... but not far off a full size 1.7 ish gathered end either.
    I think paired with a fitted quilt... that model has the best shot at being a competitive UL hammock for backpacking so looking forward to getting back to pushing that a bit more.

  • + New Posts
  • Similar Threads

    1. Side or stomach sleeping in a GE hammock?
      By Familyman13 in forum Camping Hammocks
      Replies: 20
      Last Post: 01-18-2019, 20:48
    2. True Stomach Sleeping
      By Tikker in forum Camping Hammocks
      Replies: 26
      Last Post: 02-18-2017, 17:21
    3. Can I lay on my stomach in a bridge hammock?
      By vtrek in forum General Hammock Talk
      Replies: 25
      Last Post: 01-15-2013, 22:57
    4. So a Bridge hammock gives more sleeping options??
      By eightweight in forum General Hammock Talk
      Replies: 5
      Last Post: 07-16-2012, 20:01
    5. Stomach sleeping
      By Mancat in forum General Hammock Talk
      Replies: 11
      Last Post: 04-10-2011, 07:15

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •