Lefty or Righty?

**^shane^** · 04-25-2009, 19:49

I've been lurking for almost two weeks now. Found this wonderful site while reading on whiteblazes.net.

I have been thinking about changing from a tent to a hammock for about 6 months now, and this site just makes me impatient to start spending money...

I'm almost 100% sure I'll go with the Black Bird. There just isn't anything bad written about it.

My question is: How do you decide if you want the footbox on the left side or right side of the hammock body? I normally start out sleeping on my right side, but I spend most of the night on my left side, so I'm a bit confused as to which orientation to order.

Thanks again for such a wonderful site and to everyone for sharing their wealth of knowledge.

**animalcontrol** · 04-25-2009, 20:00

Originally Posted by ^SHANE^

I've been lurking for almost two weeks now. Found this wonderful site while reading on whiteblazes.net.

I have been thinking about changing from a tent to a hammock for about 6 months now, and this site just makes me impatient to start spending money...

I'm almost 100% sure I'll go with the Black Bird. There just isn't anything bad written about it.

My question is: How do you decide if you want the footbox on the left side or right side of the hammock body? I normally start out sleeping on my right side, but I spend most of the night on my left side, so I'm a bit confused as to which orientation to order.

Thanks again for such a wonderful site and to everyone for sharing their wealth of knowledge.

IMO, you want the standard BB...upper torso to the left and footbox on the right.
Your only issue (small one) is you will have a wall of fabric in your face on your right side. Not that you will be against this wall...it will block your view.
Once on your left side, your golden
hope that helps

**Oms** · 04-26-2009, 05:54

I chose the footbox on the left for several reasons. I sleep mostly on my right, prefer to get in and lie down from the right and having more of a view from the side I sleep on. On the other hand, if the shelf is facing you it's easy to just reach up for things without rolling over. I don't think it will matter that much. You will get used to whatever setup you choose. Totally confused on what to pick?

Sorry about that.

**HappyCamper** · 04-26-2009, 08:21

What side are you on when you wake up most of the time? If you wake up on your left side, consider getting the zipper on the left and the footbox on the right. If you are already on your left side you won't have to roll over to get out of hammock. Just unzip and swing legs out.

**warbonnetguy** · 04-26-2009, 10:02

the "lefty" is for folks who are accustomed to sleeping that way in a hammock and don't want to switch. if you're new to hammocks, then you're not accustomed to any particular way of laying. you can't really make comparisons to how you like to lay in bed. choose the standard, it's by far the more common choice.

**HappyCamper** · 04-26-2009, 10:55

Maybe for young folks! But when you get older there's usually some ailment or ache or pain that makes you sleep in one position or another. I have a condition where my right arm swells. It's bad for me to lay on my right arm when sleeping, so it makes me a left side sleeper. That's how I knew what side to get my full zip mod on my HH. Left! And why I liked the standard left zipper/right footbox on the BB.

**spidennis** · 10-03-2010, 19:49

If you make it to the Texas Group Hang in Nov you can try out my lefty footbox model.

I'll have my double eno there as well, I use it as a lounger mostly. I might try it out as a storage locker / gear shelf when I set up a base camp.

I had a righty for a short time, then got the lefty. For me, everything seems to be oriented that way. Setting up the hammock I want the head end in one direction and the zipper in a certain direction, and find that with the lefty it is always the way I want it. I didn't know about the lefty when I ordered ..... and sure glad there is such a creature!

I have my bb set up in my house right now .... took a nice afternoon nap in it, both sat and sun!

**s1125r** · 10-03-2010, 21:04

I just bought one of these, and being brand new to hammocking much like yourself I did a lot of research before I spent any money. I got a bunch of conflicting information, anecdotes, and recommendations, so I just decided to take the plunge and buy a standard since I knew I'd have no problem reselling if I hated it.

But it's awesome. I don't have any problems laying on one side or the other, or moving around at night, in the standard. And the wall of fabric in front of my face doesn't bother me because I'm not worried about the view when my eyes are closed anyway.

I'd follow Warbonnetguy's advice.

Edit: What I'm really trying to say is that it's going to end up being shooter preference. Only you can actually make the call for which suits you best, and the only way to do it is to try it out. Check the "For Sale" section here and see how many WBBB's make it more than a day without being spoken for by a line of folks.

**beep** · 10-03-2010, 21:07

Originally Posted by warbonnetguy

the "lefty" is for folks who are accustomed to sleeping that way in a hammock and don't want to switch. if you're new to hammocks, then you're not accustomed to any particular way of laying. you can't really make comparisons to how you like to lay in bed. choose the standard, it's by far the more common choice.

What he said! I've got both a lefty and righty (one for me, one for Mrs. Beep) and found that I prefer the standard (feet on right of center, head left of center).

**spidennis** · 10-03-2010, 21:19

Originally Posted by beep

What he said! I've got both a lefty and righty (one for me, one for Mrs. Beep) and found that I prefer the standard (feet on right of center, head left of center).

do you face together when hanging together? zipper to zipper? or the other way?