Lying Flat vs Curved

[DivaB]

I found this thread very interesting. (I have a double, with gathered ends) I'm still trying to find my perfect "lay" to be able to sleep all night. In my bed I'm a belly sleeper most of the time and a side sleeper with a leg pillow between my knees. For laying in the hammock I liked more of a banana shape for the first couple of hours....but then my lower back starts to hurt. When I lessen the sag, I don't like how tight the sides become and what's weird is that I wake up in the middle, on my side at a severe diagonal (almost the entire wrong direction) with...of course my shoulder that I'm laying on and neck hurting like hell (I don't start out in the position). I understand everyone is different; but this sure is taking me awhile to figure out. I think some of my issue is just being used to sleeping on my belly for almost 42 years...and not being able to figure out how to sleep a different way. There is no way with my knees that I would be able to belly sleep in the hammock I have. The not to sag, or to sag, and how much sag is quite a learning curve on my end. Very frustrating!

Now my son on the other hand likes a big sag, and sleeps sound, on his side in the fetal position right in the very middle of the hammock where the sag is. Looks like a big ball of blanket laying in the middle. I would think the angle would hurt his ribs and neck...but he says it's great. He may be 13, but he is 150 lbs and 5'9" now and I'm surprised at how he sleeps in his hammock. His ridge line is probably only 65 -70"...I would have to check that. The banana works very well for him.

[Pipsissewa]

Well OK then, LGL, my hats off to you then. But I'm sad you won't say what hammock, because I want one!

HINT: Check Leapinggreenlizards' gallery!

[Pipsissewa]

These posts have been very interesting and right on topic--which I appreciate. Having NEVER been in a bridge hammock, can someone describe what it's like, in general? I always imagined it was like laying in a cot--sort of a "too tight" foundation that gave the same feeling as sleeping on a mattress that is too hard. And it seems the sides would come up and curl around you too tightly. But reading these posts makes me curious...there must be something to it! Obviously, there are a lot of bridge hammock fans out there. So, how would you describe laying in a bridge hammock to a gathered ender?

[ExPXGUY]

Like being in a suspended bivy. You are never very far from the sweet spot. No brainpower needed in the middle of the night, but can be somewhat limiting.

[TiredFeet]

I always imagined it was like laying in a cot--sort of a "too tight" foundation that gave the same feeling as sleeping on a mattress that is too hard.

It's no harder than a gathered end hammock. Hardness of a hammock really depends on the fabric and not the design.

And it seems the sides would come up and curl around you too tightly.

Well that would be true if you didn't use any spreader bars. Also, I imagine if the spreader bars you used were shorter than you are wide, then the effect would be the same.

TeeDee has always recommended that the head end spreader bars be about 70% to 75% as wide as the fabric and the foot end spreader bars about 50%to 60% of the fabric width. With that I have found that the mis-named shoulder squeeze is about the same as for the Hennessy Safari Hammock. i.e., none. I say mis-named since if you have proper width fabric and the proper width spreader bars, the fabric cradles your torso in a gentle curve just like any gathered end hammock does. If the fabric width and the spreader bars are too small for you, then you can feel like your shoulders are contained in a too small container, which they are .

But reading these posts makes me curious...there must be something to it! Obviously, there are a lot of bridge hammock fans out there. So, how would you describe laying in a bridge hammock to a gathered ender?

That would take a longer post than I can type and somebody a lot more eloquent than myself. Imagine trying to describe lying in a hammock (any hammock) to somebody who has maybe seen pictures, but never tried one??

Experience is the only description that can do justice.

[TeeDee]

*1 on what TiredFeet posted.

[leepingreenlizards]

HINT: Check Leapinggreenlizards' gallery!

Right onion mate!

The sag in the HeetSheet seen in the pics is actually the stretchy pockets hanging down with "stuff" in them. That's what I like about them, they give instead of the body giving. The body is much straighter.

Nuf said about that.

LGL

[jokerr]

I have a JRB bridge in the mail because I am a side sleeper only but I really like to recline in banana position for reading and relaxing. Is there some way to adjust a bridge at the head end to get a more upright position for daytime use. Maybe I will just carry my ENO singlenest for daytime and bridge for sleeping.

[BillyBob58]

I have a JRB bridge in the mail because I am a side sleeper only but I really like to recline in banana position for reading and relaxing. Is there some way to adjust a bridge at the head end to get a more upright position for daytime use. Maybe I will just carry my ENO singlenest for daytime and bridge for sleeping.

Lounging in a JRB bridge? You mean like this?


Or this? :


Or, I just lay right down the middle as designed, but with my head and shoulders way to one end and supported by the end caps. Very close to a recliner position for reading.

[Yakfoot]

I dunno, I seem to go to sleep on the relatively more flat but not very flat diagonal and then wake up in the morning less flat than when I started. Its all good in the morning but still relative.