Is 30 degree rule for hanging hammock bunk?

[hppyfngy]

How would it be tight? What I'm saying is that you give your hammock the maximum sag, which minimizes the curve.

What I see is a lot of repeating the 30 degree rule, not any explanation.

(And I'm not arguing against the other 30 degree rule, the one that says you should try to lay diagonally)

That said, it certainly looks like I'm not winning any converts!

If you attempt to make it flat, you must make it tight to achieve that. If you're keeping a sag then pushing the trees apart and the hang points higher and higher to compensate isn't doing anything more than causing you to use longer suspension. The longer the suspension, the more stress on the suspension, the tighter it is.

30* doesn't require any further explanation. It wasn't arrived at by any set of rules other than, it works! It simply works out that way. It may as well be 25* or 40*. Whatever. You like 25*? Let it be so. Believe me, I've never, ever measured my hangle.

The simple truth is you're attempting to fix something that isn't broken. Want to do something different? Great! All for it!

Go forth and prove your point.

HFG

[BrianWillan]

The reason for the 30° hang angle (from horizontal) is that it minimizes the force on your suspension (and trees) to that of the body weight of the user. Refer to the chart below for further details.



Cheers

Brian

[beep]

How would it be tight? What I'm saying is that you give your hammock the maximum sag, which minimizes the curve.

What I see is a lot of repeating the 30 degree rule, not any explanation.

(And I'm not arguing against the other 30 degree rule, the one that says you should try to lay diagonally)

That said, it certainly looks like I'm not winning any converts!

Conventional "wisdom" usually gets that status because it works. If you think you have a better solution, then try it out and report back here. We're open to learning, but for me the starting point is to learn from those with a lot of first-hand experience.

[TallPaul]

Time for some in the field testing

[Nodust]

The 30 degree has to do with less weight on the suspension. I think the hang calculator figures that for you. Putting the least amount of stress on suspension and trees so you won't need big bulky ropes to hang in a hammock.

It also happens to be the spot where flat lay on a diagonal is achieved.

[kllrbee]

Pretty cool chart Brain!

If Im following you correctly goober.....youre saying the further apart the trees are and the higher the suspension on the tree, the flatter the lay will become. That may be true. It would be very difficult to test that out. But even if it were true, wouldn't the lines still be at roughly a 30* angle?
Maybe Im not completely understanding.

Honestly, for me, Ive found about 30* works great for my NX250. I go closer to 37-38* on my dutch.

[ckmaui]

I taught diving in the islands for 15 years I would get this question occasionally
how far do we have to dive to get under the island ?

we have all had that DOOOHHHH moment this is one of those moments I feel




to the OP the idea of a hammock is not about being flat in the sense you are thinking its about stability of being flat and extending the length we can lay with the least amount of material !

so the major problem is what a hammock is about and does is wrong in your thinking ?
it would be like saying OK since we want to cook meat I think having the heat at 4000 degrees would cook it 10x quicker than at 400 and is there for the better way to cook meat ?
the theory of cooking meat is not about heat its about time and heat and varying that heat

you are thinking of a hammock in one dimension only ? and its not about that at all


take a piece of paper and lay a pencil on lengthwise so its pointing to the narrow ends
now pick that paper up by the narrow end and keep that pencil in the same direction you will notice it becomes unstable and has space below it
if you kept that piece flat the pencil would not be as stable and easy to roll off ? so the flat lay is not what we want we want flat and best use of material and stability
this is why bar end style hammocks are unstable

now pick that up that paper from the corners ! you notice the pencil is now stable and has plenty of room on both ends making the most use of the length

now put the pencil so its oriented toward the long ends and do the same thing you will notice it is stable and no space under it so you could as in some mayan style hammocks sleep %100 sideways but hikers do not want to carry that extra fabric and weight

so we learned perfect flat is not stable and going end to end is not the best use of material ! so with that knowledge
take that same piece of paper and fold it in half short end toward short end

now lay that pencil going narrow ways and you notice it hangs over the edge !!! but if you hang it diagonally the pencil fits and is still stable

this is the theory of how gather end hammocks work !
its not about pulling the material flat


now do that again but use a string taped to the middle and make it 2 feet and pick it up and see what happens ? then to the corners and try again


so how deep do we have to dive to get under the island

[rob317]

There's a great.calculator at the ultimate hang that allows you to enter in a variety of parameters (height off ground,ridge line /hammock length, tree distance weight). The best is the angle you hang at. I find it awesome just to see what a few degrees can do in terms of shear force.

[hppyfngy]

Yeah! Science too!

goober, I don't want to discourage you from trying something different. That's how innovations happen. Just suggesting you not poo poo the available testimonial, which is ample, just out of hand.

Lots of trials and testing before now, and yet to happen!

Go for it!

[MBennett]

best-sleeping-position-in-hammock-vila-prea-beach.jpg

With the use of the hammock hang calculator, using the 30 deg. rule, this is the way most lay in their hammocks.