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Just got my Balckbird in and set it up in the backyard. Couple of questions, if you don't mind.
First, it's pretty comfortable, but I find I'm leaning waaaay to the left side in it. Enough to annoy me, anyway.
Second, I don't think my ridgeline is tight enough, and I think that may be because the trees I hooked to were a bit too close. I've attached a couple of pictures for reference, but it was after dark, and they may not be too clear.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
well first and foremost unless fo whatever reason the pictures are reversed, it looks liek your footbox (if its on the left end of the pictures is waaaay too low. and that would cause you to keep sliding into the foot box which sucks....
other than that your upper body should be close to the left, that's normal but there are people who have found "sweet spots" inside the hammock the otherway around.
try setting it up so that the foot end is just slightly higher than the head end of teh hammock and then report back and see what you get.
by the way, the ridge line should have some sag in it, but not too much. you should be able to slightly bend the ridgeline with your fingers but it shouldn't be guitar string tight.
try the footbox thing and report back what you get that way.
if you feel like you're leaning left, you may be too far right. try moving your torso closer to the zipper till you are level across the shoulders. your left shoulder will probably be a few inches from the zipper.
i also think it looks like the foot end looks mighty low. most folks like the foot end level or slightly higher than the head end once the hammock is weighted. that last part is key, because sometimes the foot end can be higher when empty and then lower once weighted, like if the foo endt was alot farther from it's tree, it would drop more whe you get in.
also, if you haven't already, check out the blackbird setup video in the setup section of my new website.
http://warbonnetoutdoors.com/setup.php
I actually had the foot end higher, but I got to fooling around with the straps, trying to get closer to a 30 degree angle. It seemed the closer I got to the proper angle, the looser the ridgeline got. I'll try and find time to play with it some more tomorrow during the day.
Thanks.
the ridgeline being loose is ok. It's not supposed to be as tight as a guitar string. Watch the setup video.
yeah, as long as it's not drooping down a whole lot loose is fine
Ok, after having spent half a day playing with it, I think I finally have things figured out. I had the foot end too low, the angle of the straps was too obtuse, and the trees were a bit too close together. After finding two trees a bit farther apart, I was able to get it set up correctly.
As far as leaning to the left, I managed to correct that also. I was indeed to far to the right. After getting situated, I find that I'm actaully lying with my left shoulder on the zipper itself. Not a big deal, as long as it doesn't stress the zipper too much. Also, Being a big guy (300 lb) I think I will absolutely have to stake out the sides to keep the netting off my face. Otherwise, looks good. When I get a chance I'll write a review of sorts.
Thanks for all the help!