1. How high do you like to have the lowest part of your OCCUPIED hammock off the ground? (seems like I see many photos with them lower than I’d have imagined)
2. What’s the smallest diameter tree you’ll hang from?
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1. How high do you like to have the lowest part of your OCCUPIED hammock off the ground? (seems like I see many photos with them lower than I’d have imagined)
2. What’s the smallest diameter tree you’ll hang from?
6 inches is plenty. :) As long as the hammock isn't touching the ground, it's just as comfortable..whether at 1 inch or 10 feet.Quote:
Originally Posted by 6 feet over
I do typically hang at 2ft or so off the ground, though. It's easier to get in/out that way.
5 or 6 inches in diameter is what I look for, at a minimum.Quote:
Originally Posted by 6 feet over
I like to hang just at the point where I can sit inside, and have my feet touch the ground. Id say about 2'-2.5' up from the forest floor.
the smallest diameter is 4 inches, otherwise the trees around here (the good hangin' ones) will flex too much. Although Ive hung for testing purposes from a Palo Verde, which are notorious for breaking limbs off without warning. Manzanita branches held me up once, and one time I hung from a cattle fence post and a trailhead sign, in 40mph winds (unusual, but true) and by the morning my arse was rubbing the ground. Long story short, if you havent hung between a Saguaro cactus and a rock climbing bolt, you havent lived :rolleyes:
When I sit in the hammock I like my feet to be flat on the ground.... chair height, 20-22 inches.Quote:
Originally Posted by 6 feet over
As to the smallest tree 8-10 inches are the base of stable hangs.... That said I have hung quite comfortably in Mountain Laurel thicket on stalks of 2 inches... I've hung from red buds or iron wood at 3-4 inches.... I've hung from galvanized fence posts and some scrub bush of about 3 inch trunk section... The two adjacent posts to a barbed wire corner work well, these were about 4-5 inches and quite stable I might add.... In Texas with only a single tree we once commandered a swing set for the second "tree" chained it to a near buy fence post and hung two hammocks very nicely...
Pan
A telephone pole and a rear tire mount on the back of a SUV worked well on the way back from Texas. Just make sure you untie before you go for coffee!!
I like it as low as possible, from 6" to a couple of feet. If something ever gives way, I don't like the idea of falling 4 or 5 feet onto a rock. But storm coverage by the tarp may alter how low I hang, as well as if I am using the PeaPpod, in which case I need to be a little higher off the ground.Quote:
Originally Posted by 6 feet over
Of course, 2 feet or more is much better for chair use and getting in and out!
I like 4 to 6 " for hardwoods, 6" or more for pines. One night my buddie hung from a pine of marginal diameter ( don't know exactly) and I looked up to see he was in "bananna" shape due to the tree bending quite a lot. We ended up rigging a rope from that tree to another tree to stop the flexing.
In general, I like the smallest trees that will do the job, but I have hung from some very big trees.
When it is cold or storms, closer to the ground. A little below chair height. Like pan in good weather or vertical rain the hammock is at chair height. The tarp goes high enough I can standup straight underneath when I can.
As for the trees, I tree for 6". I hit and try to shake the tree. If it feels solid, than it is usually good to go. I always try to look up for branches that could fall.
4" to 6" for hardwoods (they shouldn't bow when you load the hammock, you can shake 'em to test 'em), more for pines (actually, I avoid pines because of the sap, and their bark is soft and easy to damage). Smaller, younger trees are better than bigger, older trees because they've got fewer big dead limbs to drop on you.
I like to hang the hammock so it's easy to stand up out of it, but too low is better than too high as long as my butt's off the ground.
1. Probably 6-8" off the ground. Like Pan, I like to be able to have my feet touch the ground when I swing my legs out of the hammock.
2. Depends on the tree, but on average 4" or bigger.
I like about 18" off the ground for the lowest occupied height to be able to easily reach the ground. Any lower and I have almost as much trouble getting in and out as it is when it's too high.
Depending on the tree, I usually go for at least 6", but I have long enough straps to go around almost anything of reasonable size.