Bridge vs Gathered end for ankles

[tramos55]

Have a Blackbird. Have an ENO DN. Have a DIY 11' Poly D 1.6. All are comfortable (Poly D is most comfortable for me), but they all squeeze my ankles and cause a lot of discomfort as the night goes on. I am somewhat bowlegged and sleeping with my ankle pushed together causes my feet to turn inward. I spend some time yesterday going through older posts where people have had this problem, set up my hammocks indoors and went through all the suggestions. Tried different angles (foot end higher or lower etc.), tried different tension, tried foot pad, tried pillow (this gave the most relief, but adds bulk to an already full pack and puts my feet higher-which I don't care for), even tried a tie-out by the foot end.

I don't have a bridge hammock, but seeing the photos around the web, I can see that while having more room for the "toe" end of your feet, the heels are still pushed together.

This seems to be the last hurdle for me to finally get a good nights sleep in a hammock. My ankles still hurt from sleeping two nights ago.

Can anyone offer any solutions with a gathered end or opinions on the bridge as it related to ankle "squish"? Do you think a 12' gathered end might help?

[Shug]

I'll offer these for insight. Feet can just flop apart)))) No ankle squish whatsoever.....
Carry forth,
Shug

[cougarmeat]

Note on that pillow bulk - there are many inflatable pillows you can buy. REI sells 10 "air" pillows. I usually pay attention to the covering because I don't like nylon right next to my skin (like the pillow next to my face). But if you know you are going to use it under the knees - material doesn't matter. I do believe that some are louder, more crinkly, when blown up - but again, it will be down by your knees, not right next to your ear.

That said, since my project of moving the hammock hooks up about a foot at the 13 ft span I have on the house, I can now use my Ridge Runner without the under quilt resting on the ground. Brandon once told me the usual distance between the apex connectors was 13 ft- because of carabiners and such, I'm a little short of that. I spent most the summer in gather ends and they were fine. But I'm really liking the Bridge.

[tramos55]

[QUOTE=Shug;1352105]I'll offer these for insight. Feet can just flop apart)))) No ankle squish whatsoever.....
Carry forth,
Shug

Thanks Shug, Watched the top vid yesterday - missed the bottom one in my search - thanks for posting. The shot with your feet spread apart is what I was looking for.

[Just Bill]

Tramos-
Newbie but-

I disliked the gathered ends I tried in the past for much more than lounging and wrote off hanging. But recently I have taken another look, starting with Bridges. I like them very much, they are a completely different animal- even in the narrow bridge I am using they are very comfy for side sleep. Or for your issue, a slight side sleep- I roll a shoulder up the side a little which lets me pivot my hips comfortably- so my legs are sideways but my torso isn't totally rolled over.

Something you can (likely) try today- I also made a 4x9 hammock- but with no UQ handy I slept the last few nights with a full 72x20 thermarest self inflator foam pad. Point being- the pad "flattens" the typical bottom out type feel I associate with a gathered hammock- my feet are pretty free to flop about and they aren't pinned in a trough.
Even if you don't have a pad handy- I would think a hefty hunk of cardboard would let you get the basic feel for it before you pull the trigger on a bridge- might be enough?

[tramos55]

Bill, I will definitely try cardboard. Thanks for the suggestion. Tried a windshield reflectix visor but it's wasn't firm enough. Maybe reflectix taped to cardboard bent in a square U shape...