Newbie hammock hanging problems

**FSG** · 09-01-2009, 12:54

For the past year here in florida I have been camping with a net type hammock with no spreader bars, Ive always just used a rope suspension and its pretty much fool proof to hang everytime. It has started to fray a bit, its old, and actually fairly heavy, and my back is always getting wet and its hard to keep mosquitos from biting through the net...so I ordered a parachute nylon hammock from ebay for about $25 including shipping. It is the travel hammock with the little bag on the side that comes with the ropes with the knots every 6 inches or so. Ive tried several times since I got it to use it comfortably but I think I must be doing something wrong. I am used to sleeping in a hammock that almost envelops you, when you sag into the middle of it, the sides stay up a bit higher than you and you can almost rest your legs at an angle along the side and they have enough tension to keep you from feeling like you are going to roll out. With this hammock, I cant seem to make that happen. Everytime I lay in it, the bottom gets tight, but the sides (the hammock is made in three sections of fabric, with the center being one color and the sides being another color), the sides stay loose and almost hang down LOWER than the bottom area of the hammock where I lay. I cant seem to find a comfortable position to lay without feeling like I am going to fall. Am I hanging it wrong? Is it supposed to hang this way? What do I need to do to fix this problem?

Im also a bit confused why someone would go to so much trouble to make an ultralight hammock and then add such super heavy "S" hooks on each end? The "S" hooks are heavier than the entire hammock. I am definantly going to remove them and change the suspension system. And the "10 foot" ropes the hammock comes with double to actually being a bit less than 5' long once you add in the amount of rope all the knots take up, I couldnt find a single tree in my camping area last weekend that the ropes would fit all the way around.

deb

**Ramblinrev** · 09-01-2009, 13:02

I have a DIY hammock made along the same line and really like the way the border strips flop. I can rest my head on that strip almost like a built in pillow.

I suspect you need to find a more diagonal position to lie in and hang the hammock with more sag. A hammock such as you describe needs to be loosely hung so the ends can flare and displace as you move into the sweet diagonal position. Something you probably did not have in your net hammock if it enveloped you so much.

Hang it just a little higher than head hieght if your supports are between 13-15' apart. Let the hammock sag to about chair height in the middle of the sag. Then sit in and actively, rather aggressively rotate to a diagonal and see if that helps resolve some of the comfort issues.

You are right about the hooks. But since most everybody replaces those suspensions within a couple of months anyway they are kind of a throwaway feature.

**pedro** · 09-01-2009, 13:21

Check Grizzly Adams' videos on this forum for a great deal of info on suspension options.

**FSG** · 09-01-2009, 13:28

Ive watched the videos, and I definitely have a few ideas on changing the suspension....I was just wondering if there was a tensioning trick to get the sides to hang higher than the bottom. Somehow the bottom section of the hammock is the only part that gets any tension in it when I lay on it and that section doesnt seem wide enough to keep me secure....maybe its just the way Im used to sleeping, Im used to laying up against the side and now I cant do that....

**plowhorse** · 09-01-2009, 19:13

how wide is the hammock? I have a couple of the Kalist hammocks, and they are only about 4 ft wide. compared to my DIY that is 5 ft wide there is a lot less room in the single width. that could be what is giving you the feeling of insecurity. a shorter hammock will do the same thing. as far as the ropes go, loose them now. change over to straps or something.

**Ramblinrev** · 09-01-2009, 19:58

If you can.. post some pics of the system you use empty and then again loaded. Maybe we can give you some insights from actually seeing what you are referring to. I have a huge amount of sag in my home sleeper. It is however bulit to the dimensions of an ENO double so it is even wider than what plowhorse referred to above. Something like 80" across.

**FSG** · 09-01-2009, 20:21

It will probably be a few days before I get the chance to hang it back up and take some pictures...but I definitely will. I was planning on running by harbor frieght for some straps tomorrow anyway, so Ill use it as an excuse to hang with new straps too. From the dimensions yall are mentioning, mine is definitely quite a bit narrower than yalls. I have been browsing around reading older posts today and from looking at everones pictures of their hammocks and them in them, I really think something is wrong with mine, it looks nothing like everyone elses. Ill post pictures later in the week.

**lori** · 09-01-2009, 20:35

Is it the Byer Traveler here?

Are the ropes twisted up around each other?

**FSG** · 09-01-2009, 20:55

nope, its this one

It doesnt actually have a brand name on it, but it's suspension system is identical to the travel hammock. It has 3/8" cord looped through a sewn channel on each end of the hammock, with an attached "s" hook on each cord loop. Then it comes with two lengths of 1/4" cord that is doubled and then knotted about every 6 inches. You are supposed to wrap the knotted cord around the tree and then through the loop on the other end of the knotted rope, and attach the "s" hook to the appropriate knot. All of my trees are too big to get the rope wrapped around even once all the way so I added paracord to lengthen the knotted rope (just because that was all I had) and the "s" hook ended up being hooked almost directly to the tree. I had to use trees without a very big span because of this, but I tried it three times with varying spans and got the same result each time.

**Ramblinrev** · 09-01-2009, 21:44

At 53" inches wide it is very narrow in the center section. That would definately cause a problem in getting a good diagonal lie. 108" is also very short compared to many hammocks. My home sleeper has a ridgeline of 100" and a fabric length of 120". Still if you hang it with enough slack you should be able to get a getter experience than you are having.

The Grand Trunk (Travel Hammock) single is 126" fabric length and 60" wide. A very significant difference when it comes to hammocks. Sounds like you may have gotten a hammock that is poorly designed for adults. How tall are you and what do you weigh? We may be able to help you work this out one way or another. How far apart are the trees you are using?