Hammock Weight Width and Length

[Upchukar]

I am getting ready to make a new hammock for my self. I am 6'3 and i am currently using a 58' wide by 10.5' hammock. Its is fairly comfortable but my knees still are hyper-extended a little more than I would like. I am also pushing up against the edge of the material and into the attached bug net. I plan on going to a 11' hammock but what should my width be? Is it better to go to a 12' hammock and standard width? I have also adjusted my ridge line in and out to help get a flat lay. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Dingletrut]

My experience is that length is more important than width. There's probably a dirty joke in there somewhere. Why not make a wide 12 footer?

[jms53]

My experience is that length is more important than width. There's probably a dirty joke in there somewhere. Why not make a wide 12 footer?

Why not go crazy and try for a lucky 13 footer?

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[GadgetUK437]

The more sag you have (shorter ridgeline), the more diagonal you will go, so on a narrower hammock you will run out of width.
If you like a lot of sag, go for a wider hammock.
Try the pillow/stuffsack under the knees trick for your hyperextension.

--
Gadget

[Phantom Grappler]

12x6 is what I choose for comfort. Only problems are need larger bugnet, larger tarp and bigger pack.
Good luck in your choices.


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[308Shooter]

12x6 is what I choose for comfort. Only problems are need larger bugnet, larger tarp and bigger pack.
Good luck in your choices.


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So true on the larger tarp,bugnet, etc.... I had an Eno and an 11' winter dream tarp. Upgraded to a 11' Sheltowee Hammock Company Double Arch Hammock and now only have a few inches to spare under my tarp. Thinking about trying my hand in the DIY arena myself.....

[Upchukar]

Thanks for the suggestions. I may go to 11.5' by 68" and try that. My current hammock is almost comfortable. meaning I can almost lay flat and almost not have my feet push on the bug netting

[Snowball]

In my experience very wide is not worth the extra bulk and weight. If you don’t use the whole width its wasted. The best results I have with a “wide body rectangular hammock” is with a width around 62-64 inches. Anything over that is wasted on me. If hammock is shaped (cut) different I may go over 62-64 inches but that is a different story.
Please also remember the fabric is a part of the design. If the fabric is too stretchy vs. your weight the hammock can feel shorter than it is. The reason is stretch can feel as a short ridge line but without the benefit of being able to lay more diagonal. Your but is actually “digging” a hole and the lower it goes the more impact it will have on your knees/legs. Fabric stretch evolves over time (hours) not in a 5 minutes test. Everybody including me want to go light but there is a price to pay.

[muddycreek]

I accidentally made a 12' 4" hammock (THOUGHT I cut the body with some precision when I did it a while ago, turns out I cut it "plenty long to trim down to hammock length"). Regular 60" width 1.9 ripstop. It was a VERY flat lay. Even for my 6'2" brother in law. I did trim it down to 11', being 5'6" myself, I decided I'd rather it fit under my tarp. But it was a much bigger difference than 68" width.

[ocnlogan]

I've used 11ft hammocks in 60 in width (well, more like 58in of finished width), 12ft hammocks with ~58in finished width, and 12ft hammocks in ~70in finished width.

IMO, the jump from 11ft to 12 ft was the biggest change. In fact, when I'm in my largest hammock, I find that I don't actually use quite all of the width. So out of that ~70in, I'm using maybe... 64-66in?

If it matters, I'm about 6ft 1in.