Help me fix my jankey setup

**LFSimpleLife87** · 08-14-2018, 22:57

Hey everyone, this is my first hammock, and first self built hammock stand so new to ALOT of this. I am a tosser-turner and side sleeper in a typical Western bed, but alot of that has gone away since the hammock! Hurt my back a few winters ago shoveling snow, and the hammock has been the only bed I wake up from with NO pain!

The hammocks is a cheap Ikea "lounge in the backyard" type made of a woven, synthetic material. It has these weird plastic rings and metal clips to secure the rope with. They are a nightmare to adjust lol. The underquilt is a fleece blanket clipped on by binder clips. The stand I made with "premium"(what a joke) 2x4s, decking screws and bolts. It was based off of a stand I saw online. I changed the design of the hang point from an eye hook screwed into a 6" 2x4 peice screwed between the arms. When I sat in it the chunk split in half around the eyebolt! So I said forget it and ran a bolt through the arms and attached the hammock around the bolt via S hooks.

I have been sleeping in it(adjusting things here and there) for about a month now. I am laying diagonally with my head at the end with the little side table in the photo, and am experimenting with pillow situations (so far using my old memory foam pillow, or no pillow at all). I am sleeping under a full size down alternative comforter.(that thing is huge, going to have to downgrade).

So I wanted to see if anyone could see any glaring flaws or has any advice for me on this setup. Recommendations on cheap decent quality hammocks to get would be excellent, I have a feeling this one is only going to get me so far. Can't afford to get a new hammock right away, but hopefully around Christmas or early next year. Thanks for checking it out!

P.S. apparently I accidentally made my single hammock a double! Lol

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**sidneyhornblower** · 08-15-2018, 02:34

In no particular order:

Rather than a stand it might be worthwhile to experiment with attachment points on the walls themselves. I've screwed eye bolts into studs in a couple of rooms in my house and my front porch. There are other more adjustable methods as well. I think Eno makes a wall hang kit, and I know Dutchware offers one.

Fleece underquilt in the house will work fine.

Instead of a regular size pillow try a very small pillow. I find that in a gathered end hammock I mostly need neck support because the upwards curve of the hammock supports my head.

I can't tell how hard or easy adjustment is with that stand. If you wanted to experiment with different heights or angles at the head and foot end I don't know if you can, but doing so will teach you more about what's possible than a static hang that's limited by a relatively short span like a stand. I'm thinking specifically of the ability to move head or foot end up or down relative to each other.

**akaCat** · 08-15-2018, 06:27

Your fleece underquilt will probably work better if you rig it to hang more like a commercial underquilt.

I'm not sure if I can describe it in text, but you want to have a heavy elastic cord running from the left head corner of the blanket to the head end of your hammock and back down to the right head corner of the blanket, then do the same for the foot end. You can probably leave the binder clips on the corners and tie the elastic cord to the "handles", at least temporarily. I use cheap keychain type carabiner to clip the mid-point of the elastic to the end of the hammock.

Note: it won't prevent incursion by felines.

**hutzelbein** · 08-15-2018, 08:01

Originally Posted by akaCat

Your fleece underquilt will probably work better if you rig it to hang more like a commercial underquilt.

I'm not sure if I can describe it in text, but you want to have a heavy elastic cord running from the left head corner of the blanket to the head end of your hammock and back down to the right head corner of the blanket, then do the same for the foot end.

Or better (if the blanket is wide enough): install a Clew.

To the OP: The hammock looks pretty short, so you could probably significantly increase your comfort if you got a longer hammock. If you can sew a simple seam, you could make one fairly cheap. Just order 4-5 yards of a hammock fabric of your choice, hem the long sides, and sew a channel on the short sides. You could use your current suspension until you can afford something more to your liking.

**n8jones418** · 08-15-2018, 08:26

I second the comment about considering attachment points on the wall. I bit the bullet on that and was very happy with the outcome. Works out much better in terms of hang height (for me). And if you're worried about holes in the wall, it is not much worse than any other hole, assuming you can hit a stud and mount it securely. YMMV, and I am taking no responsibility for your drywall damage

Specific to the hammock itself, length and fabric are important. While I can lounge in my cheapo hammocks or similar ENO hammock, I find I need some softer fabric with some stretch to really get comfortable. Note that I'm not saying you need to spend a lot. I've been very happy with a Twisted Root hammock that I got off Woot for under $50.

Good luck. I think you'll find it's worth the effort to figure out a comfortable lay.

Also - Love the cat picture!

**LFSimpleLife87** · 08-15-2018, 09:47

Thank you for all the responses so far!

I totally forgot to mention I tried hanging the hammock in the wall first, and one wall actually moved! Long story short, I live in a mobile home ATM, and one of the walls in my room is not attached at the ceiling! Needless to say, unfortunately attaching it to the wall is out of the question.

I have no idea how to sew, but it seems getting into hammocks will finally be the push I need to learn.

That clew system looks pretty neat! Whenever I go camping, I will have to make sure to make one of those first!

I think my two major questions right now are:

Does my Ridgeline angle look ok? I still get "walls" when I lay diagonally, not sure if it should be almost completely flat.

And

Should I just build a new stand? The arms are pretty low on this one, I can sometimes feel one of the supports with my butt when I'm in it. I have seen a design made of iron pipe where the support runs above the hammock instead of along the floor, I was playing with the idea of building that, but with 2x4s or 2x6s, and making it almost up to the ceiling, so the arms would be strictly verticle and tall, emulating trees. Plus, I could attach/hang stuff off the support beam above me if I wanted to.

Anyone know of any other stand designs that might work? Both arms definitely have to be attached to each other right? Making each arm a separate single pole would give me alot of options, but I don't think they would be stable enough without attaching them to something.

**hutzelbein** · 08-15-2018, 10:30

Originally Posted by LFSimpleLife87

Does my Ridgeline angle look ok? I still get "walls" when I lay diagonally, not sure if it should be almost completely flat.

Afaik, the "walls" are not a product of hammock sag (which can be determined by the ridgeline length), but rather by the relation of hammock length to hammock width. A short but wide hammock will have higher "walls" than a long but narrow hammock. It's about finding the perfect ratio. Personally, I couldn't care less about the wall as long as I'm comfortable. Just set the ridgeline to the length that feels most comfortable to you. By the way, I don't see a ridgeline in your pictures.

**LFSimpleLife87** · 08-15-2018, 10:39

Lol then I maaaaaay be misunderstanding what a Ridgeline is

**leiavoia** · 08-15-2018, 11:41

A ridge line is a cord attached at both gathered ends of the hammock to make sure it has the same sag every time you hang it up. For indoor use, I don’t recommend it. For camping hammocks they are great.

For strictly indoor use, look into getting a cotton Brazilian hammock. I have had a 14’ Vivere I got on Amazon for about 5 years now and never a problem. It hangs on eyebolts in the wall studs from opposite corners of the room. They sell for less than $50 nowadays.