Well all, being a total noob and then there is the machismo....im the creator of my own destiny thing i hung my new ENO dbl nest saturday afternoon in the yard.... it started off like any regular afternoon...kids running around....me excited to finially get my hammock up and check it out.....well.....thats when it took its turn for the worse.....
While waiting for my straps to come i figured...hey why not straps are straps right? NO>>>>>>>>they arent........ i grabbed a set of 1" straps that i had from an old pair of ratchet straps....now they looked a bit snotty but i figured...what the hell right........
so i slung them around the tree using that wierd 1/2 closed end 1/2 hook figuring if i slip the strap through the closed end it would be all good....
threw a marlin spike in the strap and worked my biner as the toggle...still thinking it was a good idea......
I sit on the hammock figuring if i need to make a run for it im half way there....feels good....im a big guy 280 lbs big....so i finally say this will be okay and i stretch out for what turned into the most comfortable 3 minutes of my weekend.......
Suddenly as my 7yr old daughter was gently pushing me to a slow sway the strap slipped out of the closed (it looked closed) end and slingshot me straight down....head bound in the the nice compacted ground that is my backyard...... I hit the ground so hard i couldnt move....then i couldnt see straight...... after catching my wind and laughing it off as my daughter **** near peed her little self.....i licked my wounds and picked my sorry butt off the ground.......
well for 2 days i had this enormous headache and a halo effect in my right eye. I proceeded with the macho man BS and went to work today....i made it till 11 oclock before i could barely stand up....concentration was zero and my vision was blurred again..... a short trip to lenox hill hospital revealed a severe concussion and a possible torn retina of the right eye...which after transport to lenox hill hospital annex for eyes, ears and throat they determined it was 3 small hemmorages in the back of the right eye causing the blurriness and pressure.....
moral of the story........a 400 pound rated hammock will work great for a 280 pound man.....its the 250 pound working load straps that will fail.....and gravity is not your friend.
Im sure we have all taken a tumble or two in our adventures....just figured ide post this to remind myself or give another rambunctious noob like myself that there is more to it then just being comfortable.....im paying for the mistake of not doing enough research....
thanks all
AJ
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