Is there a trick to getting in?

[thatguyjeff]

I'm guessing this has been asked before. And I did try searching - but all terms/phrases I tried came up with a bazillion hits and none of the thread titles were obvious.

My question - is there a trick to getting in these things?

I revamped my setup recently (not that my old set up was any easier) and was in the field (Boundary Waters) a week ago. Everything was great - once in the hammock I mean. Weather sucked, I stayed dry, warm, ventilated, comfortable, all that stuff. But getting in the thing, and into my sleeping bag, was a really clumsy affair for me.

I get into the hammock itself just fine. It's then getting into the bag. No matter what I tried it's all twisted, bunched up under my ***, etc. Takes me a few aggravating minutes of shifting around, sitting up, laying back down, sitting up again, etc. before I get the bag in the right position.

Am I missing something? Does it just take practice? Or is that just the nature of hammock sleeping?

I thought about using the bag just as a quilt, but both of my bags don't unzip all the way. Zipper stops about 12 inches from the bottom edge on the one side.

FYI - have a 1.0 DL WBBB with a therma rest style pad for insulation that I use between the hammock layers. I'm taller-ish (6'2") and use "long" bags - if that matters at all.

[NCPatrick]

If you're going to use a sleeping bag, you might try getting in the bag first, and then getting in the hammock...

[DuctTape]

NCpatrick gave one good hint. Another is to have the bag open before you get in the hammock. "Where your butt goes it will stay", so sit down onto the sleeping bag exactly where you want you butt to be in the bag, then swing in your legs and zip it up. There will be much less twisting etc... Even easier will be to use the bag as a topquilt.

[beep]

Using a sleeping bag requires more contortions (in my experience) than does a top quilt. For a TQ, I usually just bunch it toward the foot end of the hammock BEFORE getting into the hammock. Then, once in the hammock, it's relatively easy to put my feet in the footbox and pull the TQ up and over me.

It's a bit more complex with a sleeping bag because there's a top and a bottom. I usually just wrestle with it until the zipper is more or less where I want it, then declare victory! For me, it's a bit easier to get it all arranged if the bag is unzipped, zipping it after I'm in place.

[Ramblinrev]

I use my bag as a top quilt. Crumple it up... then stick my feet into the foot box and extend my legs. Then I roll and tuck as I desire. I gave up trying to get _into_ the sleeping bag years ago.

[Throkda]

I pretty much just use the bag as a top quilt and don't zip it up. On the rare night that I wake up feeling a bit chilly, I have my feet already wedged into the bag as a top quilt, so I just roll over on one side, tuck the bag in behind me, roll to the opposite side, untuck that part where the zipper goes, then lay back, and carefully zip it up, using my feet to add tension to help keep it straight.

[shumway]

I'd use that sleeping bag as a quilt. The 12" that doesn't unzip becomes your footbox. Stick your feet in there and drape the remainder over yourself.

[oldgringo]

No matter what you do, it's a cage match.

One thing that can help, is some sort of shock cord arrangement that holds the head end of the bag in the approximate position you want it to end up.

[raiffnuke]

I use my bag as a top quilt. Crumple it up... then stick my feet into the foot box and extend my legs. Then I roll and tuck as I desire. I gave up trying to get _into_ the sleeping bag years ago.

+1 for use as a topquilt. Much easier!

[thatguyjeff]

Thanks all. Good tips here.