Hanging Failures? Guide for rookies?

[JPsax]

pack and un pack and set up and tear down MANY times. It engraves the checklist of things to do in your brain so when you set up and have this feeling of something isnt right....then for sure something isnt right and youll be able to get at it.

If you can take a small piece of wally world tarp or other compact waterproof material in a rectangle shape and put it under you. You can place things there without them getting wet, and your feet will be dry when they hit the ground.

an inspection of all your gear should be something you do before you head out so you know nothing will give out.

and look out for coconuts....true story (this goes with widow makers)

[dragon360]

Empty your bladder before you crawl in, half asleep and needing to answer nature's call is not the time to try and figure out how you're supose to exit your hammock.

So true and great mental image.

[shumway]

My important tip: Learn to estimate distance between trees. On the trip I just finished, one night was pretty rough because my trees were too close together (approx 12 feet). The result was I couldn't lay flat enough in the hammock. Less critical but also annoying was that I had trouble getting my tarp ridge line tied up with enough space to stretch the tarp fully along its length. I didn't get wet with the rain so I guess it was set up good enough. From that night on I tried to locate trees with about 15' spacing.

Bottom insulation already mentioned but I'll reinforce the importance. It doesn't take long for the cold to come through the hammock fabric. For top insulation, don't hesitate to use a sleeping bag. You don't need to spend a ton of money on custom top quilts to start out. Just don't try to get into the sleeping bag in the hammock. Unzip it and drape it over yourself like a blanket. Much Much easier, and plenty warm as long as your bottom insulation is sufficient.

[JPsax]

My important tip: Learn to estimate distance between trees. On the trip I just finished, one night was pretty rough because my trees were too close together (approx 12 feet). The result was I couldn't lay flat enough in the hammock. Less critical but also annoying was that I had trouble getting my tarp ridge line tied up with enough space to stretch the tarp fully along its length. I didn't get wet with the rain so I guess it was set up good enough. From that night on I tried to locate trees with about 15' spacing.

Bottom insulation already mentioned but I'll reinforce the importance. It doesn't take long for the cold to come through the hammock fabric. For top insulation, don't hesitate to use a sleeping bag. You don't need to spend a ton of money on custom top quilts to start out. Just don't try to get into the sleeping bag in the hammock. Unzip it and drape it over yourself like a blanket. Much Much easier, and plenty warm as long as your bottom insulation is sufficient.

+1 on the distance thing for sure

[Mickey.223]

My advice for hammocking is the same for golf...to make it as easy on yourself as possible.

In the beginning, don't go out to somewhere strange, new or exciting. Go some place you know and know well. Go during good conditions. Go in low wind. Learn to set up, dial in, and tear down during these outings. Learn how it's supposed to be, and more importantly, how to get your rig there. This gives you a baseline from which to judge future hangs or experiments.

Once you've got that down (based upon own fuzzy-factor), then go out somewhere new, exciting, and even in mild to bad weather. This is where you learn how to be flexible, how to deal with "less than ideal" situations, and you can tell if you've adapted to the situation well enough...based upon how close you match your rig setup to your "baseline". IMHO, there's no sense trying to tackle this if you don't have your baseline.

Just my advice and what worked for me. Every time I push my comfort zone, I judge my performance against my "baseline".

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Mickey
"Hang High, Hang Tight, Hang Often..."

[SteelerNation]

When your pillow falls off of your hammock into your wrap-around bug net, don't get careless about how far you continue to reach under the hammock for said pillow. . .

That said, if you find yourself laying on the ground under your hammock but inside your wrap-around bug net in the middle of the night move as quietly as possible to unzip the opening to your wrap-around bug net so that your fellow camping buddies are not awakened. . .

These hypothetical examples are just silly. . . .

SN

[bgraybackpacker]

That said, if you find yourself laying on the ground under your hammock but inside your wrap-around bug net in the middle of the night move as quietly as possible to unzip the opening to your wrap-around bug net so that your fellow camping buddies are not awakened. . .

These hypothetical examples are just silly. . . .

SN

My Step son did that same thing on his first backpacking trip and hang. However he was not quite about it.

[Yakfoot]

The first night my body whined most of the night that the whole hammock thing was perfectly absurd, uncomfortable, unworkable and thoroughly bad in many ways. It was just being paranoid and wanted to continue subscribing to the status quo. I didn't listen, pressed on, got both ends of the hammock level, etc. Soon everything was fine, very fine.

[obmit]

On gathered end hammocks, pitch the head end a few inches below the foot end. This will keep you from sliding down during the night. I had a couple of really bad nights until I figured this little trick out.

[Rain Man]

Another "mistake" is losing tent stakes. You might want to paint them a bright color. Helps me a lot.

Also remember this. A line or piece of gear may have a weight rating. Do NOT think that rating works one-for-one to your weight. As in, don't think a 300 lb line or carabiner will hold a 250 lb hiker, with 50 lbs to spare. It doesn't work that way. Several good threads on here discuss the matter.

Rain Man

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