I was messing with my ridge line today and it occurred to me, how much sag is too much? I understand the consequences of hanging it too tight because I've experienced it, but what happens if you hang it too lose?
Obviously if the ends of your hammock are 2 feet apart your ankles will be behind your ears... but at some point prior to that it becomes too much sag but less dramatically so. What does that feel like?
I played around with this a little while ago. I found that the more sag I had on a old cheap hammock the flatter I could lay. But only until the point where I was on that much of a angle that my head and feet were on the edges of the hammock
It was not that practical but I think the whole angles thing sunk in after that experiment
Last edited by Lepmeister; 09-07-2011 at 05:09.
After I had my first hammock out a few times, I got the bright idea (from these forums) to make an adjustable ridgeline and experiment. My hammock was a WBBB. Well, I started with a long ridgeline, layed in the hammock, got out, shortened the it just a little, got back in..... As I kept doing this, the hammock became more comfortable, until at some point, it was becoming less comfortable. So, I backed off on the ridgeline until I found that sweet spot again.
Finally, I got out the tape measure to see what my "perfect" ridgeline length was - it was exactly the same as the stock ridgeline that came on the WBBB. At that point, I was convinced that Brandon knows what he's doing!!
Mike
"Life is a Project!"
Mine was the same... I found that in the wwbb it just came down the getting the ridge line loose enough to twist vertical over a couple of inches.Originally Posted by MAD777
Ah I see. The more sag, the greater the angle you need to lie flat. That makes sense. Also I guess there are other factors when the hammock is asymmetrical.
Gra Factor - Picture a hammock that is 6 feet long and 6 or 7 feet wide at the middle. Then picture that hammock hanging with the ends just 2 or 3 feet apart. The ends are hung high enough to keep the hammock off the ground, say 5 feet high. If you lie in that hammock at 90* to the length axis, you will lie flat because you will essentially be at the bottom of a bag that is 6 or 7 feet wide. Of course, you won't have any room to put your arms out or be able spread your knees apart as the tall sides will cocoon you.
With an asymetrical hammock, the axis for a flat lay is forced away from 90* and toward the long axis of the asymetry.
OK all you physics and math people out there...did I state this mind experiment correctly?
If you hang how you described at first, you will NOT be flat. You will be banana-shaped. Because your hammocks end is gathered, the fabric beneath you will curve up in an arc because the distance between the edges and the suspension attachment point must stay the same. Did I explain that clearly?
"You can fight, fight without ever winning,
But you can never, ever win without a fight"
-Rush
Yup. That's right. The edges would have to be longer than the middle for my scenario to be correct. Oh well,
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