Sorry you are having a hard time. Since we are all different it's certainly not for everyone. Trying laying more towards the shelf. I find laying more towards the shelf and towards the head end to be comfortable.Originally Posted by markr6
Sorry you are having a hard time. Since we are all different it's certainly not for everyone. Trying laying more towards the shelf. I find laying more towards the shelf and towards the head end to be comfortable.
Don't let life get in the way of living.
My experience is exactly the same as Adk Keith's! When my WBBB is at it's super most comfortablest, the ridge line is actually a bit floppy for me. I take the slack out of the ride line by using a pruisik knotted piece of shock cord. The only time I've had heal pressure was when I strung the ridge line guitar string tight, that's way too taut.
Again, you guys are AMAZING! Your sincere desire to help is the ultimate motivator. In any other forum on the Internet I would have gotten the usual smart remarks like "geez buddy, apparently you dont like hammocks why dont you just use your tent instead of complaining all the time". Of course I didn't expect anything like that here.
I just got in from a nice cozy 8-hour sleep in my back yard. I think I only woke up once!
FYI, here are the only changes I made and some info:
1. Same temp as most other tests I've done - 36° low, PC/light wind
2. Originally it was supposed to hit 30° so I wore Capilene 4 top/bottom long underwear and Baffin down booties.
3. Used a 20"x20" piece of mylar windshield shade as a precaution under my butt-mid back. This may have made all the difference. It gave the hammock the slightest bit of stiffness to where I didn't even notice the ridge under my knee. It smoothed out the fabric and just felt more stable so I could reposition easier.
4. I put a black tshirt over my head down to my nose because once it's light I won't fall back to sleep if I wake up. I'll browse amazon.com for a nice sleep mask which will work even better by not shifting and giving better coverage
5. I woke up around 5am to put in earplugs. I never needed these camping but with people driving around the neighborhood and dogs barking they really helped.
6. I loosened up the foot end a bit
Hopefully this is a step in getting it right everytime. Thanks again everyone!
What? Are you kidding? WhooHoo! At least now you know that you CAN get er done in the WBBB, now you just have to be able to make it a repeatable set-up and experience.
Glad to hear this!
Glad you figured it out. This is pretty much always what causes uncomfortableness for me. If it's loose, it's dreamy. I find that a really loose ridge line and diagonal lay alleviates any lower leg pressures.
IMO, hanging the foot end higher on the BB is completely essential. The only time I have ever felt any type of discomfort is by not doing so...it will give you the ridge and what not. Let me ask one question, how far are you into the footbox? The bottom of your feet aren't touching the fabric are they? I have had numerous friends try my BB in the backyard, and after explaining the footbox concept to them, they immediately try to get as far into it as possible...which is wrong. One reason to hang your foot end higher is to make sure that doesn't happen. This has just been my experience, YMMV...
try making the hang of the hammock much looser, foot end higher and MOST importantly move your body further "up hammock" (head end) and to the left. Assumes you have a left side zipper. This puts your body in the "sweet spot". laying "across hammock" with just your heals hanging over the "stretch" part of the of the hammock. this allows just your feet to hang over the stretch/bowed part of the bottom of your hammock. right now you are too far "down hammock" toward the foot end putting yor calves on the stretch leaving more of your leg weight to to put pressure on the heals of your feet. "Up", "across" & "down hammock" are now copyrighted and trade marked Tikhon - " The Tree Dweller" technical mumbo jumbo. it will take some fiddling but once you find the sweet spot you'll be glad you took the time. I hope this helps!! Tikhon - Out!
A little position check that I do periodically once I'm in a good diagonal lay is to reach with my right arm over my head to the gathered end, if I can wrap the palm of my hand around it then I'm where I like to be. After that I can make side to side adjustments as necessary to hit the sweet spot(s).
David
I'm not very far into the footbox at all. I do find it more comfortable moving up towards the head end. At first I thought I was doing something wrong by "not using" the footbox - the loose fabric just sorta hung there over my feet which seemed wrong, but it's much more comfortable.
revisiting my wbbb, and getting to know it again... i had some pretty bad heel pressure this past weekend.
chalk it up to a weird hang angle, maybe too much , too little. any tiny variable will likely explain it.
i too, think 'falling' into to the footbox by being to far down in the hammock also
creates a lot of ridge/pressure , at least for smaller guys. (5'8"). i also find a pad to help, too, just as the OP mentions.
no hmmk is perfect... next time i'll be more judicious about finding comfort before crawling in for the night.
C O N G R A T S on discovering some comfort though.
any day above ground is a good day
"Jeff-Becking"
DOWNTOWN BROWN!!!!
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