Tweet (tweak) of a Blackbird

[drifter]

Home from work to find a package from Brandon, oh happy days. Ordered it without straps as I use a SLS. Have some hooks in the workroom (not for hanging in, just setting up to see how stuff looks) So I put some loopies on the ends that gave it about a 4 in. higher foot end. My first day off work its out to the yard to try it out. Strung it up between two perfect trees, staked out the two sides then stepped back for a look. Oh yea! Climbed in, swung my feet into the foot box, laid back for just a second, no, foot end needs to be a little higher. Gave the head end a 3 in. longer loop, no, needs more, then more and more again. When I finally stopped the foot was at least 16 in. over the head. When you stand back and look at it you think, that just can’t be right. But that’s what felt best! OK, let’s slide in there for a little celebration nap. Calf ridge!!! Squirmed around a little, no that didn’t help, pulled myself up to the head a little more, no, still there. Lets tweak the suspension to give the ridgeline a little bit of slack, maybe its too long. Added a temporary binner to each end. More squirming, more shifting still not it. More slack to the ridgeline, again and again, no and no! The situation is getting worst with a bad lay now and still have the calf ridge. Alright let’s go the other direction. So I removed the ridgeline from one end and passed a line thru its loop so I could pull it back thru the hole and started VERY SLOWLEY increasing ridge length. The problem here is that the netting is tailored so close you will get less than 2 in. more before all the slack in the netting is gone. Was not going any farther as to put any tension on the net, and the calf problem is still there. WHAT THE HECK!!! So I went back to square one, ridge line back on and binners off. Started giving consideration to re-whipping the foot end but was afraid that might open a can of worms that I couldn’t get the lid back on. Dug thru the gear storage room till I found that blowup pillow from the ground dwelling days I had used for lumbar support. Blew it up just enough for contour over the ridge. Well this will work for now but, there must be a way to fix this. Has anyone done a posting on this problem that I haven’t found yet?

[Ratdog]

My experience, after 30 days in a wbbb.
Start with the setup Brandon describes;
Leave the ridgeline as is, enough slack so you can flex it a bit, not guitar string tight.
Foot end a couple inches higher, not 16.

Calf ridge,here's what worked for me;
Lay on the diagonal, get feet comfortable, then using left foot, move leg to the left side of the hammock and press your heel into the material and sweep right.

This moves the fabric, and smoothes out any ridge created by your butt depression.

I found that doing this then slightly repositioning your body if needed, yielded an incredibly flat lie. The only exception would be minor right knee hyperextension which is cured by stuffing some clothing under the knee.

Again, I am not nearly as experienced as many folks on this site, just have spent the last 4 weeks sleeping in a wbbb and am not sure when/if I am going back into the house again to sleep.

[drifter]

Thanks for the feed back Ratdog, I agree with the method of sweeping your foot across to spread it out. I have to do that in my SB Pro to get it to balance out correctly. But for what ever reason the BB doesn’t want to respond to this process. I’ve purchased a much better lighter weight material blow up pillow that’s more rectangular to replace that old small square one I tried it out with. It made it more comfortable as I didn’t have to try and keep my legs together to stay on it. But I’m still going to keep working on it!

[dabryant]

I'm having the same issue with my new XLC. Slept in it 5 nights, only had one night I was actually able to get any sleep. Like the op I have tried adjusting everything. I have also tried moving myself all around inside the hammock. I can't get rid of the calf ridge and pressure on my heels. The only night I was able to get any sleep I had a big pillow under my legs to cover up the calf ridge. Going to watch this thread and keep my fingers crossed for a fix.

[drifter]

I’m not an idiot, I’m just a guy. Although my wife says they go hand in hand. And in this case I don’t have a leg to stand on in defense. What I’m referring to is that little slip of paper that came with the hammock called “INSTRUCTIONS”. I’m not saying I didn’t read it (not all the way thru anyway) because the first sentence reads “Never leave the hammock in direct sunlight” so I just thought the rest was more common since stuff! You know, like remove sharp objects, don’t cook inside the hammock, things we all know. Well go to the bottom of the page, where is says “TIP”!!! I had a complete misunderstanding of the term “FOOT BOX” and I kept sticking my feet too far up in it. What gave me the best understanding was setting up my other hammock next to it so that I could step out of one and into the other (I have a lot of trees). The extra clearance, referred to as a foot box just simply allows your feet to lay in their natural “\ /” unobstructed, rather than being bound by the sides in a regular gathered end hammock. So in order to avoid having a calf ridge, simply follow the instructions. Imagine that. But then again, I am a man and who needs instructions.