a compact lay

[turk]

I have been doing some experimenting ....
with odd dimensioned hammocks.

What is the shortest ridge line you've managed to lay comfortably in ?

I have found that in severely shortening the ridgeline, extreme hammock
width becomes a necessity. In turn you have to lay on a more severe
diagonal, 40+ degrees off axis. This does really weird things to gathered
end hammocks. I have been playing with old cotton king size bed sheets
and actually cutting away loose fabric while laying in the hammock.
Hopefully this will serve as a template later. amazingly sleeping in the
fetal positing is really comfortable this way.

I am down to a 78" structural ridgeline, in a hammock that is 100" long
and varies from 70 to 78" wide.
(i am 5ft 10") the sweet spot hits just past 45 deg when i swing my legs to
the diagonal. Its a nice side sleepers hammock.

I had a long nap in it and felt great. but first full night left me with
some torso twist and lower back pain.

still I think I am on to something. .... short and stubby super wide
hammocks could be the next big trend


anyone else play with really wide, short hammocks? Is there some secret
gathering and whipping technique to work with almost square pieces of fabric.


(sorry typo in my measuring. its corrected now just measured again)

[SlowBro]

If you make it wide enough and sleep perpendicular to the ridgeline you will have re-created a form of the bridge hammock, I think.

-SlowBro

[Brian]

I think I would prefer a longer, narrower setup rather than a short/sweet one - I tend to slide up and down more during the night rather than side to side. As long as there is enough width to get me flat, I'm happy

[GrizzlyAdams]

If you make it wide enough and sleep perpendicular to the ridgeline you will have re-created a form of the bridge hammock, I think.

-SlowBro

called a Mayan hammock!

Actually though, the more pronounced the angle, the wider the spread you'll need with the tarp, same issue with the bridge hammock, with the difference being the height at which the wideness occurs.

must be someone around here who could compute exactly what angle you'd lay at to be equivalent in tarp pitch requirements to a bridge hammock with a given spreader bar width

Grizz

[headchange4u]

must be someone around here who could compute exactly what angle you'd lay at to be equivalent in tarp pitch requirements to a bridge hammock with a given spreader bar width

Grizz

It would have to be somebody that is very good at that kind of math that has lots of letters and squiggly marks. I know one of the members here is really good at that sort of stuff......can't remember who....right on the tip of my tongue.....

[Chrisp70]

I understand the torso twist. When I drag to much gear into my hammock I try to get away from it and usually lay on my side in retreat. My 100 lbs wife pushes me to the edge of the bed.

[greggg3]

Turk, I've messed around with the following concept some when I was trying to figure out how to do belly sleeping in a hammock: make the hammock really wide like you're talking about (I didn't go super short like you're talking but probably could have with no penalty), then when you tie the ends, instead of pulling the edges out longer, pull the middle out longer. Then tie it really loose and lay at a super steep angle, almost perpendicular to the suspension lines. By doing this you can get the middle to almost higher than the edges, so I could lay on my belly with no banana shape, downside is shoulder squeeze and how to rig the tarp. Then later you all showed my how to do the same type thing with the bridge, which has less shoulder squeeze if you use wide spreader bars, down side of that is rubbing on the tarp.

[turk]

Thanks Greggg3!!! i am going to try that little fabric trick and see how
it affects the lay right now!

[Narwhalin]

I have been thinking about this for awhile now, especially after seeing a baby hammock like this:

http://www.becomingdomestic.co.uk/wp.../09/moffi1.jpg

I think you would need a tarp that could get wide and still provide good coverage, though. This is what I cannot figure out in my head...how to keep the weight down on such a tarp.

[froldt]

I like the idea of a short & wide hammock for use when hanging from a single support. A rope from a single support and some spreader bars to create room. All the comfort, only one support needed (though a horizontal one that would bear 100% of the weight).

If you make it wide enough and sleep perpendicular to the ridgeline you will have re-created a form of the bridge hammock, I think.

This is the same conclusion that I came up with. I have toyed with the idea of making a short & wide hammock. Taken to the extreme, you end up with a 3' (long) hammock that is 6' 6"' (wide). Isn't this basically a bridge (or would be most efficient as one)?