Assessment of approach, equipment recommendation

[wayover13]

Yeah, it dawned on me after I made my last post that the added rigging at the ends of the hammock would likely be needed so as to find the right tension adjustment. I also had considered that setting it up outside initially might be warranted so as to get a better idea of how I might set it up indoors: I might be able to find, or to make, a space longer than 10' 8". To do an overnight sleep test it would have to be inside due to the lack of bug protection on this initial, experimental hammock, though.

You've sort of touched on another thing I've been wondering about and considering maybe creating a thread about--namely, whether anyone here sleeps in a hammock in their home rather than sleeping in a bed. I read a hammock review on Amazon where an elderly lady was claiming she'd gotten rid of her bed and taken to sleeping in a hammock in her home due to the much sounder sleep she got in it. All kind of other questions could follow, e.g., what sorts of hammocks are people using in the home, and so forth. Are there any already-existing threads on that topic?

[Ramblinrev]

whether anyone here sleeps in a hammock in their home rather than sleeping in a bed.

I was a 365 sleeper for a while. Lots of us on here are. The long and the short of it is my wife felt abandoned when I went to the hammock. That's not good. So I went back. But If I was to end up alone I would very seriously think about going back to a hammock in the house.

[SilvrSurfr]

Yeah, it dawned on me after I made my last post that the added rigging at the ends of the hammock would likely be needed so as to find the right tension adjustment. I also had considered that setting it up outside initially might be warranted so as to get a better idea of how I might set it up indoors: I might be able to find, or to make, a space longer than 10' 8". To do an overnight sleep test it would have to be inside due to the lack of bug protection on this initial, experimental hammock, though.

You've sort of touched on another thing I've been wondering about and considering maybe creating a thread about--namely, whether anyone here sleeps in a hammock in their home rather than sleeping in a bed. I read a hammock review on Amazon where an elderly lady was claiming she'd gotten rid of her bed and taken to sleeping in a hammock in her home due to the much sounder sleep she got in it. All kind of other questions could follow, e.g., what sorts of hammocks are people using in the home, and so forth. Are there any already-existing threads on that topic?

Tons of threads on sleeping inside full-time. There are a lot of full-time hangers. I've been sleeping occasionally indoors for the last couple of years but an irritated sciatica nerve has put me full-time in the hammock for the last three weeks. I use a tablecloth hammock with just soft shackles to connect to eye rings screwed into the ceiling joists, but they're not 8 ft. ceilings (4 ft. stepwall transitioning to eight ft. ceiling and the eye-bolts are about 5 ft. high, so hammock is about 18 inches off the ground, as far as I'm willing to fall).

As I mentioned before, the indoor geometry of hanging is not a good place for beginners to start. Lack of bug protection is easily remedied by buying (you guessed it!) either a hammock with a bugnet or an independent bugnet.

[FLRider]

I'll chime in here with the rest of the folks. Yes, your idea of a cheap hammock to try it out is a good idea. Personally, I'd purchase some cheap 2nds fabric and play with the dimensions and such until I was happy with the thing if I were you. Definitely look at whoopie slings as a suspension, if you're going to be biking in temperatures above freezing (gloves are less fun with whoopies than you might think): they're the least bulky common option for suspension and are also the cheapest to make. Either way, you'll definitely want a way to adjust the hang on the hammock. 10' 8" might be a bit short for an hang, as mentioned; trees in your backyard are going to be easiest, followed closely by a Turtledog stand.

I've found that my height + 5' is about the ideal length, post-hemming and -gathering, for an hammock for me. I'm 6', which means my DIY hammocks are ~11' long. I've also played with the width, and I've found that ~55" to 56", finished, is about the right width for me. I prefer 1.4 oz/sq yd ripstop nylon as a fabric for its stretch-to-weight factor (it stretches just enough at my weight--which fluctuates from ~185 to ~200 lbs depending on training--to provide a nice lie and an head pocket that obviates the need for a pillow for me). At 210, it should still be about right for you: I've found 1.1 oz/sq yd to be about right when I'm at my lighter weights but less comfortable when I'm heavier.

If you do decide to go this route, take a good look at down quilts as a way to save bulk on the bike; I know that they've made a big difference for me in cooler weather. In warmer weather, I do a couple of screwy things that are outside of the general preference here for insulation, but I've managed to get my >40* system (including everything but food for hiking) packed down below ~30 L. That's not including tubes and tools for the bike, though; figure your normal volume for those.

Hope it helps!

[TallPaul]

If you can find a group hang, I'd highly recommend it.
That's how I started... Didn't know a soul and arrived with my tent and a lot of questions.
Think of it as a Cliff Notes version of this site. (Hmmm, I wonder if they even have Cliff Notes anymore).

[cjayflo]

I started off with never having even walked past a sewing machine. I found some seconds at a fabric store, figured out how to sew the ends, and then I made a gathered end hammock. You can skip the whoopies and go with straps instead. If you can sew a hammock body you can sew a bar tack. Its a fun journey figuring out what you like. Attending a hang was one of the best things I did. Seeing how people having things set up. Seeing how the DIY crowd does it Vs buying a manufactured hammock. Everyone was kind enough to answer my questions and many can hammockers eat!

[wayover13]

Ok, Lesson one of who knows how many yet to come. A bridge hammock, which has been mentioned above (but which, prior to some research I did today, I did not really know what it was) looks like a much better choice to set up indoors. At least from the looks of it, this design should more readily fit into a shorter space. The problems with that design for my purposes are that 1) it is much more complex to make one of these, and 2) there are no cheap pre-made models out there for testing scenarios. The brief research I did on that latter point reveals that the cheapest are northward of $150.

A somewhat related question: is the Clark vertex--which I was investigating previously--a bridge hammock design?

[SilvrSurfr]

Ok, Lesson one of who knows how many yet to come. A bridge hammock, which has been mentioned above (but which, prior to some research I did today, I did not really know what it was) looks like a much better choice to set up indoors. At least from the looks of it, this design should more readily fit into a shorter space. The problems with that design for my purposes are that 1) it is much more complex to make one of these, and 2) there are no cheap pre-made models out there for testing scenarios. The brief research I did on that latter point reveals that the cheapest are northward of $150.

A somewhat related question: is the Clark vertex--which I was investigating previously--a bridge hammock design?

The Clark Vertex is a 6 lb. behemoth meant for two people - not a bridge. One thing to remember about bridge hammocks is they generally have good resale value. Buy one, try it out. If you don't like it you can resell it on the FS forum for near what you paid for it.

[Trail Runner]

Ok, Lesson one of who knows how many yet to come. A bridge hammock, which has been mentioned above (but which, prior to some research I did today, I did not really know what it was) looks like a much better choice to set up indoors. At least from the looks of it, this design should more readily fit into a shorter space. The problems with that design for my purposes are that 1) it is much more complex to make one of these, and 2) there are no cheap pre-made models out there for testing scenarios. The brief research I did on that latter point reveals that the cheapest are northward of $150.

Warbonnet sells a single-layer netless ridgerunner for $115. And as SilvrSurfr mentioned, you could sell it here on HF for close to what you paid.