Can't get flat lie in Thunderbird

[RubiconJK]

Come on down RheaP, I'll be in the shop this evening and you can put my Thunderbird in the shade and spend some time in it.

[Lazy Lightning]

Ive read through this thread now 3 times which has me rethinking my order I just placed. I have time to spend more hours in my friends TB to judge.

I hope you were hanging comfortably for the hours it must have taken to read this thread thrice!

I'll be interested to hear what you think of RubiconJK's 10' Tbird.

[RheaP]

I hope you were hanging comfortably for the hours it must have taken to read this thread thrice!

I'll be interested to hear what you think of RubiconJK's 10' Tbird.

Well given that the Eno's are actually only 9'4" and I've had nothing but good nights rest in them I don't see how a 10 with full fabric width will have any short falls. My friends TB is also the 1.1/1.0 double layer and the short time I have spent in it I thought there was very little stretch even with my 230 pounds compared to an Eno. In a bed i'm a lifetime stomach sleeper and have experienced zero problems transitioning into a back sleeper for hammocks. For whatever reason the whole figure four thing just seems like the natural way to lay for me but no problems laying any other way.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to go to his place and lay for an hour or so in his TB to get a better feel for it to make up my mind.

[Isomalt]

When I read this thread I got pretty nervous about the lay of the tbird 10' I had in the mail. I'm 6' 140lbs and saw a lot of people around that height preferring 11'.

I hung my hammock today and spent a few hours in it and as completely comfortable. I was able to lay 98% flat and was even more comfortable laying figure four. I have yet to spend a night in it, but that will be soon!

Moral of the story, if you ordered a 10', don't get too scared by this thread!

[BillyBob58]

Yeah, I should've gone with the 11' I guess. As I mentioned, the Eno I'm comfortable in is 9.5 ' so I figured 6" longer would be even better.

Well, I'm too late getting here you have already figured out what you are going to do. Still, as I always do, I wanted to say one of the flattest laying non-bridge hammocks I have used is the 10 ft long, 48" wide Claytor No Net ( I am 6'1" 210 lbs). I have an 11 ft hammock and it is great, but I can't really say it is 1 bit more comfy than that Claytor. IOW, there are a whole lot of variables to this hammock stuff, which I think includes the individual laying in the hammock.

Plus, with that foot squeeze problem you have, have you tried raising the foot end 1/2 or even 1+ feet?

Hopefully you find an answer to your problem.

I will point out an amusing thought - 4 years ago when I joined Hammockforums, pretty much no one was making an 11' hammock. The regular old 10' Blackbird was the bees knees - the hammock that everyone suggested you get, if you wanted to have the best night sleep. If someone had an issue with comfort, the battle cry was "add a ridge line", as if that alone would solve all one's troubles.

Fast forward a few years, and the war cry is "get an 11' hammock". Can't get a comfortable lay the first time out? Should have bought an 11 footer. Looking for an upgrade from your ENO? 11 feet is the way to go. You're 5 feet tall, 150 pounds, and looking for your first hammock? You just have to get a WBBB XLC, or an 11' Dream Hammock.

Don't get me wrong - I have an 11' hammock and love it. I bought it from PapaSmurf, and he was a pleasure to work with. And I'm over simplifying and being silly at the same time. All I'm saying is that plenty of people your height and weight, or mine, got a great night's sleep for years with 10 foot long, 60-63 inch wide hammocks - they found a way to tweak what they had and make it work for them. So give your Dream Hammock a little time, keep experimenting, and maybe you'll find a sweet spot. If not, you can always sell it and get a larger one, and probably not lose too much in the deal - maybe that will truly be the answer to your search for comfort. It's a personal thing, and everyone has to find what makes them the most comfortable. There certainly are a lot more choices out there to experiment with.

Happy Hanging.

Exactly! And there were a few years when a majority of folks were blissful in their HH hammocks, and most of the ones who were not were tickled in their 8.5 ft Speer hammocks! Now I bet these are down to a fan base of less than 10%.

When I read this thread I got pretty nervous about the lay of the tbird 10' I had in the mail. I'm 6' 140lbs and saw a lot of people around that height preferring 11'.

I hung my hammock today and spent a few hours in it and as completely comfortable. I was able to lay 98% flat and was even more comfortable laying figure four. I have yet to spend a night in it, but that will be soon!

Moral of the story, if you ordered a 10', don't get too scared by this thread!

Yep!