Fighting the dreaded leg ridge

[OutandBack]

I have owned most of the top brand hammocks and found the TtoT switchback 1.9 single and WL snipe 1.5 single to have no calf pressure no matter how I hang it.
Minimal fiddle factor.
I have scratched my head as to why and not come up with any good reason.
Both hammocks do not have a SRL and seem to be comfortable with angles from 20-35 degrees.

[^shane^]

BillyBob and OutAndBack beat me to the punch. Go Wilderness Logics or Tree to Tree Trail Gear. No calf ridge there.

[BillyBob58]

I have both the Warbonnet BlackBird and Traveler. Never had a "dreaded leg ridge" problem in either one.

I have owned most of the top brand hammocks and found the TtoT switchback 1.9 single and WL snipe 1.5 single to have no calf pressure no matter how I hang it.
Minimal fiddle factor.
I have scratched my head as to why and not come up with any good reason.
Both hammocks do not have a SRL and seem to be comfortable with angles from 20-35 degrees.

It is kind of funny how it works, don't you think? I spent my 1st nights hammocking in a HHEXPL UL with SS, one week in the high mountains. I had many problems on that trip, and many with the hammock, but I don't remember ever having calf problems. Maybe some slight knee hyper-extension, but don't remember pressure. As unpleasant as I find that pressure to be, I don't see how I could have missed it. Now when I use that hammock, I am aware of pressure and have to get arranged just right in order not to have it, but I can get there.

Many have reported it with the WB hammocks, some have it but can work it out, some can not ever work it out, and some never feel it. What is the variable?

I also suspect that the fabric and double pad layers have something (?) to do with it. WBG (Brandon) has reported he has none at all with single layer 1.1s.
O and B quoted above has zero problem- no matter how he hangs them- with " TtoT switchback 1.9 single and WL snipe 1.5 single". I have a single layer 1.9(?) Speer that is only 8.5 ft long, and I never have any significant calf pressure with it. I have a single layer(and huge) Safari and no problems with it.

I have the double layer WL Lite Owl, and don't yet have much experience with it yet, but I can not put it in the "NO" calf pressure category yet. It never has much, and I can always find a position where it has none or very close to none. Which puts it in the same category with my 10 ft long, narrow dbl layer Claytor No Net, maybe a very slight bit better.

For me, the closest to a bridge in this regard is still my HH Safari. I have always attributed that to the huge size of that hammock. Very long(138" ), very wide(68" between tie outs) and lots of sag ( 112"RL or .81). My theory: the ridge is in the middle. With any non-bridge, doing like OldGringo says and having my butt closer to the foot side ( on the diagonal) puts my calf further from the center. Moving my body closer to the head side puts my calf closer to the center ridge. So the Safari with it's huge dimensions and tons of sag allows me to get my calf far away from the center ridge with room to spare. So, no ridge/calf pressure.

That has been my theory anyway, but maybe it's single layer also has something to do with it. Who knows?

[MotoBoss]

Being 6' 3" and 235 I have a WBBB 1.7 dlb and, although being semi new to hammocks, have never experienced the "calf ridge".
Maybe I'm just lucky

[MAD777]

When experimenting with hammocks I've made, I string them up tight with a long adjustable ridgeline. The calf pressure is pronounced Then I start shortening the ridgeline bit by bit. As soon as the calf ridge disappears, I know I have it dialed in. If I continue to shorten the ridgeline, I get a lot of sag in the hammock and feel that I'm not supported very well.

BTW, I sleep the opposite of point #3 in the original post and find that more to my liking.
Who knows?

[DemostiX]

So in my time here and my time in the hammock I've learned a few things about how to decrease the discomfort of the ridge which seems to always run across my calves when laying in a gathered end hammock.

<snip>
[*]4. Use a small pillow or stuff sack of clothing under your legs. You want something that is soft enough to absorb the ridge but still provide plenty of support to your legs.[/LIST]

What have you come up with to defeat the ridge?

I was thinking this PM of fixing in the right location, with buttons snaps or hook and loop, a 5oz Climashield pillow to address the ridge and the need for an internal insulation complement to the partial UQ. Don't want to thread hijack. But both of these might be addressed with the same solution. Not to mention also solving complaints about the pad or pillow drifting during use. All at once.

[RedBeardHanger]

I usually start off on my back or side with little leg ridge, and sometime during the night end up in the fetal position. If I do get some ridge I just lay a little more on the diagonal and I’m good…

[jons4real]

I moved into a hammock that's like 11.5 ft. Now sure haven't measured it. Holy crap does a longer lay help with that.

[jons4real]

Honesty I think a persons width had more to do with this than there length. Imho

[packeagle]

I have both the Warbonnet BlackBird and Traveler. Never had a "dreaded leg ridge" problem in either one.

I find the ridge in my wbbb the worst of the three hammocks ive tried. Its all relative i guess.