Troubles With Lawson Blue Ridge Camping Hammock

[Br@nch]

Hey everyone. I've been lurking around for a while reading all I can about my new found (and somewhat strange) obsession with hammocks! I have gained an enormous amount of information from this site and its awesome members. I'd like to throw some information out there regarding my current setup, and look forward to reading the replies.

As I'm sure many before me have done, I jumped in to camping hammocks and I "thought I knew" exactly what I wanted in a hammock. I frequented this sight some before I bought my hammock, but I relied more on reviews from Amazon than I should have. I am 6 ft tall, 175 lbs and have somewhat of a bad back. I read numerous raving reviews about how "nice and flat" the lay was in a LBRCH, which is what drew me to it. I am a side/stomach sleeper so I naturally gravitated to something that was touted as a flat lay hammock.

Upon arrival, I quickly set it up (per the instructions), all to quickly realize the lay was not near flat enough for me to sleep on my side/stomach. I also noted the hammock was extremely tippy. Now, the instructions say to set the hammock up "taut", which I did. Because of this, the center of gravity was so high, I couldn't lay in it without feeling like I was going to be dumped on the ground if I took the slightest breath.

That's when I decided to join this awesome forum to read all I could about hammocks and hopefully figure out what i was doing wrong. While researching hammocks, I also came across "The Ultimate Hang" book and read it in one evening. I must say I learned an enormous amount of info from this book and I highly recommend it to anyone new to hammocks. Because of the design, description and advertisement of the LBRCH, I didn't think a diagonal lay applied to this type of hammock. I now know hanging it "taut" is what you CAN'T do in order to get a flatter lay. I do not want to give up on my LBRCH.

So after all of my frustration, I decided to buy a regular hammock just to check it out. I bought a $16 Grand trunk hammock on Amazon. i strung it up on 30 degrees and guess what? It was way more comfortable than my $150 LBRCH! Talk about frustrated!

So yesterday, I decided to string the LBRCH up on 30 degrees to see if it helped. Doing so made a huge difference in the flatness of the lay (diagonal) and also lowered the center of gravity to the point where I no longer felt I was going to tip right over if i moved. However, I never could quite get to the comfort of my GTUL. This only leaves me wondering how much more comfortable a regular gathered end hammock would be, like Dutch sells? Or a WBBB XLC?

And I will save my under-quilt frustrations for another thread, but I never could get a regular DIY under-quilt to work right on the LBRCH. However, i strung it up under my GTUL and guess what? Yep, nice and toasty in 40 degree weather!

Before I got my DIY under-quilt finished, I also tried a couple sleeping pads with my LBRCH to fight CBS. The foam would shift around too much and the self-inflating pad was rectangle and hit the sides of the hammock while trying to lay diagonally. I put both of them in my GTUL, and once again, they worked perfectly compared to the LBRCH.

Sorry for such a long post, but I wanted to get all the info out there I could and hope for some constructive feedback. I know some old school pro's may look at the LBRCH differently as it isn't your traditional hammock. Kinda like a Honda Shadow riding with a Harley!

But seriously, I would appreciate any feedback i can get to help me either get this thing figured out, or sold! I really want to make it work, but I just don't know what else to do. I feel some strange devotion or loyalty to it...maybe because it was my first hammock, I don't know! I've seen EVERY youtube video, read every single post on this forum that has the word Lawson in it (I know alot about the lawson reflective cord now), searched blogs and everything in between looking for more info.

Thanks for reading!

[gunner76]

Many of us have gone down the same road but with different hammocks trying to find one that works. If you have not, you will find that there is no one perfect hammock for everyone.

Many of us who are side and or stomach sleepers find that we can sleep just fine in our hammocks on our back. Just remember to make sure the foot end of the hammock is several inches higher than the head end so you are not sliding towards the foot end all night.

The hammocks Dutch sells are great hammocks and so are the BlackBirds but they are two different style hammocks. At 6ft 2 and 275+ lbs I find that a 60" wide hammock like the one Dutch sells is not wide enough for someone my size. Nothing wrong with the hammock, just too narrow for me ( I do not have one of Dutch's hammocks but I did make a DL 11 ft out of his Argon 1.6, good hammock, just too narrow for me ). I have been using a a BlackBird for 5 years now and find it very comfortable and I am sure I would find the BB XLC even more comfortable as it is a foot longer. Lately I have been using a Hammeck 11ft Envy S DL that is 64+" wide and find it to be very comfortable.

There are many hammocks out there and each one has those that love them or hate them. The trick is to find the one that you feel comfortable in. Strongly recommend that you attend a group hang as you will be able to check out a variety of setups and talk to the hangers using them and ask then what they like and or dislike about the setup.

[cataraftgirl]

Finding the right hammock is indeed a process. I have tried a bunch over the past 5 years, and I think I have finally got it figured out. I learned early on that I like a wide hammock. 60 inch wide hammocks are too narrow. My first hammock was comfy, but huge at 78 inches wide. A 64 inch width is my sweet spot. Because I'm 5'5" tall, I always went with 10 foot hammocks. Now I know that an 11 footer isn't overkill, and actually got rid of any calf ridge. Next was the bug net. I tried a WBBB early on, but felt claustrophobic in it. I crossed integrated net hammocks off my list. Recently I took a chance on trying out another net hammock, and I'm fine with it this time. I got a lightly used Hammeck Netty, 11 foot, 64 wide off the For Sale Forum. Love it. So comfy. The journey to this hammock has taken awhile and cost a bit of money, but that's the way it goes.

Now.....don't even get me started on under quilts!

[hanger1]

I have a Lawson as well. I read same reviews and got the Lawson. Agree u must hang at an angle and use shock odd to hold down edges to keep from tipping. Being a type of spreader bar hammock and not a bridge hammock it is inherently tippy. To keep a pad under me I use shock coed to the four loos on the inside. This was still better than a tent. Next I got a Hennesy and as much happier. I also have a grand trunk and two enos. Now I have read on this forum and decided to get the WBBB XLC or the Dangerbird or the Sheltowee. Still learning.

[Shug]

I started with a heavy Lawson years ago. Loved it but eventually moved on. But it got me in the air))))
Shug

[Brien]

My first hammock was a Lawson too. I found using the tie-outs made it much more stable. I liked mine at about 20-25 degrees hang. I found it very comfortable. But weight and quality was the big down fall. I've since got a Ridgerunner and love it. Way better than the Lawson IMO.

[Br@nch]

Thank you all for the feedback! I'd like to get your opinions on what my next camping hammock should be. I'm 6 ft tall and weigh 175. I don't really want to spend any more than $350 on a full set up with rain fly(excluding under quilt). And weight is a factor, prefer no more than 4-5 lbs for the complete system if possible (not counting the DIY under quilt). Gathered end preferred, no bridge or spreader bar.

Thanks!

[GorOutdoors]

I also was lured to the LBRCH with all the positive reviews. I gave experienced all of your frustrations with it and wish I would have seen these reviews before buying. I've come to realize this is a warm weather hammock only for me. I have been able to hang it and sleep decently, but just not the perfect hang I was hoping for. Thinking of going to a hot tent for winter camping until I can find, and afford, the right hammock. After all you do get what you pay for and the LBRCH is a good buy at $150, but I'm still searching for my soulmate hammock.

Cheers.

Gor Outdoors


Thank you all for the feedback! I'd like to get your opinions on what my next camping hammock should be. I'm 6 ft tall and weigh 175. I don't really want to spend any more than $350 on a full set up with rain fly(excluding under quilt). And weight is a factor, prefer no more than 4-5 lbs for the complete system if possible (not counting the DIY under quilt). Gathered end preferred, no bridge or spreader bar.

Thanks!

[RickG55]

I have the Lawson myself and hung it for the first time at Lake Lila on a trip with my nephew (MotFot, here). I had sway, but nothing I considered tippy, and that was without tying the corners. My problem with the Lawson was that the strings that connected to the spreader bar didn't seem to be even length, because the hammock actually pulled to the left (would have been towards the entry door, the way I was laying) to the point where I would wake up piled up against the netting. I fixed it by pulling the outside left corner of the two spreader bars tighter, towards the ring, and wrapping some rope around the string between the spreader bars and the hammock body to prevent the spreader bars from sliding back down. Much better. I used a Mt. Washington UQ and it was an almost perfect fit. I slept warm and comfortable on my side and back the rest of the trip. I contacted Lawson when I got back, and was told that they hadn't heard of that problem before, but it should be easy to fix by re-tying the outside corners of the spreader bars. I haven't had the chance to do that and test it yet. But I also ordered the Ridgerunner and the Lynx UQ, because my wife has decided she wants to hang as well.

The weight of the hammock isn't really an issue, because I canoe camp almost exclusively. One mod I did make was to replace the Lawson rainfly with the Superfly tarp, because it appeared to me that the Lawson rainfly wouldn't protect the UQ in the even of rain.

The other mistake I made was reading a zombie novel on my Kindle before going to sleep. When I turned the Kindle off, it was pitch black, and the rustling of small mammals through the leaves just about caused me to launch from the hammock. :scared:

[hanger1]

I started with a Lawson Hamic. I quickly moved onto the Hennessey. It was much more stable. I found I could lie just is flat in the gathered in Hamic as with the Lawson. Now I use blackbird XLC. With the blackbird XLC and warbonnet under quilt it has the same advantages of a Sheltoese but lighter. Spreader bar Hamic’s are definitely less stable. If I gathered in Hamic does not suits your needs, try the war bonnet ridge runner or a bridge Hamic. When I started Hamic camping I simply wanted someone to tell me the best Hamic. As most experience Hamic campers on this form have said on multiple sites there is no ideal Hamic. What’s comfortable and fits you may not be comfortable and fit another person.

[KiwiMark]

I started with a cheap double nest parachute nylon hammock (about twenty bucks) and it was OK except it was a bit stretchy and when I sunk into it I got a bit of 'shoulder squeeze'. But it was enough to determine that I did indeed find hammocks much more comfortable than tents.

Since then I've bought a Warbonnet Blackbird XLC, Warbonnet Ridge Runner and a Dream Hammock Sparrow, all are better than the cheapie I started with and so far I'm leaning toward the DH Sparrow as my favourite. The Ridge Runner is good in some ways - giving a flat lay without needing to lay diagonal, no shoulder squeeze or calf ridge, but it does feel a bit narrow and I can't curl up comfortably. The WB BB XLC would be a fairly close second to the DH Sparrow, definitely a good hammock and very comfortable when you get it set up right.

I'm now a big fan of the cottage industry manufacturers and intend to stick with them in preference to the mass produced commercially made products.

[ccolclou]

Hey, if you like the Grand Trunk you have, keep it! I started with that and now use a Dutch, but I felt like I sank too much and the seams were annoying in the Grand Trunk. I don't know that I would say the Dutch hammock I have is any more inherently comfortable than the Grand Trunk - all they are is a rectangular strip of fabric, gathered at each end - but I know those two things annoyed me about the Grand Trunk and are not present in my Dutch, so for me, it is better.
If that doesn't bother you though, I don't think another hammock will be "better". Whatever works for you is the best hammock for you.
Try out a group hang and sample some others for free before you decide if you need to buy a "better" hammock.
And happy hanging!

[JustBeHere]

I have 4 different Hammocks. I enjoy the Lawson BRH because I can see out of it and watch the world around me while I drift off to sleep. Other hammocks curl up around me so much that my view is obstructed. All of my hammocks took time to get used to. There’s a learning curve with each one. But the Lawson allowed me a nice flat lay (I’m a side sleeper), and a beautiful view out of it at the same time (without the rain fly on). I’ve had no trouble with using an under quilt or pads any more than other hammocks, so I can’t speak to that. But the VIEEW!!! That’s what I’m talking about! I miss that view when I’m in my other hammocks. I think the Lawson is just about the most perfect hammock system out there really. It comes complete with everything to keep you dry and happy. Being able to go to ground is a plus, just in case there are no trees available for a hang. Forgot to add that there is no ‘Shoulder Squeeze’ with this hammock too! I really do love the BRH.