For those who own or have owned a Blackbird AND Ridgerunner
I'm in the process of selecting a hammock. I went to a local hang today, but by the time I arrived (1330), everyone but one Blackbird owner had already departed. I had hoped to see both a BB and a RR.
So, before I decide to take Brandon's suggestion and order one of each and return the one I decide against, I thought I'd ask a question or two of those of you who have experience with both ...
When you are using your RR, what do you miss about your BB? And when you are using your BB, what do you miss about your RR?
Which do you find better for sleeping on your back? I sleep, mainly, on my back, but move from my back to either side after the pressure/soreness in my upper back (between my shoulders) wakes me up.
Which do you find better for sleeping on your sides? I don't last long after shifting from my back to either side, because of bad shoulders which usually ache anyway, but especially after the pressure of lying on them for a while.
Comments/insights appreciated.
Ridge Runner takes the early lead
I still have lots of time for evaluation, but I FINALLY received both hammocks yesterday, and after some considerable setup consternation, chose the RR for my first night trial.
After quickly setting up both hammocks in the back yard yesterday afternoon, it was immediately very obvious to me that there is going to be much more of a "fuss factor" involved in figuring out how to get comfortably situated in the XLC vs. the RR. All told, the trees that I have for setup in my back yard aren't as wide apart as I thought they were - just over 14 feet. I assumed that this was going be more of an issue for testing the RR than the XLC, but it ended up being the opposite. After a very quick setup and 30 minute recline in each, it was VERY obvious that the XLC was going to require much more tweaking and experimenting to figure out how to get comfortable and stay warm in without a UQ for insulation - which I don't yet have. Based on that, I decided to go with the RR for the first night test in the back yard.
Dumb luck or not, I was immediately comfortable in the RR after throwing the suspension up and sliding a piece of reflectix between the layers. I only adjusted the suspension enough so that I was sure to keep it a few inches off the ground after getting into it. No other adjustment was needed or made the remainder of the evening. Lucky for me, since I really didn't have much space to work with.
My first concern after lying in the RR for a while was shoulder squeeze. I'm only 6 ft. tall and 180 pounds, but am prone to shoulder aches and pains at 56 years of age. Right away I could feel my shoulders ever so slightly bunched forward while lying on my back. After a 6.5 hour evening, though, I only felt a very slight bit of stiffness in my right shoulder - less than I usually feel after a night in bed. Definitely not enough discomfort to be discouraged - yet, at least.
I was able to easily change positions during the night while lying INSIDE of my bulky military sleeping bag with gore-tex bivy. I never felt a bit of instability while moving around. I was even able to get nearly full fetal by wedging my feet and knees between the webbing on either side of the hammock. I didn't stay in this position long, but wanted to see if it was comfortable and stable - and it was. I did require moving around a bit to avoid stiffness in my lower back, but no more than I usually do in bed. I'm hoping that I can eventually reduce the need to move even as much as I did by tweaking the suspension.
I used a 48" x 24" piece of reflectix between the double layers of the RR and was VERY pleasantly surprised how well it stayed in place in this hammock. I don't think it moved at all from where I initially positioned it. It only got down to 51*F last night, but I'm confident that, with the addition of a wing of some design added to the reflectix and a couple layers of clothes, I'll be able to stay warm down to the low 40s / mid 30s. If not for my upper arms, i would have been very comfortable in the sleeping bag with a t-shirt and shorts last night. I added a light poly/wool top to keep the upper arms warm.
Now that I know I can stay warm at this season's temps, I'll be getting out to test both hammocks in a better selection of trees. After the first day/night, the XLC has some catching up to do, for sure.
A different hammock for each season
Good write up and I'm exactly where you are.
I have 2 RRs, both dbl, one with a net and one without. I absolutely love the lay of these hammocks, I only lay on my back and have no shoulder or knee pain, ever. I have 2 ccf pads and they in fit the RR perfectly. I have been down to 17deg. and have been toasty with them sandwiched together with no movement and no fiddle factor. I actually like the extra support a pad gives. The RR without the net gets the nod in the cold winter months (2 pads), and the RR with the net gets the nod in the spring and fall when mozzies are still busy early in the evening but it gets chilly later in the wee hours of the morning (1 pad).
Now last week I ordered a 1.7 BB single layer for the super hot summer days and nights. I won't need an UQ or pads in the 3 hottest months, it stays that hot at night here in NC. I have a Snipe, and its the most comfortable lay you can imagine, the perfect summer hammock...EXCEPT for my arthritic right knee. I've tried everything, every lay possible, but something in the lay of the gathered end (maybe body torque?) sets my right knee on fire. Its not the Snipes fault , it's my stupid right knee. It doesn't hurt in my RR however (different lay).
So I'm going to give a gathered end one last try with the BB and hope the footbox is the answer to my sore r. knee. We'll see.
And I'm interested in your take on the BB. BTW, I'm 5'8" and 175 so I ordered the regular BB as I didn't think I needed the extra length of the XLC, that wasn't the problem.
