Dangerbird 68 - Lower back pain equals zero
(from a new hanger) - Received my 11' x 68" Dangerbird yesterday, set it up on back porch, hopped in to test, and found that I'd snoozed for 1.5 hours. Woke up refreshed. Slept in it last night; slept through the night and even fought off desire for an early morning bio-break; was just too fricken comfortable to get up.
I've spent thousands on beds over the years, from a Nature's Rest latex to my current (space-foam-top) sleep number bed. Always awake with slight stiffness in lower back; have to do that pull knees to chest thingy to loosen up the 55 year-young hip joints. When I got up this morning, I had zero, zero stiffness in my lower back and hamstrings. Slept on my back and sides; all good.
Overnight temp - mid to high 50s
Gear:
- WB Superfly tarp - overhangs hammock by ~1' either side.
- Hammock Gear 40* Burrow - M50 material. Like having a cloud over me; light and warm.
- Hammock Gear pillow on a string - best 30 bucks spent, ever.
Underneath (betwix layers) - Exped DownMat 7 UL (l+W version); 5+ warmth Rating. With just a bit of air, it conformed perfectly to the lay angle and makes makes the system feel like a pillow-top hammock. I'm thinking this mat will augment the 40* Incubator nicely for colder weather. Will be test-fitting the Incubator today; Randy included some nice quilts hooks for adjusting the UQ.
Thanks go out to PapaSmurf. Great communications; great product.
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Hammock Gear UQ fitted to Dangerbird 68
Did a little tweaking of my HammockGear underquilt to fit the longer/wider Dangerbird. The challenge was to get the UQ to sit at more of an angle and to accommodate the additional hammock length.
Tweaks:
The UQ has a continuous length of shock cord that runs lengthways on both sides and across the ends (race track shape; only one knot). Each end section of this cord was originally fed through the same suspension-connect s-biner as the corner supports. I unhooked this line from the s-biner on both ends and also added a 12" length of line to the shock cord so it was not as tight. Added mini-biners to the d-rings at center ends of the UQ; hooked to the shock cord to hold the center section in place.
Also added mini biners to connect the tie-out lines to UQ side d-rings (see close-up); pulls the pieces together nicely at the mutual corners, and quilt hooks along other spots. It's secure and stable enough to stuff the combo into a large Bishop bag and then unfurl. If detached from hammock, adds < a minute to setup.
Have a few other things to try but so far very pleased with results; can get a flat lay in normal sleeping position and coverage from head to to hoof; no gaps that I can detect; wicked warm and comfortable. It does seem to scrunch the lay just a bit, so may try longer pieces of shock cord for the corner supports.
Initial comparisons to air mattress - The air mat seems to be more comfortable in the foot area; removes any sense of my feet pressing together. The UQ; however, is more comfortable for my shoulders; creates a flatter lie at the top. These are just initial impressions; have much more to play with. Like both solutions, a lot!
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