I hear people talk about laying diagonally in a hammock. Why do you have to. Why can't you lay straight or curled up or go back/forth from side to side. When I sleep I am all over the place (probably due to sleep apnea).
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I hear people talk about laying diagonally in a hammock. Why do you have to. Why can't you lay straight or curled up or go back/forth from side to side. When I sleep I am all over the place (probably due to sleep apnea).
We you lay diagonally in a hammock you lay flat. If you don't lay diagonally the you sleep in a "U" shape which can result in a stiff back in the morning.
I do sleep in the fetal position or lying on my side in my hammock with no problems. I sleep on my belly at home and that's the only way that's not comfortable in a hammock.
It might also be due to pressure points against the ground which are eliminated in the hammock.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ewker
I think what is happening on the diagonal in most hammocks, is that your feet push one side of the hammock out at one end and your head pushes other opposite side and end out. The result of this is a flatening out of the hammock. I have yet to get completly flat. I have been playing around with an asym cut to a homemade to exaggerate this. I think this is why I can lay flatter in a HH then a speer type.
Regardless of how flat I get, that is not comfortable for me for very long. When I am on my back I put something under my knees and something for a pillow. Basically an artificial banna shape. However, I sleep on my side a lot in a bed. I have to be flat inorder not to torch my back at the hips. That is way I want a flat hammock. I have found a longer hammock helps me get flatter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stoikurt
wrong:D I toss and turn in my waterbed also..no pressure points
I actually don't like laying flat. I've always hated that about beds, and I use 2-3 pillows at night to try and change that. I do sleep a little diagonally in my hammock, but that's only to take advantage of the 'foot pocket' created by the W-whipping from Jeff's site. That keeps the pressure off my knees. Otherwise, I really enjoy the U-shape. It's just comfortable to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by hammock engineer
I will sleep on the diagonal (usually on my left side) until morning. When I'm waking up, I'll return to center for awhile, put my hands behind my head and listen to the world coming to life. When I feel like getting up (usually when my bladder tells me!!), I'll just drop my feet through the bottom into my boots and start the day. No aches, no pains! Best way to camp, ever.
Amen to that brother!! :D I LOVE just lying there and listening to nature wake up with me...best part of the day in my opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by txulrich
I sleep diagonally in my HH, and I sleep on my back mostly, but on my side as well. The warmer the weather (meaning less clothing and I use my sleeping bag as a quilt) I spread out more and move all over the place. It's the only way to sleep outside.
I was just thinking "Amen to that brother". Great minds think alike.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by Michele
Yes! I agree!! That first early morning stretch is the best and comfiest! They 45* thing is really comfy, kind of side, kind of back, legs and arms all over the place.Quote:
Originally Posted by txulrich
The ONLY thing I don't enjoy is having my feet above my head in the am, it tends to be chillier (less circulation; - as a ground pounder I fixed it by pitching on a slight incline, head at the top). With a ccf pad this doesn't happen since it is less slippery than my bag, but either way a quick readjustment fixes it. BTW - anyone know of a good way of keeping your head above your feet? I think this happens to me since i have chicken legs, hence a higher center of gravity which tends to push my torso down towards the foot end of the HH (a weight distribution problem) pushing my feet higher up the hammocks incline. I have tried tying the HH a bit higher at the head end, but physics takes over and I end up simply sliding further towards the foot again. NOTE - this is not a serious problem, just another kink to work out in the quest to perfect art of hanging - I have never lost sleep becuase if it.
I am glad to hear that I am not the only who sleeps practically sideways in their hammock while in the fetal position, very comfy indeed and makes reaching out into my NEWLY MADE JJ ALL-IN-ONE much easier!!
Whoo Hoo!!
When I first get in my HH I relax a little while on my back. But I can't sleep on my back so I usually sleep on my side, mostly my left side. Since I got my JRB Nest and have broader insulation below I'm able to use my sleeping bag as a quilt a little easier. Using it as a quilt allows me to spread my legs out a little more and pull my knees up some. Much more comfy.
On some of the colder nights lately I keep telling my wife I'm going to sleep out (you know...testing). If I don't she gets disappointed.:( Hmmm, I think it has something to do with snoring.:rolleyes: Don't know what her problem is, it doesn't bother me.:D
i know what you mean... my snoring doesnt bother me in the least:p
as far as laying on the diagonal, i hardly do.
i'm one of those that likes the hammock stretched a little tighter (less sag).
plus i use one of the thicker air mats... exped DAM when it's cold & the big agness insulated air core when it's warm. i only partly inflate the pad so it conforms to me, no matter if i'm on my back or on my side.
i also use something as a pillow under my knees when i'm on my back & between my knees when i'm on my side.
i'd like to get some one to use a 2x4 or something as a strait edge some time & take pictures to see just how close to flat i am.
i believe it's pretty close. BTW... i would only let someone i trust take a 2x4 to me:p
i also believe that the way a hammock is gathered & tied will make a difference in how flat you can lay. if there is a lot of slack in the middle, it allows your feet & head to drop lower. no?
I guess I'm just never going to understand the diagonal hype. Why would you want to lay flat? To me, the U shape is just more natural and that's the reason I like my hammocks so much more than my bed or sleeping on the ground. Having my head, butt, and feet at the same level just doesn't FEEL right.
Dingus, that was the exact same problem I had on my 1st night hammocking--- I would wake up during the night having slipped down to the foot end of the hammock much further than I had intended. This was with the hammock pitched perfectly level as close as I was able to tell, with confirmation from some friends. From my years of tent camping, I knew I didn't want the foot higher than the head! I didn't want my head downhill, so I was very careful to get a level pitch. So the next night I pitched with the foot end several inches higher than the head, and that was the end of that problem. I have experimented and I now set it even a bit higher than that night, on the foot end.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dingus Khan
The other thing I have recently realized is, it seems that I am better able to get flater and more comfortable with more room on the foot end/less sleeping bag side compression, if I get pretty far up in the head end of the hammock(HHULAS Explorer with SS). When I sit back and pull my feet into the hammock, I grab the sides and scoot up a foot or so, then get a little diagonal. Then, with the foot pitched higher than the head, I stay in place, my feet don't seem so high above my head , my knees don't seem as hyperextended and in need of a pad under them, and there is more room for my feet and sleeping bag on the right side of the hammock. Side positions seem a little easier to pull off, also. This seems to work somewhat with my Speer also.
This is a recent discovery and I'm still experimenting with it. Does any one here have any experience/opinions on this "scoot pretty far to the head of the hammock" concept?
Bill
I definitely don't like having my feet above my head, but sliding during the night is a problem too. I wrestled with this for a while, then came to exactly the same solution you did. I think the reason it works is that - especially with the HH - the center is whipped tight, kind of like Jeff's "W" whipping. This leaves depressions on either side of center. When you scoot up some and then slide your butt to one side, you're putting your butt in the pocket and the higher center keeps you from sliding back down. Just an idea. I can't come up with a better explanation :pQuote:
Originally Posted by BillyBob58
Sounds reasonable to me!Quote:
Originally Posted by blackbishop351
I like to have the hammock relative flat. That way I can lay flat on my side, or I can lay with my back and neck straight and then elevate my feet with some gear. Comfortable for me.
To talk about this, you have to separate Hennessy from all others.
Hennessy is designed "Aysm" so you just are diagonal, whether or not you know it.
I think. I've never laid in a Hennessy and only seen one in the flesh once.
In a conventional hammock, the two extremes are:
1. Tight as you can get it. In my experience, it's like sleeping in a straight jacket. the physics of the suspension forces you into a banana shape on your back.
2 loose as you can get it. this would put you in the same situation, but at 90 degrees to the hanging axis. I've never actually done this.
The optimum position is one where you can lay flat enough (never completely flat) to get comfortable. Hammock person ,Sandy Kramer, who grew up in Guatamala, sleeping in hammocks. helped me find the way. She is the one who led me to "more sag until it is good" And "bigger is better for comfort".
I have found that 30 degrees angle on the support rope (or the first portion of the hammock itself, if you use a ridge line) gives me the best comfort. I can move around during the night with out major effort. I can sleep on my side or back. There is a bit too much bend to lay on my stomach comfortably.
My hammock is 4 yards long, minus knot and hem.
HTH
Tom
That's pretty long. 12' before knots. My last one is 10' and it feels about right for me at 6'4". How long is it set up?
I need to revisit the homemade asym or HH knockoff idea.
never expected this many responses.
I just measured. It's 109 inches knot to knot on the ridge line.
And that is a little tight. I recently retied it and guessed wrong. I'm going to take two or three inches out right now.
You say "It's a little big" The extra foot and a half weighs about 5 oz. ( the nylon taffetta I used weight 2.2 oz per yard)That's weight well spent in my world.
If I was going to save weight I'd narrow the thing a bit. The new improved TEBCO hammock will be around 50 inches wide, down from 61. I never seem to be able to use the last 3 to 6 inches of width.
Tom
The weight penalty was wrong.
.5 yards * 1.72 yards long* 2.2 oz per yard =1.89 oz.
2 oz. for comfort. What a deal!!
Tom
You beat me to it - I was about to suggest you switch to a lighter material! :pQuote:
Originally Posted by teblum
I'll take off my taffeta hammock from the stand upstairs and weight it. I am curious as to its durability. I only had 4 or 5 nights on my other one.
I noticed last night that if I lay in it and swing back and forth I can feel the air hitting me. That will be nice on the hot 90 degree nights.
I think I am going to have to puts some nights on it before I leave to tests its durability.
At 10' by 5', including seams, thread, and whipping using the 7/64 armsteel I am sitting at 8.5 oz. I will have to weigh an unfinish piece but it probibly around 1.4-ish oz per yard.
great stuff!!
I am going to go try elevating the foot of my HH to see if that helps with the scooting to the foot syndrome! Getting to hang at night is a little tricky with a wife who needs her furnace next to her... :)
If it helps I usually hung my HH about a foot higher. I still hang my DIY a little higher.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dingus Khan
I don't think you can get truly flat in any hammock. It's just relative. The 2X4 certainly won't prove much for flatness from the bottom but I believe the topside of you will be closer to flat. If you want to be truly flat then you'd have to go back to the ground. The problem I have with U shape is that my knees just don't like to bend that way.Quote:
Originally Posted by slowhike
After over 30 years using hammocks, off and on, since Peace Corps days, I now have a collection of many Brazil-style cotton hammocks. Used them in the house and on camping trips but they are too heavy for packing, so a few years ago, got a HH. I find that I sleep better in the cotton hammocks (ignoring temperature effects) because there is just more room.
In neither hammock style am I truly at a 45 degree angle. Close to it in the cotton hammock but with the HH, only about 25-30 degrees. And, in neither hammock, when lying at the optimal angle, am I completely flat. But you can get flatter in the Amazon-style hammock.
But, besides the size, there is another significant difference and that is the point at which the fabric begins to spread out. Because the Amazon style hammock has multiple lines from the fabric to the tie-loop, it starts its spread at the tie-off, which is nearly 3 feet from the hammock body. This allows the fabric to open up quite a bit more and is one reason I feel more comfort with an Amazon style. Both the HH and the Speer style hammocks start to spread at the end of the fabric which limits how wide the fabric can open.
This winter, I got one of those sale-priced Byer hammocks which uses the same style as my cotton hammock, with many cords attaching the fabric to the tie-loop. Although I have not used this on a camping/hiking trip yet, I have slept in it in the house and I find it more comfortable than the HH.
Anyone else with similar results?
Scott
Farpost writes:
"This winter, I got one of those sale-priced Byer hammocks which uses the same style as my cotton hammock, with many cords attaching the fabric to the tie-loop. Although I have not used this on a camping/hiking trip yet, I have slept in it in the house and I find it more comfortable than the HH."
I had a Byer Mosquito. It was pretty comfortable, but the cords on the ends would slowly stretch each night. I always woke with my butt on (or near)the floor. I gave it to my nephew.
HammockEngineer:
My taffetta hammock is two ply. In it's first version, for a month or so, it was single ply. No sign of any weakness. I wouldn't be afraid of a single ply in the woods. No tendency to hole out or snag.
(full disclosure: Actually, I don't know it's taffetta. It's Walmart mystery fabric that was shiny on one side and kind of matte on the other.)
Miles of Smiles
Tom
yeah, i was thinking about laying or holding a 6', 2x4 on top.Quote:
Originally Posted by stoikurt