Head End Low Foot End High

[Rollintent]

I am playing with head low feet high hang angle, trying to find my comfort zone for my hammock. I am sure there are tons of variables that could affect this from hang to hang such as tree-tree distances and so on. I see there being two main ways to achieve head lower than foot end. First way being to have both tree straps level to the world and lengthening the head end suspension and shortening the foot end suspension. At the other end of the spectrum having the suspension length equal lengths and moving tree straps lower for the head and or higher on the foot end until desired horizontal angle of ridgeling and height off of the ground is achieved simultaneously . Based on experience has anyone found that generally one way or the other tends to give more or less comfort or is the angle of the ridgeline from level all that matters no matter how you get there? I realize there could be an infinitely variable combination of strap height/suspension length between the two extremes in my drawings but in general have any of you guys found that one way or the other offers any advantages in terms of comfort or perhaps tarp alignment etc? I am sure I will settle in on an overall preference but in the mean time give me your thoughts on this if there are any.

[fallkniven]

Well first off, sleeping with your head down hill is sorta rule #1 on how Not to set up camp. You'll awake with a throbbing headache due to all of the blood gravitating towards your head all night.

Generally you want to sleep level, people don't find it comfortable to be sliding down they're hammock/tent all night.

Since your torso is heavier than your legs, in order to get a level lay, you'll have to set the head end higher, so when you laydown it'll level out. Hammocking 101.

[Chrisja77]

I'm new to this and still learning but if that's the case why do so many people say to have the foot end higher? Most every adjustment issue I've asked about at least one person suggests to raise the foot end...

[GreatBigDave]

I find I'm significantly more comfortable in my XLC when I hang the foot end 12+ inches higher than the head end. It keeps me in the sweet spot all night. When I hang head and foot even, I wake up too close to the foot end with calf ridge. My lay is still pretty level, I just have a lot more weight on the top half of my body.

[Rollintent]

Your body stays level to the world it just shifts where your body rests in the hammock and helps avoid calf ridge and I believe aids in a getting a slightly "flatter" lay. I realize having your head actually lower than the rest of your body tends to cause problems. The angles of the hammock and ridgeline in my drawings are all exaggerated or at least "not to scale" for illustrative purposes.

[SpitballJedi]

The head end being lowerer doesn't mean your head is going to he lower than your feet in a gathered end hammock. Lowering the head end means your entire body will slid toward the low end until itfinds level. Yes, there is a point where you can lower the head end so much that you will have yoyr head lower than your feet, but to lay flat, your head will be hanging off the hammock.

As you lower the head end and you slide that direction, you get to use more of the hammocks with for your feet because yhey are farther away from the gather. This helps with ridge calf. with a level GE hammock, many people tend to slide toward the foot end because your center of weight balance wants to slide to the middle of the hammock.

I have my head end about 10-12 inches lower. I don't find any difference between lengthening the suspension and lowering the straps. But, I find eyeballing the head end lower is a an easier starting point

[pgibson]

Everyone is different and some folks take the foot end thing to extremes. For me in most hammocks I need the foot to be raised 2-3 inches to find a balanced level. You're not shooting for having your feet so high that you end up like Falken mentioned with your blood rushed head ache. Your just shooting to balance the load out. People are built top heavy and to get things to level out you need to account for that some. Finding your sweet spot and balance can take time and more over like all things hammock PRACTICE! Get out and hang, the more you do the less you will need to worry about all of the semantics and rhetoric that get thrown around here. Go hang. How you find your level and balance point does not matter, play with the straps height, play with the suspension length but just get out and play. Either way works just fine and you might find that in some spot one works better than the other or you end up with a combination of both to get thing to work out.

[SpitballJedi]

The head end being lowerer doesn't mean your head is going to he lower than your feet in a gathered end hammock. Lowering the head end means your entire body will slid toward the low end until itfinds level. Yes, there is a point where you can lower the head end so much that you will have yoyr head lower than your feet, but to lay flat, your head will be hanging off the hammock.

As you lower the head end and you slide that direction, you get to use more of the hammocks width for your feet because yhey are farther away from the gather. This helps with ridge calf. with a level GE hammock, many people tend to slide toward the foot end because your center of weight balance wants to slide to the middle of the hammock.

I have my head end about 10-12 inches lower. I don't find any difference between lengthening the suspension and lowering the straps. But, I find eyeballing the head end lower is a an easier starting point.

Like pgibson says, it's all about what's comfortable to you and it takes practice and experimenting. HYOH

[Rollintent]

Like pgibson says, it's all about what's comfortable to you and it takes practice and experimenting. HYOH

I do plan to HMOH. I totally understand the dynamics and reasons for hanging head end slightly lower than foot end. Just a thought I had and hadn't seen this discussed I think the "finer points" is what this forum is all about. I'm not asking for a formula or hard and fast rules just curious to see how many have even give this any thought at all or if anyone has found one approach to be generally "better" than the other for them, and if so for what reasons do they choose one over the other. Maybe it's not significant or even worth discussing but as I sit here not able to go test my theory for at least another week thought I would toss it out and see if #1 anyone else even takes this into consideration first of all, and if so, has anyone found that one way or the other makes a difference to them and for what reason. I realize it's probably a very trivial thing and is likely a just a personal preference... just curious and somewhat lazy.

[jamaulwall]

I typically like to keep my suspension similar in length so my method generally is to raise the foot end where the tree straps attach to the tree. Some situations don't allow for that (long distance between trees) so I have to be flexible but that's the method I usually try to use when I can.

I'll also note that for me the hammock makes a big difference in how much I need to raise the foot end. With a low stretch Polyester hammock I only raise it a couple of inches like Pgibson mentioned. With my nylon Lite Owl I raise the foot end about 12" or I feel the calf ridge a lot more. Both are 11' hammocks but the stretch in the fabric changes things for me. That may not apply equally to everyone as I'm 6'1" and 195 lbs. and prefer the stiffer feel to low stretch fabrics. Anyway, just my observations. You really can't tell what you prefer until you get out and experiment a bit.