bought a $10 army issue jungle hammock at the army surplus store in edmonton, alberta today. Funny thing is that everybody there told me it WAS NOT a hammock and that I COULD NOT string it up between two trees and lie in it!!!
i tied it up with a really shoddy double bow slip on either side (watched a few youtube videos on the knot, i am really unsure as to whether the knot i tied could be called that or not!!) and laid it it, fearing the worst. i was really pleasantly surprised when i simply hung in the hammock, feeling perfectly safe and sound. got my younger brother (who is now a lot bigger than me) and his friend to try it out individually. they both laid in it for a half-second then jumped out while exclaiming how great it was. about to put my jacket and boots on again to raise one end up higher because my feet were far too high the first time i laid in it!
rambling now because i have been drinking but basically it is a long rectangle that is about 1 and 1/2 times my width (a very narrow hammock!) with hemmed loop edges that a thin nylon string runs through. as soon as you pull the string the ends bunch up and form the generic hammock shape. it came with a very old diagram on knot tying and setting up a hammock, both of which are unfortunately close to unreadable!
does anybody else sleep in a narrow hammock? have been reading a lot about hammocks and apparently a wide one is integral if you want to sleep diagonal (with a straight back). haven't been able to test hammocks out and tonight was my first time setting one up or even owning one so i am wondering if any of you can tell me a little bit more about that. how can i sleep in a hammock without my feet being higher than my butt? after the mere twenty/thirty/forty minutes i spent in it my knees were already starting to ache. what can I do?
anyway, thanks for existing! i am really looking forward to being an active part of this website in my more sober and coherent hours.
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