Lay at a 90* angle in a Gathered End hammock?

[SutterButtes]

Hi everyone. This is my first real question so please bear with me.

I've searched for information on laying at a 90* angle but mostly all I come up with is the hammocks that are turned 90* like Amok, etc. That is not what I'm interested in.

The only information I've been able to find on laying 90* in Gathered End hammocks seemed to be purely theoretical (as in whether the fabric would be wide enough given the person's height). Oh, and I believe it was Junebugdawn who said she lays this way to read a book. I haven't found anyone who says they have slept this way or if it is feasible to sleep this way.

The reason I am curious about this is I took my brother's hammocks out to the local park and tried laying in them to see if I liked the Hexon 1.0 or 1.6 better. I found both to be comfortable and found several comfortable positions. However, I have some back problems and do some stretches when I wake up every morning. I had some difficulty with one stretch because the fabric on the side was in my way so I turned 90* to see if it would work that way and it did. I continued to lay at that angle for awhile (with my legs either crossed or hanging from the knees to the ground and pushing me to swing a bit). I found it very comfortable.


I think I would love to sleep at a 90* angle in the summer when we have high temps here in Northern California. I am probably going to be using a Fronkey style bugnet because I am super afraid of spiders. It seems like the 90* angle lay gets all the extra hammock fabric away from me so it doesn't block any breeze and if I swing a little the breeze cools more area of my body. I am envisioning going to sleep at a 90* lay angle and if I get cold during the night I could turn back to a normal angle and pull up some sort of quilt if necessary. (For reference, in the high summer temps at home I usually sleep with the AC on and pull up the comforter if I get cold.)

I'm 5'3". If I used the Hexon W 1.6 are there any reasons why this wouldn't work? Would the 90* lay angle put additional stress on my hammock or suspension? Has anyone tried this? Would the Hexon 1.6 be less breathable than the 1.0 to the extent that I would be better to stick to the 1.0 for high temps?

Thanks in advance for all your insight!

[HandyRandy]

The biggest problem would be getting a flat lay so that you don’t lay like a banana. I suppose you could try something similar to what the SLD Streamliner hammock does, but in the opposite way. It uses convex shaped sewn end channels to shift the sweet spot to a less diagonal orientation. If you instead used a concave shape, it will do the opposite and lift your butt and lower your head and feet when laying on a 90° angle. Like this crude illustration

[chapinb]

I have a 8 foot wide hammock. There is no way I can whip it to allow a flat 90 degree lay for my 6'3 frame.
I suppose with a deep enough cat cut you could make it flat, but it would be something like a foot deep on each side. That would give one horrible calf ridge if laying normally
I can (and do) lay 90 degrees but it's much more of a reclined position. Very comfortable for lounging, but not for sleeping.

[SupraLance]

So your talking about sleeping with your legs hanging out of the hammock, in basically a recliner position? If you pull those legs up into the hammock straight in front of you, your going to have issues with hyper-extension as the knees try to bend backwards and it will no longer be comfortable. Lounging at 90 degrees with your legs hanging out of the hammock is comfortable for a while, but the crease under your knees may become a circulation issue if you sleep like that for more than a nap. You will probably end up pulling the legs into the hammock and side sleeping with your knees bent in front of you, at which point your gonna find yourself moving toward a regular diagonal position for greater comfort.

[hutzelbein]

What you suggest would be possible with a very, very long (and obviously wide) gathered end hammock. With an 11' hammock, the curvature is still too strong, even for somebody only 5'3" tall. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, do a little experiment. Take a kitchen towel and gather it at the short ends like a hammock. Look at the curve where you would lie. Now gather it at one short end and in the middle. See how far the sides come up now? The shorter the hammock is, the more it becomes like a bathtub. The longer the hammock is, the flatter it becomes. For you to be able to lie perpendicular, it would need to be a lot longer than the usual camping hammocks.

The alternative is shaping the ends. This is what Amok and Hammocktent do, in order to allow for a flat, perpendicular lay without making the hammock longer. The problem with this approach is, that you usually need a pad to stabilize the edges. Otherwise the fabric simply tends to fall away.

Before you try to go down an unusual path, I would suggest you trying a hammock with less stretch. You might be surprised what a difference fabric stretch can make. Hexon 1.0 is a very thin and stretchy fabric. I always feel like lying in a bathtub in stretchy hammocks. Dutch still has a very cheap 70D netless hammock on sale, that has little stretch and is one of the most comfortable hammocks I have tried. Much better than the 40D Hexon 1.6, if you like a bit more support.

[Just Bill]

Hi everyone. This is my first real question so please bear with me.

I've searched for information on laying at a 90* angle but mostly all I come up with is the hammocks that are turned 90* like Amok, etc. That is not what I'm interested in.

The only information I've been able to find on laying 90* in Gathered End hammocks seemed to be purely theoretical (as in whether the fabric would be wide enough given the person's height). Oh, and I believe it was Junebugdawn who said she lays this way to read a book. I haven't found anyone who says they have slept this way or if it is feasible to sleep this way.

The reason I am curious about this is I took my brother's hammocks out to the local park and tried laying in them to see if I liked the Hexon 1.0 or 1.6 better. I found both to be comfortable and found several comfortable positions. However, I have some back problems and do some stretches when I wake up every morning. I had some difficulty with one stretch because the fabric on the side was in my way so I turned 90* to see if it would work that way and it did. I continued to lay at that angle for awhile (with my legs either crossed or hanging from the knees to the ground and pushing me to swing a bit). I found it very comfortable.


I think I would love to sleep at a 90* angle in the summer when we have high temps here in Northern California. I am probably going to be using a Fronkey style bugnet because I am super afraid of spiders. It seems like the 90* angle lay gets all the extra hammock fabric away from me so it doesn't block any breeze and if I swing a little the breeze cools more area of my body. I am envisioning going to sleep at a 90* lay angle and if I get cold during the night I could turn back to a normal angle and pull up some sort of quilt if necessary. (For reference, in the high summer temps at home I usually sleep with the AC on and pull up the comforter if I get cold.)

I'm 5'3". If I used the Hexon W 1.6 are there any reasons why this wouldn't work? Would the 90* lay angle put additional stress on my hammock or suspension? Has anyone tried this? Would the Hexon 1.6 be less breathable than the 1.0 to the extent that I would be better to stick to the 1.0 for high temps?

Thanks in advance for all your insight!

A belated welcome to the forum.

It can be done... though I'm a prototype or two away from being happy with my version.
I think there is a some potential for a 90* that doesn't rely on a pad to function.

That said- for what you're imagining I don't think it would pan out.
While you can spin in your Gathered end and sit across it at a 90* with legs crossed or hanging out- you can't do the opposite.
So if you get the thing working at 90* you can't rotate 90* and sleep as you'd basically run into the same issue you are now.

The advantage of the pad-less 90* would be a smaller tree to tree distance and reduced weight vs other options.
But you would need a different bugnet, tarp and insulation system most likely... which is part of the reason I didn't pursue it much further.
It's more of a party trick at this point than a useful piece of gear as to make it work you're adding more weight than you would if simply using a longer/heavier GE (which usually solves part of the problems)

At the end of the day... Bridges offer most of the solutions you're looking for and are further along overall.
Bridges give you the breezier open feeling and generally help with back support. I'd imagine they would be out of the way for your stretches.

[SutterButtes]

Thanks everyone for explaining why my idea won't work.

I didn't want to invent a new hammock or build a hammock that would only work at 90*. I mostly wanted to find out if I should buy a wide material so I would be able to lay 90* sometimes. I can see now that it isn't necessary since I wouldn't be able to lay flat. I am glad I can get the normal width fabric since it will weigh less than the wide.

I really like the versatility of the gathered end hammock as far as finding comfortable positions. I think if the temp is 100* or so I will probably end up laying 90* with my legs crossed ("indian-style" for lack of a better term) for awhile at night and then shift towards a normal position as the temps drop during the night.

I don't mind moving during the night since I usually move a lot anyway. I also don't mind having to move to 90* to do my stretches in the morning; the important thing is that I am able to do them one way or another.

Thanks again for all your comments and explanations.

[joe_guilbeau]

I've searched for information on laying at a 90* angle but mostly all I come up with is the hammocks that are turned 90* like Amok, etc. That is not what I'm interested in.

$15 - A Crinkle Rectangular Tablecloth of 90-inches wide x 135-inches long (23.842 oz)