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  1. #1
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    leg positions in a hammock.

    for most of us who have been in a hammock for a few years, we lie as we are comfortable, and move or shift our leg positions during the night. for this topic i would like to hear what your experience is getting comfortable for the night, moving your positions during the night, or just remaining in the same position.
    i tend to bend a knee from time to time during the night, rather than keep a straight leg.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Smckinney0031's Avatar
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    I sleep on my side, legs are comfortable. I normally have to have a blanket between my knees, so in the hammock I use a jacket or whatever item of clothing is handy

  3. #3
    Senior Member rweb82's Avatar
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    I generally switch between keeping my legs straight and figure 4 position (both legs) throughout the night. I always use a Thermarest Lite sit pad in the footbox of my top quilt as well. This helps keep the hammock fabric from pressing in on my foot- which can cause discomfort. The pad allows my feet to just relax and fall outward.

  4. #4
    cmc4free's Avatar
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    +1 on the sit pad to help relieve pressure on the heels, which for me is the most uncomfortable aspect of a GE hammock. I have this problem more in standard (58") width hammocks, but I don't like super-wide hammocks either. The sweet spot for me is about 62" - 64".

    Occasionally I use a small pillow under my knees, but not always and it sort of depends on which hammock I'm in.

    In a bed I sleep on my stomach or sides most of the time, even if I fall asleep on my back initially. In a hammock, I sleep 100% on my back and wake up feeling better. I also tend not to cross one ankle over the other when sleeping in a hammock, which is another habit I'd like to be able to carry over into non-hammock situations.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by rweb82 View Post
    I generally switch between keeping my legs straight and figure 4 position (both legs) throughout the night. I always use a Thermarest Lite sit pad in the footbox of my top quilt as well. This helps keep the hammock fabric from pressing in on my foot- which can cause discomfort. The pad allows my feet to just relax and fall outward.
    +1, though I often just hit the straight-body sweet spot and don't move all night.

  6. #6
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    My movement depends on how hard I've worked/hiked/paddled before sleep time. It is not uncommon to have a bent knee, but it is not "all the time". I pillow, if used at all, goes under a knee or by the side of my head to push a bug net further away. If directly under my head, the pillow puts too much tilt on my neck. I usually don't stake out the hammock sides as that makes additional lines to trip over. But maybe I'll start staking out the side opposite the entry if the head left/right orientation aligns with it.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  7. #7

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    I switch around between straight legs and figure 4 (either leg). Occasionally, I just crash and don't move much during the night. I'm going to try out the sit pad idea. Heel pressure is often why I'm moving my legs around or crossing ankles to give one heel a rest.

    Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

  8. #8
    Senior Member sidneyhornblower's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by solohh View Post
    i would like to hear what your experience is getting comfortable for the night, moving your positions during the night, or just remaining in the same position.
    Like rweb82 and deadeye, in a gathered end I tend to stay on my back with legs straight, though I don't use a pad under my heels. Sometimes I'll bend one or the other leg in a nod towards a figure four position. Pretty much the same goes in my bridge hammock as well. Especially in cold weather, I find that getting comfortable and staying more or less still ensures that the quilts do their job and hold in the heat. I think there's a sticky somewhere on here that talks about a comfortable sleeper is a still sleeper or words to that effect. That holds true in colder weather for me.

    I've been sleeping exclusively in a bridge lately, but will soon begin experimenting with my gathered end again, adding a knee pillow after some recommendations I've read here.
    "...the height of hammock snobbery!"

  9. #9
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    just spent a week up north, chameleon was very cozy.

  10. #10
    brohawk's Avatar
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    Legs straight and crossed or figure 4 has always felt comfortable without calf pain.
    Some days I can't tell whether I found a rope or lost a horse...

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