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Thread: Bridge Hammock?

  1. #1
    Senior Member dufus934's Avatar
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    Bridge Hammock?

    I have found out that I either have to have a tight pitch or make a hammock that will allow me to lay flat. Will a bridge hammock do this? If not, how can I lay flat? I know this may be an elementary question, but I have to be able to lay flat. Also, what can I do to pitch my hammock tight? What knots do I need to know to be able to do this?
    God Bless,
    Kyle
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    "Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
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    forgive my noseyness but why must you lay flat? is it the feeling that your knees are hyperextended? - if so stick something under you knees while sleeping
    usually a tighter pitch is worse for laying flat because you can't get a good diagonal lay if the sag is not there

  3. #3
    Senior Member dufus934's Avatar
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    I have a little back pain when I wake up in the morning. Will laying diagonal help this? What are the advantages and disadvantages of laying diagonal?
    God Bless,
    Kyle
    [email protected]

    "Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
    Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
    With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
    But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle" - Casting Crowns

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    advantage of diagonal lay - with the right sag you will be closer to a flat lay
    disadvantage of diagonal lay - takes a little more width of fabric to make the hammock

    wrt to you back pain - difficult to say if it will help you any - depends on what specific issue you are having with your back - is the back pain in the hammock worse than the back pain of laying on the ground? btw putting something under you knees may also help your back - makes sleeping in the hammock more like sleeping in a recliner

  5. #5
    Senior Member froldt's Avatar
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    I wrote this same thing in your thread about ridgelines... but here you go.

    I think that you might be trying to lay in your hammock "incorrectly". (There's not a wrong way, but there is a way that might help your back.)
    If you pitch your hammock more loosely, making a banana shape, you will be able to lay in your hammock diagonally, in respect to the center line of the hammock. I believe that you might be currently laying in it parallel, which will cause your body to curve, following the hammock. A diagonal position will enable you to lay flatter, and hopefully more comfortable.

    Pitching a hammock really tight introduces more force on whatever you are using for supports. I don't know where the diagram is off-hand... but there's a chart somewhere that shows the force put on the support depending on the angle of hang. The more of a diagonal (looser) the less force.

  6. #6
    Senior Member headchange4u's Avatar
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    This section from Just Jeff's primer on hammock camping says it best:

    Quote Originally Posted by Just Jeff
    2. How do I sleep in a hammock?
    The proper way to sleep in a hammock is on the diagonal. The hammock should have a fair amount of "sag" so it's not pulled tight. The amount of sag will vary by person and by hammock model. With my homemade hammocks without a fixed ridgeline, I like to have my hammock supports make about a 30° angle off horizontal. If a hammock has a fixed ridgeline, the length will determine the level of sag.

    Once the sag is comfortable, climb in and lay with your feet on one side of the centerline and your head on the other side...diagonal across the center of the hammock. You should be able to lay almost completely flat this way.

    But I'm a stomach sleeper...

    Sleeping on the diagonal of a properly pitched hammock makes you lay almost flat, so it's possible to sleep on your stomach. I usually spend a few minutes on my stomach before I get up in the mornings. Sometimes I pull myself to the top of the hammock and use the edge as a pillow while I lay on my stomach and look out from under my tarp, too.

    I'm a side/stomach sleeper at home, but I find that after a night or two in the hammock, I'm more comfortable on my back and side. It's simple to sleep on your side in a properly pitched hammock, too.

    One great thing about hammocks is the many positions you can sleep in that you don't get on the ground. Sleeping on the ground, you're either on your back, stomach, or one side. In a hammock, you can sleep somewhere in-between each of these positions. For example, I often sleep about 45° onto my right side...not quite a side sleeper, but not on my back, either. It's a very comfortable position that I can't get comfortable in if I'm on the ground.
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    The bridge hammock by design is a lot different than other hammocks. It's shape is not really defined by how tight it is. For me it was the length of the ridgeline that made more of a difference than how tight I hung the hammock inbetween the trees.

    So basically yes, you will be able to get extremely flat on a bridge hammock. Just make sure it is wide enough and you have a tarp that will fit.
    Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
    The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".

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    i made and end gathered hammock out of double layer 1.5 polyester recently, there is alot less stretch in the fabric, which means my butt doesn't sink way down. so it's a noticably flatter lay and has less shoulder squeeze. it feels a little different than nylon, not bad though, i got used to it pretty quick.

  9. #9
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    If you want to be flat and not "almost flat" consider a bridge style hammock... as a bonus you won't have any trunk twist trying to be on a diagonal.

    Pan
    Ounces to Grams.

    www.jacksrbetter.com ... Largest supplier of camping quilts and under quilts...Home of the Original Nest Under Quilt, and Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock. 800 595 0413

  10. #10
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    Too bad JRB doesnt make a bridge design for the clydesdale hikers out here. *AHEM*

    Where do you get poly that is good for making a hammock WBG? I would like to try that.

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