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  1. #1
    Member toober's Avatar
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    Standalone Failing Hammocks

    There seems to be a huge amount of fear of falling onto the brace bar under your back on standalone hammocks. True, that would hurt. How many have actually failed? Has anybody here actually fallen onto a bottom stand brace and lived to tell about it?

  2. #2
    Senior Member Lost_Biker's Avatar
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    I've never fallen from a stand yet, but I have fallen from being suspended from 2 trees. It wasn't an abrupt fall all at once and it was only 2 feet or so. Hurt my pride more than anything. I laughed for about 2 minutes, got up, fixed my lines and went back to sleep.

  3. #3
    Senior Member hippofeet's Avatar
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    I have not. I don't have a stand. However... I don't think a hammock would fail simultaneously at both ends. The only failures I have had have been a middle of hammock tearout (bad sewing/ ignorance) and a suspension failure (plastic cambuckle failure). So I think it would be a tailbone injury, or a back-of-the-noggin thump. Pad that center brace maybe.
    An emergency of my own making...is still an emergency.

  4. #4
    Senior Member TeeDee's Avatar
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    I have heard of one or two instances where a person had a failure and fell on the central bream of a hammock stand. Due to the geometry it can be a lot more painful and damaging than falling on a flat floor.

    Here we do a lot of experimenting with different designs for Bridge Hammocks and suspensions. For that reason we have had quite a few instances of something failing and the person ending up hitting the floor. When experimenting in this manner the risks are much higher and I have taken more precautions than most people need to.

    For that reason I made my own hammock stand for the basement hammock lab. I started with a Risk stand design and modified it so that the central rail is replaced with 2 rails, one on each side. Thus, if something fails, the person will not hit a central rail. The displaced rails makes it easy to place large, thick foam cushions under the hammock so that when the failure does come, the person will land softly on the flat foam on the floor and not the hard cement floor. Even thick foam placed over a central rail can be painful since the rail concentrates the forces in a small area.

    Fortunately, the risk of failure is very small with commercial hammocks and suspensions.
    Those who sacrifice freedom for safety, have neither.

    Do not dig your grave with your teeth. (Unknown)

  5. #5
    Member toober's Avatar
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    I guess there would be more failures with the diy crowd. That had not occurred to me before. 'Course most of what I try to design (for home use) is more the way of overkill than lightweight. Priorities in use I guess.

  6. #6
    Senior Member TFC Rick's Avatar
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    I very well may be making this up, but there was a guy on here who had a failure and fell on the cross bar. IIRC it was his upright that failed and not the hammock. Either way it was bad news for him or more to the point his Sacrum. That is a very bad area to recieve and injury. So be careful peeps. One of our Brit friends put a deck on his and not only is it awesoem looking I would think it would save the heiny pretty well.
    Look up before you hook up!!
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    Me big. Me like hammockgear burrow. Long. Problems no. People good.

  7. #7
    New Member Ch@rlie's Avatar
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    TFC Rick, thanks for your comments, appreciated.

    The reason I put the deck over my center rails is simple.
    It kept playing on my mind all night the first time I slept in the hammock using this stand, If I had a failure for any reason my Back could end up in a very serious condition. (didnt sleep well that night at all)
    I have had a hammock failure, (between 2 trees) it was the first one I made, not from ripstop but a normal nylon material, it was my ignorence that caused the failure, I kept my trainers on and shifted position further up the hammock, heel of the trainer gripped the material causing a split, which then got bigger and bigger as it lowered me gently to the floor backside first. I was rolling with fits of laughter as were my kids.
    Having recently watched a video on youtube of some guy building a home made hammock then hanging between a lamp post and street sign, his failure got me to thinking when you saw how violent his failure was.

    Knowing I hang with the correct understanding of angles ect reduces the failure rate by far.
    But to coin a phrase, "a clever person learns from thier mistakes, A wise person learns from the mistakes of others"

  8. #8
    Senior Member WV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lost_Biker View Post
    I've never fallen from a stand yet, but I have fallen from being suspended from 2 trees. It wasn't an abrupt fall all at once and it was only 2 feet or so. Hurt my pride more than anything. I laughed for about 2 minutes, got up, fixed my lines and went back to sleep.
    I've fallen twice. One experience was much like yours. The foot end rope slipped off the toggle, and my legs and butt landed first (on a slate floor). No damage, woke me up. The second time the head end whoopie slipped (bury was too short), and I landed on a wooden deck, with the top of my spine and back of my head hitting first. Bad news, hurt for days. I think either fall might have been worse if I had landed on a the rail of a stand. My first fall made me overconfident. Now I double-check every hang, use sliders on my whoopies, strong toggles, etc.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Poppabear's Avatar
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    I for one have had a nasty experience with a stand alone hammock stand. About a year or so ago I made up some naccro-biners in an attempt to lighten my hammock suspension. Nasty weather forced me to cancel my testing plans outdoors. Undaunted I decided to set up my standalone hammock stand in the living room. The plan as to test and watch TV at the same time. With everything set up I eased into the hammock and had just stretched out and clasped my hands behind my head. Without warning the head end naccro-biner failed (due to using a inappropriate knot) and I was dropped onto the center bar right on my tail bone area. The drop was only 6 to 8 inches or so. I ended up with a solid bruise from the middle of my butt to the middle of my back. Fortunately nothing was broken. I was sore and tender for weeks afterward. Padding the bar area with pillows or foam is an option I suppose. If I had done that I suppose that they would have helped but I feel quite sure that I would have still been bruised. The drop was sudden and with a surprising amount of force. I have used the stand a few times since. But not with any experimental equipment, only tried and true set-ups. Personally I have switched to a Ed Speer style galvanized pipe stand. It is heavy and not as convenient to set up and take down. But it is solid and best of all no center raiL
    Terry

  10. #10
    Member toober's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poppabear View Post
    Personally I have switched to a Ed Speer style galvanized pipe stand. It is heavy and not as convenient to set up and take down. But it is solid and best of all no center raiL
    Does anybody have a link to that stand?

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