WBBB Why even bother with SLR?

[packeagle]

Yeah. Your rant seems like the optimistic version of mine. I guess if i play eith it more maybe I'll stumble upon the solution.

[BearChaser]

Luckily, or never noticed, I have not had the calf pressure thing. It could be my height (6'-4"), maybe its under my knees? Or just got lucky when setting up with separate suspension tie outs.

Can someone give an idea a shot? Try scooting up into the footbox more, even pushing on it with your feet outward. Most of the time when I'm laying in my WBBB my feet just touch the footbox wall, sometimes against it. What I am thinking is that when you start pushing your feet against the wall of the footbox, it will start taking the ridges out. I know allot of people suggest and hang with the foot end elevated, I like a fairly flat hang, maybe just a slight elevation.

Just an idea. Trying to help.

[Edit]: Have you tried laying with your head in the footbox? Its actually not too bad. I do this on rare occasions just to lay on my right side & change up my sleeping position every now and then. Try it that way to see if you get any calf pressure, just to play.

[gargoyle]

For curiosity's sake packeagle, What are the trees like in your yard? How far apart are they? Maybe some pics of your set up will help?

[DemostiX]

I have read the entire thread.

The tightness of the ridgeline depends on how much the ridgeline alters the hang of the hammock from what Brandon expects. Deviate from 30 degree loose rope angle of both ropes and the meaning of ridgeline tightness changes.

Everybody with exactly the same extreme tightness should be enjoying or suffering the same hang because with a tight non-stretching ridgeline the hang will be identical........

• except for differences due to differences in the hanger

.........

• differences in height of the hammock ends

.........

• differences in centrality of the hammock between the tree

........

• and differences in where you lay in the hammock

.[/I]

For the last, I don't mean differences in preference for diagonal lay. I do mean that I can't believe that everyone is close to having their navels, nipples, or eyeballs at the same positions along the axis from one end to the other. Search the archives. Dunno that you'll find 5 postings, ever, on position in the hammock or relative lengths of line from ends to trees, except for the assumption that makes no physiological sense to me that they be equal. Yes, everyone moves to be comfortable, but is that when the center of mass is at some distance from the hammock end? Who knows?

And, if my body mass distribution isn't equally distributed top and bottom, why should the hammock be optimally hung when it is centered between trees?

So, tightness of ridgelines is small beer in getting uniformly optimal comfort across hammockers.

[BillyBob58]

Wow, I had not seen this thread. I think it confirms what I have suspected for a long time: ( now don't any one get mad including Brandon! ) :That the hammock most highly rated at HF by the most people is, ironically, also the worst offender in the "calf" discomfort category. I just don't think it can be denied any longer, at least by me. I am just basing this on the number of threads or posts that are about this problem with BBs.

This problem is probably about the only thing that kept my BB from becoming my overall fav hammock. And I have always said that, for me, all non-bridge hammocks I have tried either have this problem( a little or a lot) or have the potential for it if every thing is not just right with the hang and with my positioning. Still, some seem to have this particular problem more than others, and I have long suspected my BB was the worst of the lot.

So I have started to sell my BB several times, only for this reason. But for whatever reason, lately I don't seem to be having the problem at all! I think it has mainly been because I am finally getting the foot high enough, maybe I am just consistently getting positioned correctly. Maybe it is a little slack in the RL, although that did not seem to solve it in the past, and I actually want to try it with a tighter RL. Maybe the hammock fabric stretched/got broke in? Whatever, no problem lately, so I have finally been able to enjoy my WBBB to full potential without having to side sleep. And last backpack I used my JRB bridge and my son used my WBBB. I set it up for him and tried it out: no calf pressure. Next morning( his 1st night in a BB) he reported NO calf pressure and a very comfy night. Plus, he really loved the shelf.

But all of this trying to get things just right has made me aware of another benefit of my JRB bridge. Bridges have their own set of "issues", BUT there is really no trying to figure out any correct RL tension or much else. My old style bridge was supposed to be hung with 9'6" between the outer rings, or a few inches less if you prefer. I have accomplished this with a 9'6" RL, or by just approximating going by the tension on the net, or just going by how it looks. It seems to workout whatever I do. IOW, if I hang it a little too loose, it is not going to cause any noticeable discomfort for me. I am not going to develop any pressure spots anywhere. I just hang it up, make sure the head is a bit higher than the foot, so that my head does not feel "down hill", and that's it. Lay down, be comfy. Similarly, using the JRB MW4 UQ with this hammock is another idiot proof set up, no learning curve. Just attach as directed, and lay down, be warm, change position all you want, doesn't matter, end of story.

I am still looking forward to trying one of these night owls or SBs, which I keep hearing good things about.

[packeagle]

I find that through different trees and more experience the pressure is getting better but the fiddle factor is still annoying. All in all i think that the shelf and roomy interior of the black bird are swell, but for comfort it leaves some to be desired.

When it comes to bridge hammocks I have been experimenting on one I helped my girlfriend build and the only issue I have with it is tarp and durability issues. (Durability because its single layer 1.9 and im nervous that where the mule tape is sewn will rip at the stitching. So a design flaw.)

[Randy]

Omg...........

[BillyBob58]

I find that through different trees and more experience the pressure is getting better but the fiddle factor is still annoying. All in all i think that the shelf and roomy interior of the black bird are swell, but for comfort it leaves some to be desired.

When it comes to bridge hammocks I have been experimenting on one I helped my girlfriend build and the only issue I have with it is tarp and durability issues. (Durability because its single layer 1.9 and im nervous that where the mule tape is sewn will rip at the stitching. So a design flaw.)

I have dealt with the tarp issue in 3 ways.
1: I put some extra padding (duct tape) on the end of my spreader bars. Though with or without this, I have never had any damage to my sil-nylon tarps. I actually worry more about heavy winds slamming the tarp into the bars than I do about any rubbing or pressure as I get in and out.
2: I use some shorter spreader bars for the foot end, and keep that end- or the sides- windward. This impacts comfort only slightly. This way the tarp can block the wind from the foot end- closed if needed- and contact will not be a problem. I can keep the tarp more open on the head/down wind end, so again no spreader problem.
3: Best of all I think: Grip Clips at about the place of spreader bar/tarp contact. Sewn in pull outs at the appropriate place on the tarp like some of the tarps have would be even better. Then a line from the grip clips out to a hiking pole of a tree or branch. Even with one end of the JRB 11x10 tarp closed, I have been able to maintain several inches of space between the bars and tarp. Plus it improves overall roominess under the tarp. Works like a charm.

[kykayak]

So, I've had my BB double 1.7 for about a year now (about 20 nights or so) and have not experienced the calf issue but.... I do have a hard time getting the ridge line as slack as I like. I am also tall (6'3" 230#) which may help with the calf pressure but I need to find trees that are about 20' apart to make it work right and even then I find myself really low to the ground. I've been known to climb up into the trees a bit to hang the straps about 9' above the ground in order to get the hang right.

[BillyBob58]

So, I've had my BB double 1.7 for about a year now (about 20 nights or so) and have not experienced the calf issue but.... I do have a hard time getting the ridge line as slack as I like. I am also tall (6'3" 230#) which may help with the calf pressure but I need to find trees that are about 20' apart to make it work right and even then I find myself really low to the ground. I've been known to climb up into the trees a bit to hang the straps about 9' above the ground in order to get the hang right.

Can't you deal with that better with the trees closer together? I always get trees as close as possible but still allowing room for the tarp and hammock length. I do this with all my hammocks. I have just always found that the farther the trees are apart, not only do I have to get the straps way up in the tree, but it just gets harder to stay off the ground, even if I start off plenty high above the ground. Just seems like the more suspension length is used, the more sag occurs once I get in.

Of course, if you are saying you need the trees far apart for the comfort level ( and calf pressure) to be acceptable, then that is what you have to do. I just have not noticed comfort being correlated with tree distance, though I for sure notice it being correlated with staying off the ground.

IOW, even with a minimal distance between the trees, I seem to be able to still get correct angles or RL tension. If I need more slack, I can just move the straps up the tree a little more, and would rarely have to put the straps way up in the tree. Course, that's just me, others might have different experience.