Can't get comfortable in DIY hammock.

[NCPatrick]

I'll have to go to Lowe's this weekend then. Thanks.

[thecrumb]

I wear earplugs on my motorcycle. WalMart also has a good selection - look in the health/beauty section - and then in the hunting section for a good variety.

Jim

[JonnieBlaze]

I dont know if they're going to work yet or not, but I plan on using the soft, thick, foamy ones that you roll and pinch and smash with your fingers then slide them in your ear so they expand and completely seal everything off. They are connected to each other with a rubber tube/string type thing that you can just cut off so there is nothing behind your head pulling on the ear plugs while you're moving around in your hammock. They seem like they'll stay in my ears pretty tight when I try the hammock out again tonight.

Oh, I got mine from work. When we're out in the factory working on something we're required to wear them, so the safety man is required to give them to us for free. They are the disposable kind but I dont see the need to dispose of them frequently in our situation..but at work your hands get greasy and you gotta smash the plug to get it in your ears so it could get the plug greasy and such...so you just throw them away after you use them.

[TiredFeet]

Just sent this to NCPATRICK and then kept reading the rest of the thread.

Thought it would be useful to repeat here.

Here's a copy of what I sent:

You mentioned that you have trouble keeping the ear plugs in your ears.

Have you tried those foam ear plugs?

They are little cylinders of foam that you roll into a small wad ans stuff into your ear and push with your finger to them keep there while they expand back out.

They are very cheap and I've seen them at Lowes. Look for the E*A*R brand.

The Army used to hand them out at basic for the recruits to use on the firing range.

Easy to pull out when you want to. I use them when mowing the lawn.

I had a neighbor some years back that was a fast rising star in Chevron, a VP at the time. At one time he headed their Environmental division. When he saw mine, he said that the Environmental division he had headed up tested all of the ear plugs/muffs available and found that the foam plugs were not only the cheapest but also the most effective. He very highly recommended them and said that they the only kind that Chevron used then.

If you haven't tried them, you may want. I think they would easily stay in your ears.

Added:

The foam tends to dry out and harden over time and become unusable. But if you keep them sealed in a small container, they can last a long time. The Army gave them out in little plastic containers with a screw off top. I stopped at Fort Dix in NJ once in 1977 or 1978 and talked to the range Lt and he gave me a double handful of the ear plugs and a double handful of the plastic containers. I have kept them in the containers ever since and they're still soft and usable. Since I use them when using the lawn tractor, they get grimy, but that doesn't affect their performance. 30 years isn't bad

[BillyBob58]

......Since I use them when using the lawn tractor, they get grimy, but that doesn't affect their performance. 30 years isn't bad

I reuse mine quite a bit. I even wash them in the sink. But 30 years- WOW!

[JonnieBlaze]

Here's an update:

I used the foamy ear plugs described above and they worked great. I slept from about 11 pm to 4:30 am when I woke up cuz I was really cold. I was using a 60 degree bag and it got down to about 52 degrees...need to work on staying warm. But the noise issue must have been a major problem. But I also tried to look at the size of the hammock and it looks like going a little longer will definitely help as well. My feet stay about 6 inches away from the whipping and that makes them press against each other quite a bit. So making it a foot or so longer should help me out some. Thanks for the help everyone!

[NCPatrick]

Sounds like you've gotten it figured out (besides being cold, which is something that's easier to remedy).

Congrats!

Btw, I found some Air Force issue ear plugs in some of my Dad's old things (I cleaned them thoroughly) and they worked well for me yesterday. Finally!

[Gumbi]

Glad to see somethings working for you. My first night in a hammock was pretty bad. After lying awake for a couple hours, I went and got some earplugs out of my car, and that worked wonders for me!

[FanaticFringer]

I can do the earplugs if I have company at camp. If I'm by myself, I want to hear Jason Vorhees as he is about to slash me and my hammock apart.

[JonnieBlaze]

Alright, I finally got to do an overnight hike and try the hammock for real instead of just in my backyard. It worked out great.

I made a new hammock about 11 ft long.
I used headchange4u's method of whipping.
I had a normal tarp from walmart above me (a silnylon tarp will be one of my next projects).
I used a thermarest ridgeline pad under me.
I used a cheap 25* High Peak sleeping bag from Ebay.
I wore socks, silk running shorts, and a thin (like a normal haines t-shirt...but not cotton) long sleeve shirt.
I used foamy ear plugs (tried the ones at walmart, but they aren't a stiff foam so they dont work as well. The stiff foam ear plugs you can really shove in your ear so they stay all night)
I was already pretty tired and wore out by 8 pm, but I took two Tylenol PM's just to make sure I got a good nights sleep. Went to bed at 9.

I slept great all night. I did wake up a few times (2 or 3 maybe) and had to roll over to my other side, but I quickly fell asleep again. It got down to 45* that night and I was burning up all night in the bag (had to keep it open for the longest time). I never rolled off the pad or had the pad come out from under me and I never noticed any cold spots. My buddy tried to wake me up at 6:30 and said he shook the hammock and didn't wake me. He had to hit me in the shoulder to wake me up.

All in all it was a very successful hammock trip I think. Thanks to everyone who helped me figure out problems with my last setup. I think my very next project will be an underquilt though...the thermarest did great but I'm not sure I'd trust it f it got below 40*.

One negative however....it's pretty cold trying to change out in the cold air when you wake up in the morning. I kinda miss changing inside my old tent that was slightly warm from my body heat....lol.