Question of Comfort

[golfhiker]

I'm a long time Backpacker, relatively new Hammock hanger.. I've been out in my HH Ultralite Ex. A Sym a few times, and cannot quite get the hang ( no pun) of sleeping comfortably. Here's the problem. I have this overwhelming senation that my feet are always above my head. No matter how far up I try to position myself, I always get back to the center/middle & feel like I'm sleeping uphill... Is this unusual? Is it a "set up" issue? Am I just imagining?

I'm hoping there is an easy solution so that I might join the ranks of those who truly "love" their hammock.

I appreciate any input from new & veteran hangers. Thanks.

[warbonnetguy]

you could try hanging the head end of the hammock higher than the foot. lots of folks do the opposite though, they feel like they are sliding toward the foot end, so they hang the foot end higher. it might just take a bit of getting used to however.

welcome to the hf

[FanaticFringer]

Welcome to the site. Are you sleeping in the diagonal position? Also, if one end of the hammock is attached to the tree much closer than the other, this can affect comfort.

[elcolombianito]

Yeah. It's different if you sleep on the "diagonal". This works by having your feet to the right of the entry slit and your torso/head to the left (on the picture* I attach here, imagine you are the red or green lines, top upper end of the image is the foot end). Some get into the hammock straight (red line) , then rotate on to the diagonal (green line). Others get into the hammock directly onto the diagonal. The diagonal should give you a flatter lay. If you do this already and still don't find it comfortable, maybe try a bridge hammock, thats gonna be my next hammock, they look really comfortable.

*edited image from headchange4u's hh tutorial.

[Peter_pan]

a bridge hammoch is normally hung with the head end high.... thus the heavier upper body sinks to a level lay position with the legs..... you will not slide to the footend as is common with gathered end hammocks because the natural curve is eliminated....

note, if you fine tune your hang on a gathered end hammock you can reduce or eliminate the feet higher issue, but that point is often the same point that begins the sliding to the foot end issue....this is really an experiance issue and one of practice changes until one learns the hang position one seeks...

pan

[JaxHiker]

golfhiker, I'd say it definitely takes some practice. I just keep putting my Hennessy up in the backyard on weekends so I don't look like a fool around my buddies in the woods.

If you take elcolombianito's image and flip it so the diagonal is left to right from foot to head that's what I do. I find my left knee fits right into the tie-out and if I get on my side (that's another topic) I have more room.

I'm still working on perfecting the hang. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't. Last weekend I had to get up about 2am and re-hang because I kept sliding into the foot area. What I try to do is put the head about chin level and the feet slightly higher. Figure you'll have more sag in the head since your torso weighs more.

Hope this helps some. Just keep at it. fwiw I fell asleep almost right away last night and was very comfortable.

[Ramblinrev]

What I try to do is put the head about chin level and the feet slightly higher.

The height of the straps on the tree is directly related to the span between the trees. The farther away the trees are... the higher the straps need to be. One trick I will use on occasion is to observe the hung hammock where I want to hang.. Following the curve at the end and extending my eyetrack up to the tree, where the eyeline and the tree intersect is about where I want to put the straps.

If I want to be about 18" off the ground I will hang the hammock at that level. Then eyeballing the curve as I described I will raise the straps to where they should be. If for some reson I can not get into the hammock I will release the tensions on the lines and allow the hammock to drop to a level that is practical. A few times on particularly long spans I have had to use my trekking poles to move the straps as high as they needed to be.
That's one reason I went to the ring buckle system. The rings are on the hammock and I can throw the straps up as high as I want and do all the adjusting from the ground level.

[JaxHiker]

The height of the straps on the tree is directly related to the span between the trees. The farther away the trees are... the higher the straps need to be.

Yes, and I realized as I was laying in bed that I didn't really say what I meant to say.

I was trying to say that I put the ridgeline about chin level. As you mentioned, where you put the straps to accomplish this will vary with the distance between the trees.

[Cannibal]

Yes, and I realized as I was laying in bed that I didn't really say what I meant to say.

Oh man, you got it bad. Laying awake at night thinking about the forums!

It may be the Hennessy that you aren't comfortable in. I know a few folks that just didn't like the feel of the Hennessy, but were able to find hammocks that they did like. Alas, some never find comfort. Poor tortured souls.

[neo]

I'm a long time Backpacker, relatively new Hammock hanger.. I've been out in my HH Ultralite Ex. A Sym a few times, and cannot quite get the hang ( no pun) of sleeping comfortably. Here's the problem. I have this overwhelming senation that my feet are always above my head. No matter how far up I try to position myself, I always get back to the center/middle & feel like I'm sleeping uphill... Is this unusual? Is it a "set up" issue? Am I just imagining?

I'm hoping there is an easy solution so that I might join the ranks of those who truly "love" their hammock.

I appreciate any input from new & veteran hangers. Thanks.

i lay pretty flat in my claytor jungle hammock.hennessey hammocks are not near as comfortable,for me anywayneo