Took my CJH out for the first time this weekend. First , I think my trees were too close together and I had too much sag.I had my foot end about a foot higher than the head. My legs were uncomfortable all night and I had trouble sleeping.Please Instruct me.
I've never measured it really but probably 6 to 8 inches seems right to me. I hang it and then make adjustments until I can wiggle around and not sink to the center of the hammock. That's where I stop.
If you have too much sag then you end up like a folded banana and that is not very comfortable. I like the trees to be between 13 and 17 feet apart to make tying up a little easier.
Right on. I'm experimenting with sag and discovering new pains when I sleep on my side when there's too much sag.Originally Posted by photomankc
Bananas don't have hips. Advantage banana.
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www.christianknoebel.info
Hiking the 4,000 footers of New Hampshire
Last edited by Three; 10-09-2008 at 10:01. Reason: forgot signature (oops)
Yeah, experiment. It depends on the hammock design and materials. I set up at least a foot higher at the foot.
Not to complicate things ..... But ....
This discussion of elevated foot ends applies pretty much to all gathered end hammocks, and only gathered end hammocks..... Any bridge hammock users will want to hang the head end higher to get the perfectly level lay....There is no tendance for brige sleepers to slide to the foot end.... But most important, the raised head end compensates for the sleeper's greater upper body weight so that the resultant lay puts the level plane right though the center length or the sleeper.
How far, you may ask....Experiment, as your specific weight and the distance between the trees are the primary variables.... Start point with bridge hammocks for 180-200 pound sleeper and 13-15 foot tree distance is about 8-10 inches higher....More of either variable raise the head end higher... Less drop it some.
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
Pan is correct about the Bridge vs the gathered end hammocks.
There are 2 other factors in play with the Bridge that Pan didn't mention:
- relative spreader sizes - I follow my .70 head end fabric to spreader bar rule and 0.5 foot end ratio.
- suspension triangle sizes - I make the the head end and foot end suspension triangles sides of equal in length.
Having the head end spreader longer than the foot end spreader with equal length suspension triangles compensates somewhat for the heavier upper body and I find that for a 16 ft tree span, 175 lbs occupant (with top quilt, clothes, base layer etc), I need the head end tie off to the tree only about 2" to 4" higher than the foot end tie off.
Then on entry, the hammock ends up level.
Again, as Pan states, experiment with your particular Bridge set-up.
Varying the suspension triangle lengths between head and foot ends will also influence how much higher the head end will have to be if at all.
to hang a hammock with alot of sag and get flat, you need to lay very diagonal, and to lay very diagonal you need min 5 feet of hammock width which i don't think the clark has. for a narrower end gathered hammock, you have to lay more in-line and to get a flatter lay you will have to do a tight hang.
I find my Clark most comfortable when I get the right balance between sag and pull. Pull it tight and I get a flat bed, which is great for my back but squeezes my shoulders. Let it hang with too much sag and it's horizontally roomy but uncomfortable at the hips and lower back. The sweet spot is comfortable but I'm unable describe how it looks when hung.
i have tried the clark north american hammock,they are short and narrow
most uncomfortable hammock i have ever tried.neo
the matrix has you
Yeah if I had to guess I think I put mine about 5-6 inches higher. I also think that the amount of distance between the tress is more important than the foot end height. My reason is as you move the trees further apart you can get the hammock to hang with less sag. So try the 13-17 foot distance and see if that helps straighten the hammock more and then mess with foot to head end height. Outside of all the folks that are going to reply to your question you will be the best person to answer it once you get it dialed to your liking. Now that doesn't give you a place to start (Which is a guess on my part as to why you asked) but once you get your hang you will understand that no one can tell you the perfect way to hang. I borrowed ideas from about 5 diff people before I figured out I like my Clark tighter than most with almost no sag and again my head may be all of 5" lower than my feet. But that's just my $.02, which you should pay no attention to if you read my post.
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