My first night in a hammock

[Raven-US]

I studied the KAQ design, then modified it to fit my ENO singlenest. It really isn't hard at all... just takes a little time to get it pinned up properly and sewn. Attaching a UQ isn't rocket science, either... just trial and error... OK, so that's how rocket science started, too... but UQ trial and error doesn't typically involve fireballs.

[Binford]

How wide did you make the hammocks?

60" fabric, hemmed an inch or so narrower. Fine for me, but perhaps too wide for the young'n, eh?

...Another option is to make Asym pullouts somewhat like the hennessy. Only problem is that might make the single tarp side by side pitch a bit harder to do.

Good idea. The side-by-side under a single tarp was just for the front yard trial. I may do it in the field, but only after I hammock-camp for a while and see I'd be able to do it in pretty much every case. I wouldn't want to bring only one tarp only to find we couldn't set both hammocks up under it! But if nothing else works, that would probably solve the issue for him.

If you re-whip it and don't pull the edges out at all you should be free of shoulder wrap - especially if you lay on the diagonal. I tried pulling the edges out and found it was not as comfortable as without doing so.

I'll try that. I re-did mine to 1-1/2 inches or so and liked it a lot better. I'll re-do his to 0" and see how that works for him. Thanks....

Also - this will help more than anything else you can do for comfort. Add a structural ridge-line (I didn't see one in the pics, but I might be missing it if you have one). Play around with the length, and once you get it right - make it permanent. You'll have the perfect sag in the hammock every time. This also significantly reduces the shoulder squeeze you can find in hammocks without ridge lines.

For your setup - the easiest way to make a ridge-line would be a length of cord (3mm accessory cord should suffice) with loops on either end. Run your straps through the loop so the cord runs from suspension webbing to suspension webbing. Now you've got something to hang things from, something to give you the perfect setup every time, and something to keep the bug netting off your face when you add it.

Hmmm.... I'll have to read up on ridgeline construction some more. I get what the general idea is, but I need to read up on the pros and cons of it. I do plan to set up a line to support a bug net for the summer, but hadn't figured I'd make it part of the hammock construction itself. In other words, I was just going to tie it on with a tautline hitch to hold up the no-see-um and perhaps my watch and some other light gear. But I hadn't thought about making it a part of the hammock itself, mainly because I haven't learned enough about it yet.

Also - as for mummy bags in hammocks... since you really don't get any insulation under you in a sleeping bag (it is compressed under you to the point of giving no insulative value), you could try just using your bag as a top quilt. Keep the bottom zipped up just a bit to give a nice foot box and use it like a blanket. Makes moving around so much easier.

Not a bad idea. Thanks!

So what do most hammock-campers use for top warmth? Say you're on a pad a two... Do you slip into a bag, or just tuck a blanket or an unzipped bag over yourself?

I studied the KAQ design, then modified it to fit my ENO singlenest. It really isn't hard at all... just takes a little time to get it pinned up properly and sewn.

Sorry... "KAQ?" "ENO?"

Attaching a UQ isn't rocket science, either... just trial and error... OK, so that's how rocket science started, too... but UQ trial and error doesn't typically involve fireballs.

Heh, heh, heh.... I think I'll play with pads for now and, if I find them too cumbersome for my situations, or not warm enough, I'll look into an underquilt. I'll also probably play around with the UQ idea when I'm settled into hammock camping and start thinking of what I could do to make it easier/lighter/more convenient/&tc.

Thanks for the thoughts, ideas and comments, guys! Much appreciated!

[Splinter]

Sorry... "KAQ?" "ENO?"

KAQ= Kick A** Quilts (Family Friendly Version... Sorry Mrprez, but the "**" were added when I previewed the post.)
ENO= Eagle's Nest Outfitters

I just made my first UQ from Coffee's Red River Gorge Directions (http://www.tothewoods.net/RedRiverGo...orgeQuilt.html)
It was easy for the most part...stuffing down was a whole new experience by itself . I've used pads in the past, but an UQ is a whole new world of comfort and ease, just make sure you use shock cords and not mason's line to attatch it (words of wisdom form personal experience )

[Binford]

Thanks for the definitions.

Has anyone just used an old sleeping bag to make an underquilt? Probably considerably heavier though, eh?

[HappyCamper]

Yes, people have used them, and yes if it's a heavy bag it's a heavy underquilt. Definitely check out the ridgeline it makes hanging a hammock a no brainer. If you do go with a ridgeline, you can sew ridgeline pockets for it out of netting or other light material and attach to the ridgeline. Good for small things like glasses and flashlight. I put a second pocket on mine sized for a paperback book.

[Raven-US]

... Definitely check out the ridgeline it makes hanging a hammock a no brainer...

At the risk of thread hi-jack, this looks like something else new for me (maybe others?) to learn... it looks like there may be another purpose to a ridgeline (?) beyond supporting a tarp and/or hanging stuff... teach me, please.

[GrizzlyAdams]

At the risk of thread hi-jack, this looks like something else new for me (maybe others?) to learn... it looks like there may be another purpose to a ridgeline (?) beyond supporting a tarp and/or hanging stuff... teach me, please.

Hammocking 101 class is in session. Please students, climb into your hammocks.

Now you will notice that when you're in the hammock, your weight is carried by the fabric going right down the center of the hammock, to the suspension cords. It naturally follows a curve, with the lowest point over your center of mass. Now if you were to lay directly in line with this curve you'd assume the shape of a banana after a short while.

To defeat the onset of banana-ness, you orient your body on a diagonal with respect to that centerline. This has the effect of lowering your feet on a region of the fabric that is not heading upwards due to weight, likewise your head is lowered. The net effect is to give you a flatter lay.

In fact, the more exaggerated the angle, the lower your head and feet become until, if you could orient yourself 90 degrees, they would be at the same level as your center of mass. Mayan hammocks are wide enough to allow this, camping hammocks typically are not.

So with a camping hammock you find your "sweet spot" where you are comfortable, and still in the hammock. For a given hammock that sweet spot will depend only on the horizontal distance between the ends of the hammock. The problem now is that every time you hang your hammock, you need to futz with the suspension tension until you get that distance exactly right.

So, a "structural ridgeline" is a bit of cord that is tied to each end of the hammock at exactly the right length for you to hit your sweet spot. Whenever you hang the hammock, once you have tightened the suspension up so that the ridgeline is not sagging when you are in the hammock, you will have "the right sag".

OK class, that's it for today's lesson. Tomorrow we'll go over the Marlinhitch spike and its many applications in hammocking.

Grizz

[Peter_pan]

Here's a shot from the head end, in case anyone might find it interesting. Or maybe even comical!




I would be curious to know if anyone has any ideas on how I might prevent the sides of his hammock rolling over the top so far, covering his face. When we whipped the end, we pulled the edges out about 4 inches initially. When we saw this, we cut the whipping and re-whipped it with the edges out only 1-1/2 or 2 inches. That's what this picture shows.

Binford,

Welcome to the hanging gang!

You can also prevent the side roll up/cover issue by adding side tie outs similiar to a HH....Sew on, use grip clips, or the old peeble and noose trick....The line goint to ground may be an issus when two are under one tarp but generally not an issue when each is under their own tarp.

Follow Grizz's lesson above then mark the ponts to tie out based on your optimum diagonal.

Pan

[Roadtorque]

My 10-year-old recently crossed over to Boy Scouts from Webelos. So he'll be doing a lot of hiking and camping. As I'm an adult leader in BSA, I'll likely be along for much of it.

Last fall I got to poking around here a bunch, read Ed Speer's book and ended up making a couple of hammocks

I hate sleeping on the ground. Even on a pad, I wake up all achy and miserable. Laying in a hammock, on the other hand, is heavenly. At least when it's not so cold out. To take care of that, I put an ensolite pad in the hammock and then my 1" thick inflatable Thermarest over that.

In my son's hammock I put an ensolite pad and a military one over that. We tied the head ends of our hammocks to two trees growing very close together in our front yard and shared a tree for the foot end. Since my Silnylon material is still on order, we used a 12' x 9' poly tarp staked out over a guy line above the two hammocks to try them out.

Last night we gave it a test-sleep. I wanted to test it out in the cold where, if we got too cold, we could just walk back into the house. Better than being out on a BSA campout only to discover we didn't have enough insulation!

So I crawled in my sleeping bag (REI synthetic mummy bag) wearing a fleece 1/4-zip top and fleece pants. My son had fleece on too and a double-sleeping bag (military style knock-off). We both wore ski caps and wool socks too. The thermometer when we went out there at about 10 p.m. read 34 degrees, but there was already frost on my truck in the driveway. Chance of a light snow was forecasted for that night too. And quite a bit of wind too. Only got the wind though, and a bit of rain.

Within an hour, I was too hot! I took off my hat and unzipped my bag to mid-torso. It was a really windy night and I had forgotten to take a careful look up the trees for dead branches (widow-makers, they call them around here). So it was a restless night! Not having turned off the porch light didn't help either!

But I was plenty warm and reasonably comfortable. I really don't like mummy bags, but the hammock doesn't really allow for stretching out anyway, so....

I dislike mummy bags too. I gave a big agnes summit park bag a shot. I love it. Just enough room to move around a bit. To me seems like a perfect fit for a hammock

[Binford]

...So, a "structural ridgeline" is a bit of cord that is tied to each end of the hammock at exactly the right length for you to hit your sweet spot. Whenever you hang the hammock, once you have tightened the suspension up so that the ridgeline is not sagging when you are in the hammock, you will have "the right sag".

Thanks for the great 'splanation there, Grizz!

I'll have to experiment with this a bit.