Learning the "Ropes", A Few ?'s

[SailingandSuch]

Spent my first night in a hammock last night. Enjoyed it for the most part but still learning to get comfortable.

I have been backpacking for a few years now and sleeping on the ground in my tarptent contrail. I love the tent but I don't love the difficulty of finding a proper site and sleeping on the hard ground.... So I'm giving the hammock thing a try!

I have been doing some research (reading on here, watching all of Shug's videos, and Googling every thought). I have learned a lot and I went to put them into practice last night, I wound up with a few questions.

I wasn't able to get completely comfortable in my hammock (ENO DN). From what I have gathered that is probably because my hang wasn't correct and I wasn't at the 30 degree sweet spot. I have learned a few other tricks today on how to find that sweet spot but I want to double check my findings.

I'm pretty sure I want to use a structural ridgeline in my setup, I had one last night (550 para, stretchy I know, amsteel will be used next trip). I don't think I had it adjusted correctly.

TRUE or FALSE???
-----When using a structural ridgeline, you can achieve the perfect hang (30 degree) every time you hang your hammock regardless of how tight your suspension is-------

I think that is the one thing I need cleared up. Does the structural ridgeline almost take the guess work out of getting that perfect sag every time you hang your hammock?

Thank you all for your knowledge!

[Shotgunred]

False! A ridge line will get you a consistent sag in the hammock itself but your suspension lines still need to be as close as possible to that 30* hangle.

[SailingandSuch]

Interesting...... Thank you for the reply.

I am pretty good at geometry and constructing angles and forces in my head, however I sit here and ponder this situation and I can't grasp why the angle of the suspension would matter.

But of course I will take your word for it and attempt to get mine set at the 30* angle.

Any way you or someone could attempt to explain why it matters? Just for my amusement and curiosity?

[Steve D]

Interesting...... Thank you for the reply.

I am pretty good at geometry and constructing angles and forces in my head, however I sit here and ponder this situation and I can't grasp why the angle of the suspension would matter.

But of course I will take your word for it and attempt to get mine set at the 30* angle.

Any way you or someone could attempt to explain why it matters? Just for my amusement and curiosity?

I'm not an engineer but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express once...I'll take a whack at this but hopefully a real engineer will chime in...

Having your suspension at a 30 degree angle has more to do with the forces and stresses at work on your hammock and suspension and how they support you rather than with you being comfortable. An angle too steep or shallow causes additional stress on your hammock and suspension. 30 deg had been calculated by folks that know a heck of a lot more math than me to be the optimum angle of dangle...

Hey SaS, I see you're in Dothan. My step-sis lives down there. Pretty country.

[ShellHammock]

TRUE or FALSE???
-----When using a structural ridgeline, you can achieve the perfect hang (30 degree) every time you hang your hammock regardless of how tight your suspension is-------

TRUE!

However, the tighter your suspension is, the more force you are putting on your srl (and your anchors), but your hammock will lay (sag) pretty much the same. Hanging at an angle greater than 30° will cause your srl to droop, but put the least amount of force on your anchors.

So splice up a section of amsteel that is 83% of the total length of your ENO DN, thread the stock ENO rope through the loops, and done!

[Bubba]

At 30 degrees each suspension is supporting the equivalent of your weight. So if you are 200lbs, the force on each end is 200lbs. The closer to horizontal the suspension gets the more weight is exponetially applied to each side. The 30 degree angle is just a starting point. If you want more sag, the suspension angle will be greater than 30 degrees and the SRL will be shorter. For me more sag usually means more comfort.

As mentioned, the SRL merely provides a consistent sag and can be fine tuned to your comfort. 83% of the hammock's length is a starting point but you may prefer more or less sag. I use the SRL as more of a yard stick and its usually only taut but not super tight. The only time it is super tight is if I happen to set up with trees too far apart to get the straps high enough up the trees. In this instance my suspension my be lower than 30 degrees but the SRL will keep my sag the same.

[lesspayne]

False! A ridge line will get you a consistent sag in the hammock itself but your suspension lines still need to be as close as possible to that 30* hangle.

TRUE!

However, the tighter your suspension is, the more force you are putting on your srl (and your anchors), but your hammock will lay (sag) pretty much the same. Hanging at an angle greater than 30° will cause your srl to droop, but put the least amount of force on your anchors.

So splice up a section of amsteel that is 83% of the total length of your ENO DN, thread the stock ENO rope through the loops, and done!

**Scratches Head**
Both of these guys can't be right... unless it's a trick question.

[bhinson]

I have found in sleeping in my ENO dbl nest
That if I sleep on the diagonal I get a nice flat lay
And is a lot more comfortable then if I sleep straight down the middle of the hammock

[SailingandSuch]

Steve, Yes it is beautiful down here! Only problem is there are no mountains for hiking! It's all flat-land down here. I have to travel about 2.5 hours to some mediocre hiking and 4 hours to some decent hiking, about 8.5 hours to the AT in north Georgia. But, Ill travel...

Ok, I think I'm getting the point of 30* suspension straps, pretty much to reduce the load on them and your SRL. Pretty neat learning all this.

If anyone has something else to add feel free to chime in!

[Junebugdawn]

TRUE or FALSE???
-----When using a structural ridgeline, you can achieve the perfect hang (30 degree) every time you hang your hammock regardless of how tight your suspension is-------

I think the confusion on this is in the wording of your question. When using a structural ridgeline, you can achieve the perfect SAG every time you hang your hammock. This will give you the same comfort and sweet spot in your hammock each time as long as you hang your hammock with your ridgeline taut.

This is not the same as having the perfect hang angle of 30*. The angle will depend on how far apart your trees are and how high up you put your straps. The angle will affect the forces you are putting on your straps and hammock suspension. You will get to the point with practice of choosing trees that are a good distance apart, placing your straps at a good height and hanging your hammock where the suspension is at a good angle AND your ridgeline is taut.

There are times, especially because I am very height challenged, that I cannot get my straps quite high enough to really get a good 30* angle. It does put more stress on my suspension and I try to avoid this if possible. However, the sag in my hammock is the same.