cougarmeat
Paddler
This is a partner thread to Tarpology. I will cover a few orienting basics, and not repeat ALL the information you can find at www.hammockforums.net and I will also post a reference to www.westcoastpadder.com in their paddling subforum - an exchange of info across two fields of interest. Note that hammockforums has two tiers, free and "donating member", donating member costs $10/year and is required to access additional sub-forums, including the paddling sub-forum. Most of the posts in "Paddling" feature wide fishing lake boats - not that there is anything wrong with that.
The hammock gives you an alternative when the ground is rough or maybe you've arrived at a small area - like Posey Island - and all the ground spots are taken but there are a good pair of trees. In general, the hammock/tarp is less bulky than a similar tent setup, weighs about as much, but can be much, much more comfortable. In the rain, you can put the tarp up first and do the rest of the setup (or teardown) under the dry tarp. No more crawling around on your hands and knees to get in the shelter.
My comments refer to two basic camping hammock styles; the gathered end hammock (GE) that most picture when they think of hammocks and a Bridge hammock - a style that uses spreader bars at the ends to hold it in a rectangular shape. Note that there are many more varieties. Some are almost like a trampoline suspended between three trees. Some, like, the Amok Draumr, are suspended not at the traditional ends but from the sides (requiring a much shorter tree distance). One can go on and on.
Going on and on, the general camping hammock is about 11 ft long. Note that most cheap (Amazon) hammocks are much shorter/narrower - closer to 9 ft. There's a variety of cottage industry folks making tried and true camping hammocks that are the right length, include built-in bug nets, and have other options like fabric material and pattern. Most cost between $100 - $200.
One of the first mistakes a person makes when starting with a hammock is to try to mimic their sleeping arrangement in a bed. "... I can't sleep in a hammock because I need to sleep on my side. ...". You sleep the way you do in a bed because the bed creates pressure points during the night. As your full body is supported in the hammock, in a day or two your muscles learn they can relax more and you'll find yourself comfortably on your back or with a slight tilt. I'm not saying you can't sleep on your side (the Bridge hammock is good for that), just that you don't need to.
The second mistake is trying to make the hammock "flat" by tightening the suspension so its guitar string tight. DON'T DO THAT. Without going into the physics of it, that setup can almost double the force of your body weight on the material/stitching/connectors. Most hammocks are rated at about 250 lbs (with appropriate hang angles) and different fabrics or a double layer (a sleeve you insert a sleeping pad into) can hold more weight.
You get a flat lie by shifting your body so you are diagonal to the centerline in the (GE) hammock. Your shoulder is near one side and your feet near the other side. You can accomplish this not by making the hammock tight, but by allowing some sag (droop). Hammocks are designed around an 83% - 86% sag. Note that in hammocks there are no absolute numbers. There are ranges and "-ish"'s. Each person finds their own sweet spot-ish. So if you have an 11 ft hammock, 83% of that is about 9 ft. That's how far apart the hammock ends are expected to be. You achieve that by having your suspension coming off the trees at about 30° (or 60° depending upon which corner you measure). Note that for the 9 ft, $25, parachute nylon hammock, 83% would be 7.5 ft long when hung. Your head/feet would be much closer to the narrowing ends. It's okay for a rest, but it's more like taking a short nap on the couch rather than a deep dive to sleep in a bed.
Usually, once someone finds the separation distance (of the hammock ends, not the tree distance) that works for them, they attach a line (called a ridgeline) between those two ends so they can return to that sweet spot each time. If the hammock has a built-in bug net, it usually has its own ridgeline because over-extending it could tear the netting.
Just as with tent camping, with hammocks, one can pursue UltraLight goals. Maybe I should write that as goal$. For example, you can buy a good tarp for $125 that weighs 14 oz. Or you can buy a Dyneema tarp for $340 that weighs 9.3 oz. With a kayak, bulk and weight are not as much of an issue as they could be with hikers.
And when kayaking you have more of a probability of having to go to ground. That means a shift to tarp camping or just bring a backup tent.
Here's a photo of a comfy setup at Ozette Lake:
A few words on the bridge hammock ... by far, the most popular is the WarBonnet Ridge Runner. Unlike a GE hammock that is hung at about 30°, a bridge might be closer to 25°. The body is shorter than a GE, but because of the spreader bars, the ends don't taper. So prefer the feel, and visual expanse of a bridge hammock. A vendor, RipStopByTheRoll (RSBTR) sells a sew-it-yourself kit for about $50. It doesn't have a bug net and the spreader poles are extra. A complete RidgeRunner costs about $105. That's a great option. The only downside is because of the length of the suspension, the trees need to be around 14 to 17 feet apart.
And finally (yeah, right), note that a hammock loses heat to air currents flowing under/around it. Most users gravitate to a top quilt (TQ) and an under quilt (UQ) below.
The hammock gives you an alternative when the ground is rough or maybe you've arrived at a small area - like Posey Island - and all the ground spots are taken but there are a good pair of trees. In general, the hammock/tarp is less bulky than a similar tent setup, weighs about as much, but can be much, much more comfortable. In the rain, you can put the tarp up first and do the rest of the setup (or teardown) under the dry tarp. No more crawling around on your hands and knees to get in the shelter.
My comments refer to two basic camping hammock styles; the gathered end hammock (GE) that most picture when they think of hammocks and a Bridge hammock - a style that uses spreader bars at the ends to hold it in a rectangular shape. Note that there are many more varieties. Some are almost like a trampoline suspended between three trees. Some, like, the Amok Draumr, are suspended not at the traditional ends but from the sides (requiring a much shorter tree distance). One can go on and on.
Going on and on, the general camping hammock is about 11 ft long. Note that most cheap (Amazon) hammocks are much shorter/narrower - closer to 9 ft. There's a variety of cottage industry folks making tried and true camping hammocks that are the right length, include built-in bug nets, and have other options like fabric material and pattern. Most cost between $100 - $200.
One of the first mistakes a person makes when starting with a hammock is to try to mimic their sleeping arrangement in a bed. "... I can't sleep in a hammock because I need to sleep on my side. ...". You sleep the way you do in a bed because the bed creates pressure points during the night. As your full body is supported in the hammock, in a day or two your muscles learn they can relax more and you'll find yourself comfortably on your back or with a slight tilt. I'm not saying you can't sleep on your side (the Bridge hammock is good for that), just that you don't need to.
The second mistake is trying to make the hammock "flat" by tightening the suspension so its guitar string tight. DON'T DO THAT. Without going into the physics of it, that setup can almost double the force of your body weight on the material/stitching/connectors. Most hammocks are rated at about 250 lbs (with appropriate hang angles) and different fabrics or a double layer (a sleeve you insert a sleeping pad into) can hold more weight.
You get a flat lie by shifting your body so you are diagonal to the centerline in the (GE) hammock. Your shoulder is near one side and your feet near the other side. You can accomplish this not by making the hammock tight, but by allowing some sag (droop). Hammocks are designed around an 83% - 86% sag. Note that in hammocks there are no absolute numbers. There are ranges and "-ish"'s. Each person finds their own sweet spot-ish. So if you have an 11 ft hammock, 83% of that is about 9 ft. That's how far apart the hammock ends are expected to be. You achieve that by having your suspension coming off the trees at about 30° (or 60° depending upon which corner you measure). Note that for the 9 ft, $25, parachute nylon hammock, 83% would be 7.5 ft long when hung. Your head/feet would be much closer to the narrowing ends. It's okay for a rest, but it's more like taking a short nap on the couch rather than a deep dive to sleep in a bed.
Usually, once someone finds the separation distance (of the hammock ends, not the tree distance) that works for them, they attach a line (called a ridgeline) between those two ends so they can return to that sweet spot each time. If the hammock has a built-in bug net, it usually has its own ridgeline because over-extending it could tear the netting.
Just as with tent camping, with hammocks, one can pursue UltraLight goals. Maybe I should write that as goal$. For example, you can buy a good tarp for $125 that weighs 14 oz. Or you can buy a Dyneema tarp for $340 that weighs 9.3 oz. With a kayak, bulk and weight are not as much of an issue as they could be with hikers.
And when kayaking you have more of a probability of having to go to ground. That means a shift to tarp camping or just bring a backup tent.
Here's a photo of a comfy setup at Ozette Lake:
A few words on the bridge hammock ... by far, the most popular is the WarBonnet Ridge Runner. Unlike a GE hammock that is hung at about 30°, a bridge might be closer to 25°. The body is shorter than a GE, but because of the spreader bars, the ends don't taper. So prefer the feel, and visual expanse of a bridge hammock. A vendor, RipStopByTheRoll (RSBTR) sells a sew-it-yourself kit for about $50. It doesn't have a bug net and the spreader poles are extra. A complete RidgeRunner costs about $105. That's a great option. The only downside is because of the length of the suspension, the trees need to be around 14 to 17 feet apart.
And finally (yeah, right), note that a hammock loses heat to air currents flowing under/around it. Most users gravitate to a top quilt (TQ) and an under quilt (UQ) below.
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