59 Months (and counting) of EV driving...
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I didn’t even know that was a thing. I learn something new on here everyday!
How do you avoid the back strain? That’s the one thing about a hammock, no back support.
Nice! I've heard great things about Hennesy hammocks, but I've not ever tried one. I've had critters move about around me before, but nothing as big as a moose. I'm sure that was wild. That "exposed" feeling isn't great, and is really amplified if you're sleeping without a tarp/covering and/or a bugnet.
I've been hammock only for camping (at least when I go myself, without family) for about 10 years now. I have made almost all of my hammock camping gear myself (Hammock, bugnet, treestraps/suspension, topquilt, and an ultralight tarp). The tarp you saw in my photos above is a Kelty Noah that I use as my winter tarp. When in the snow, I can hang it like an A frame tent, and take the sides all the way to the snow and close the doors at the ends (by tying the tieouts together), which helps with the wind.
Not a great photo, but here is my setup in the summer. Although, to be honest, I haven't used this tarp in a while. Simply because its actually a 9x9 tarp, which means I only get full coverage if I hang it as a diamond. This worked great when I lived in CA, as the trees were far apart. But here in the PNW, I almost never find an opening wide enough between the trees to hang that way. So a new tarp is on my list of things I should grab to lighten my load.
I'm also lazy right now. I still don't actually own an underquilt (in the snow photo I was borrowing a buddies DIY UQ). I use a klymit insulated inflatable pad for my under-insulation, because there have been times when I had to "go to ground", and the pad lets me have a dual use item unlike an UQ. But I am thinking of making an UQ now, as lately I've gotten more annoyed with it.
I have a bad back from having had someone drop 300 feet of well pipe on my shoulder when I was a teen.
For me, hammocks are better than almost any other option when I can pull them tight enough to have a mostly flat surface. If the ends are too close together, I get a “V” shape and it’s not good. The key is to have non-dynamic strapping/rope with zero stretch, and to find trees that are quite a bit farther apart than the length of the hammock—preferably close to the length of the strapping with just enough left over to tighten the strapping fully. Then I make sure the head height is only slightly higher than the feet height.
The next-best option is a cot, which we usually bring when we’re tent camping.
So, a few things here.
Most people assume that when we sleep in hammocks, that we're sleeping along the centerline, which curves your back like a banana, and therefore that sleeping in the hammock must be painful. Which, it would be, if we did that.
Also, most people only have experience with either spreader bar hammocks (the ones made of rope, and often found in backyards), or the cheap commercial parachute hammocks, which are quite a bit smaller than a proper hammock.
But we are not.
The trick to sleeping well in a hammock is to lay in it "correctly". This means, to lay at a diagonal (ie, feet to one side of the centerline, head to the other). This really flattens out the laying position.
(not me, but one of the cottage industry brands links. This is what it "should" look like, to an extent. The arm on the outside is so you can actually see him for the photo, no one sleeps like that really).
6 Hammock-Sleeping Tips for Beginners
Enjoy a great night's sleep in your hammock with these tips.
dutchwaregear.com
Also, the larger hammocks give you a lot more space. Those cheap commercial hammocks are usually in the ~8-9.5ft length range, with widths between 50-55in. A "real" hammock is larger, usually at least 11ft, and often wider. My hammock is 12ft long, and 70in wide. Although, I have shrunk mine down to 11ft long (because the trees here in the PNW can be very close together), and after a few years, I think I could save a bit of weight going down a few inches in width.
The final thing, is that parachute hammocks, have quite a bit of stretch in the fabric. That fabric can also make it uncomfortable. Choosing the right fabric with more support/less stretch can actually improve things quite a bit.
Ironically, most hammock campers talk about "knee strain", rather than back strain (they make pillows specifically for the knees, as thats the potential issue point for most, not the back).
Wow, that must have been painful. And yes, most hammockers use something like UHMWPE rope (Dyneema, the stuff they use for synthetic winch cables/etc) as the suspension. 7/64in diameter will support 1600lbs, so plenty for the hammock. Same with the straps. You want Polyester, rather than Nylon because it doesn't stretch. But usually the "don't want stretch" thing is more about not wanting to wakeup on the ground, rather than the sleeping position.
Obviously, you do you. But your setup there is typically not recommended. You're putting an incredible load on your hammock and suspension by hanging it "flat" (I'm sure you know the math here), and it takes a pretty beefy set of trees to support this, which can limit your options for where to setup. The typical recommended sag angle is 30 degrees. I'd look at a larger hammock to help you sleep flatter, if thats something you're interested in. If you've ever heard of a Brazilian hammock, they often stretch to 14ft long, and quite wide (some sleep in those exactly perpendicular to the angle of the hang), which is the extreme end.
In fact, many people actually add a structural ridgeline, which mechanically ties the ends of the hammock together to limit its length and give a consistent amount of sag (which helps with fitting things like underquilts, or using bugnets, but also with re-creating the "perfect" length across different setup locations).
To be honest, there are a lot of benefits of hammock camping. I camped in tents my whole life, but now that I've made the switch, I've pretty much never looked back.
I'll get off my soapbox in a moment, but here are the reasons why I prefer to sleep in the hammock.
- Sleeping over uneven ground
- I don't have to hunt for the perfect piece of ground to sleep over.
- I often sleep on hillsides/slopes, which isn't an option in a normal tent.
- There are no "wait, is there PINECONE UNDER MY SHOULDERBLADE" sorts of thoughts anymore
- Don't have to worry about water
- If you camp when it rains, you know you're looking for places that won't have water pooling, or digging trenches, or whatever to keep the tent try. In a hammock, you're off the ground, so you don't have to worry about that
- Setting up in the rain is wayyyy better.
- In a tent, when you setup the thing, it is without rain protection (rain fly goes on last), which means as you're setting up, the inside of the tent is getting poured on.
- In a hammock, I setup the rain protection FIRST (the tarp overtop), and then can setup the rest of the system where it is dry
- This was clutch when I hiked Wonderland around Rainier. 1 of my hiking buddies tent camped, while another and I did hammocks. And... each night we ended up all huddling under my tarp to cook/eat. And then my tent camping friend had to go back out into the rain to setup his stuff, while I stayed completely dry setting up my hammock.
Thanks!
I’ve been diy-ing it with hammocks and hadn’t realized there was so much thought and development that’s gone into hammock camping in the past few decades. Lots for me to learn here. Yay!
Another hammock benefit to those you listed is it’s much more “leave no trace” compatible than tent camping, especially when using a tree saver.
Oh, before I forget. On the topic of bad backs, I totally forgot about this earlier. There is another type of hammock you should look into, its called a "bridge hammock". Its supposed to be the flattest laying hammock out there. It uses aluminum poles, catenary cut fabric, and geometry to keep you flat. Think of it as a hybrid between a gathered end hammock (what you likely have now), and the "spreader bar" hammocks you see in backyards.
You can make them, or buy them. Here is one I just found.
Banyan Bridge Body - Modular Adaptable Hammock | DutchWare
Introducing the Banyan Bridge Hammock! Purchase your banyan bridge body hammock here! Explore our color variety and find what is best for you. Click here!
dutchwaregear.com
Yeah, having lived in places with less trees, this could definitely be a problem. I've not researched it much specifically (usually the trees are too close here), but I've heard some of the people discuss ways to do this.
Most of the methods for attaching to a vehicle, revolve around attaching the hammock either to the roof rack, the B/C pillar, or sometimes even through the open windows and around the roof. Most of these are using some sort of wide webbing (2in or so), with something on it to protect the vehicle
Here is someone using the "webbing through the doors and over the roof" method.
I've even heard of some people using stretches of 2x4 (with padding on it so it doesn't damage the vehicle) that are wider than the window opening, and then simply attaching the suspension to the 2x4, and hanging from that (because it cannot fit back through the window). And I've seen some people do the same thing, but pinching the piece of wood between the door and the doorframe by the hinge so that it cannot come through.
These sound viable... but not sure if I'd do some of these on a vehicle I cared about.
With a truck you have the stake pockets to work with, and of course hitch mounted options. But I'd worry about the stake pockets having enough material to work with to support the load (the hang angle is very important here, as its easy to get multiple times your body weight as load on the suspension if your hang angle is too flat).
As for no place to hang from the other side? I've seen some people build tripods, or other hammock stands. But those seem like a lot of work/stuff to carry to make it work.
I did just run across this though. It seems like something like this could work and not take a truck bed full of lumber to work
.EDIT: And found this. This might be up your alley.
YOBOGear Turtlebug Camper Hammock Stand | DutchWare
The Turtlebug Camper Hammock Stand is a budget-friendly camping hammock stand designed for full-sized (11 foot)camping hammocks. Portable and affordable,
dutchwaregear.com
Disclaimer, I've not tried any of these, because, just haven't had the need.
If it were me, roof rails (with ideally a parallel load, rather than perpendicular) and maybe B pillar would be my first instincts to try. And I'd probably do something like shown in the video for the other end (but may angle it to support the load better), and may experiment with different anchoring options.
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One nice thing about the Hennesy is that it has fully integrated bug net - you can literally hang it, add your sleeping pad and zip yourself into it like a burrito in seconds (and a tarp also comes with it). Everything stuffs into a tiny compression sack.
This thing came in pretty handy for me on the A/T trail when a member of our group needed to get evac'd and I needed to make a 10-mile solo jaunt at the end of a long day of hiking to reach fording area at first light to snag a car. Carrying a tent would have meant more space in my backpack and more weight. The Hammock is such a great / compact solo option.
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