Hang Better with These Hammock Tips!

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and as always....
Stay in the Woods,

Dan

[GrumpyGrunt]

There is a lot more of a learning curve to hammocks than most people think. I know I'm a couple years into it and still learning all the time. I hope folks were listening to ya, Danno. It'll save them a bunch of headache and possibly heartache if they do. Happy hangin'!!!

[TonyTooTuff]

It’s tips like that, that will keep me a fan.

[highenergyog]

I only come out of the woods to watch your videos and then I run back into the woods to await a new one .

[jaywimer]

Dan I appreciate your videos as they are to the point

[corwinchristensen]

A quick tip to getting your suspension close to the right angle is to use your index finger horizontal and your thumb vertical, the angle between the tip of your thumb to the tip of your finger will be very close to the angle you want your suspension. I pluck my ridgeline like a guitar string when I'm laying in it ... if it vibrates (low note) rather than making a muted thump I consider it too tight. You can pitch between supports that are farther apart, but you have to make your connection to the support higher so the hammock height, suspension angle, and the tension in the individual lines stays the same. Also, leave your suspension straps long, the diameter of a tree can eat up a whole lot of strap in a hurry.

Another comfort tip that beginners seem to miss is to lay diagonally in the hammock as much as you can, meaning your feet close to one side of the fabric and your head next to the opposite side. It flattens the "lay" of the hammock such that you can straighten out and avoid the banana shape that many find uncomfortable to sleep in. I'm a side sleeper and by laying diagonal, I can easily sleep on my side and I've even seen some people on their stomachs and not be bent backwards (if their pitch is correct and they're laying diagonal.)

The most important thing with hammocks is to experiment and find what works for YOU. I don't consider myself an expert either, however, I've noticed quite a few reputable bushcraft experts that are relatively new to hammocks make what I would call mistakes (too tight, too high, not diagonal, less than ideal knots or hardware usage, not using 1" or wider straps on trees, etc. etc.) It's not their fault, everyone learns as they gain experience and when it comes to hammocks and every individual has to work out what works for them. To me it's a mistake, to them it may be comfortable. I spent a dozen nights in various pitches before I found what works for me. Be patient and remember to Hang Your Own Hang (HYOH).

[donnienewman]

Good info!!! I've been a hammock hiker since 2017. I love my hammock!!

[TheBellmare]

I use a woven hammock (build for two, and even room for two small children) I don't sit/lay in it long ways, (like how people use hammocks like the one in the video) but open it by sitting in it 90 degree angle from the end tie points, stretching it open with my heels/head. THEN I shift to lay in it diagonally, and it lets me lay straight like in a normal bed, and it does not swing. I also find that tying one side outward helps in keeping it steady, and I can still lay part of the hammock over me for protection from day flies. A good tip is also to learn to tie without using brass snaps, which have a safety breaking point less than a normal adult weighs (found out the hard way, once, when I was all the way asleep LOL)

[Mrislands]

Thank you bro thanks A update i just got into hammocks🤙🤙🤙

[benterwellen]

I am going to try this, in the past i was always doing it wrong, and have never found sleeping in a hammock very for some more great

[Stoney_AKA_James]

Good points Dan
I've been using a Warbonnet XLC hammock for quite awhile and really enjoy it!
I have sewn 550-cord loops around the perimeter which I use for ground camping with a tarp!

[stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon]

Those are tips tailored to hammocks that have a built-in ridgeline. Mine doesn't, so I tie it separately and attach my bug net and tarp to that. It's perfectly okay to tie your hammock between trees that are much farther away from each other than the length of the hammock itself as long as the angle between the hammock strap and the tree isn't much smaller or bigger than 60 degrees, as this makes it either very uncomfortable or puts excess tension on your hammock.

A simple way to check this is to form an imaginary triangle with your thumb and your forefinger, with the former being parallel to the tree and the latter being parallel to the ground, and the hammock strap acting as the hypotenuse of that triangle. If the tip of your thumb touches the strap and your forefinger aligns with the strap to form the triangle without you having to adjust your hand and break the parallelism between your forefinger and the ground, then you've set it up perfectly. Once you do it several times you get an eye for it and don't need to hand-measure it anymore.

Hammocking is one of the best things you can do outdoors. Just take a big rain tarp, a solid mosquito net, and an underquilt for the colder, windier regions, and you will never regret it.

[christopherbarthlow]

Great video, my wife bought me a hammock not long ago and I haven't had a chance to try it out. This is good information I'm sure I'll be able to use.

[EPGunman]

Great tips Dan thanks again for sharing the knowledge

[quinntheeskimooutdoors]

Thanks Dan. To the point for sure. I will be setting up my hammock this weekend for two nights. I will make sure I deploy these techniques. Take care. No Lions Head this weekend. Ha

[KENFEDOR]

My hammock system (Sierra Madre Ninox flat lay) is admittedly not simple to set up. With multiple tie downs (hammock has 4 to "pull out" toward fly, fly has 8 (4 corners and 4 "doors")), racing against mother nature can be challenging. That said, dialing in a hammock does pay dividends! It's taken about 4 overnighters to attain that. Spend a little more on a better hammock system, your (aging) body will thank you,
PS, Dan - the ferro rod I purchased from your website is an absolute flamethrower!

[shawnleitch]

Good thank you. What would you do for hanging a tarp over this configuration?

[chewilockhart]

Use a multilooped treestrap as a ridgeline. Crank that line like that friend said at head height. Clip into the loops that give you the best sag (feet on the ground at chair height).

[PapajosTraders]

Different hammocks require different set-ups. I NEVER use or need a ridge line in my Clark. But find one useful in my Enos. Also my standard tree spacing is about 9 paces which give me my 30 degree strap hang. Just about ideal.

[StevePage]

@Coalcracker Bushcraft - I see that you've got the Modern Bushcraft class listed on your website, but I can't find a date. Do you have any dates set for the remainder of 2021?

[kentwood]

I have to say I am one of those who always thought that a _structural_ ridge line was to take the tension instead of the hammock (or share it) so that you can get a consistent bend regardless of the tree situation. If the trees are close together, it hardly has to work at all, if the trees are far apart, it bears most of the weight. I still don't fully understand the need for a consistent amount of slack in the line in all situations. Is the hammock going to rip or something if it's too tight?