1st night out in my hammock

[Glyn287]

Well tonight is the night, I have set it up in my garden (didn't feel like being too far from home for the 1st time), I have made two posts for treeless hanging. I may have to invest in a sleeping bag for the outside of it but I'm sure I will be ok for one night.

Wish me luck and I will report back in the morning.

 

[lostplanet]

good luck and hope you enjoy it.

 

[dewi]

Temperature should stay in double digits up here tonight, so provided you have some sort of mat and a reasonable sleeping bag or blanket in there, you should be fine.

Hopefully you'll enjoy it

What type of hammock do you have?

 

[Willcurrie]

Good luck, hopefully my 1st hammock will arrive tomorrow so I'll be out for the night in mine. Can't wait.

 

[Mesquite]

Have a great night and hopefully you've used sufficiently strong posts to suspend your hammock from

 

[GreenFrog]

enjoy, hammocks make for great sleeping

 

[Glyn287]

Your right about the weather, I woke up at half 1absolutly roasting and needing the loo, I had a blanket underneath me and a decent sleeping bag. Far to hot and sweaty, very comfy till this point so called it a night went inside for the loo and crawled in bed, (can't over do it all at once) plus it gives me an excuse to sleep out again.

I've got a Hennessy hammock, the posts are 2" x 2" box section with a welded on anchor point for 5mm wire rope for guy lines (I will post a picture later).

Thanks again for your replies

 

[dewi]

I carry a lightweight fleece blanket with me... its a bonus no matter the weather because if it gets a bit warm, I open my sleeping bag and drape the blanket over me. If I'm the right temperature, I'll use the blanket as a pillow... and if its a bit nippy, I wrap the blanket around my head like a huge scarf type thing.

Having a setup in the garden is brilliant though, you can test out sleeping arrangements in different temperatures with little or no risk. My first time in a hammock was 200+ miles away in Dave Budd's wood... so if it all went pear-shaped, I wasn't going to be getting much sleep. Luckily I enjoyed every minute of it... and other than waking up about 3 inches off the ground (my lines stretched), everything went to plan. Did help that Dave lent me an undermat... surprising how cold the underneath of a hammock can get in the early hours.

 

[Glyn287]

Hope the pictures work.

 

[Glyn287]

Any pointers / tips on my pitching please let me know, I'm happy to learn of everyone.

 

[dewi]

Might just be the angle of the piccies, but it looks like you're hanging at the head and foot of your hammock... is there any distance between the head and foot, and the poles?

Nice garden setup though... very nice indeed!

 

[Glyn287]

There was about 2ft of rope between the hammock & the pole, all the room I had on the grass!!

 

[dewi]

That's good... just can't see that in the piccies... but gives you some swinging room

You've learned a valuable lesson of hammocking though.... always empty your bladder before getting comfortable

Not that it matters mind you... its one of those things, you just get really comfy and your bladder seems to know

Are you having another go at it tonight?

 

[Glyn287]

Not tonight got a busy day ahead tomorrow so need a full night kip haha haha.

 

[woodstock]

There was about 2ft of rope between the hammock & the pole, all the room I had on the grass!!

Use carabs between tree/support and hammock it is the difference between soggy and dry.

 

[dewi]

Use carabs between tree/support and hammock it is the difference between soggy and dry.

I really need to learn to do that myself... I've had the odd morning where I've woken up with a moist hammock at either end and the webbing strapped to the tree being wet through.

 

[Nice65]

You've learned a valuable lesson of hammocking though.... always empty your bladder before getting comfortable

Not that it matters mind you... its one of those things, you just get really comfy and your bladder seems to know

Wide mouth glow in the dark Nalgene

Having had two hip operations, I know these things.

 

[Nice65]

I really need to learn to do that myself... I've had the odd morning where I've woken up with a moist hammock at either end and the webbing strapped to the tree being wet through.

Couple of bits of paracord tied tight round the straps will work if you don't want to be bothered tying a carabiner in. Some even use them for water gathering on a rainy night.

 

[dewi]

Couple of bits of paracord tied tight round the straps will work if you don't want to be bothered tying a carabiner in. Some even use them for water gathering on a rainy night.

That's what I've been using... couple of bits on each end, but the webbing acts a bit like a wick... the moisture gets through in the heavier rain

Luckily I have a good mat, but inevitably because I'm tall I end up with either a moist head or moist feet... both of which give me an incredible urge to pee. Not a good feeling when you're all cosy in your hammock!

 

[mousey]

My current suspension method = Tree huggers [wide webbing to protect bark] larks-headed [or marlin spiked for quick release] to a length of dyneema, marlin spiked to a carabiner [DD ultra light - not connection just a happy customer this acts as a line drip] on a continuous loop through the hammock end channel.

Reading that back it sound waaay more complicated that it really is....

A quick sketch to show what I mean :-

Seeing as no-one has mention shug yet - an inevitability - find him on youtube, very entertaining with a load of information