Whats the fascination with hammocks?

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Jodie

Native
Aug 25, 2006
1,561
11
54
London
www.google.co.uk
Tiley said:
It's a bit of a branch issue to the main thread but anyway, here goes: I snore semi-professionally and am told repeatedly that it happens when I sleep on my back. I have a hammock which I love using and find really comfortable but the default sleeping position is on my back. Lo and behold: the subsonic rumble continues, upsetting the wildlife and defoliating nearby trees.

Is there any way of sleeping comfortably on one's side in a hammock or will I have to rely on slinging my hammock out of the hearing range of any other living thing?
Your post made me giggle so much yesterday afternoon that my colleagues made
me read it out to them :)
 

Twoflower

Nomad
May 11, 2007
261
0
46
Northants
Is there any way of sleeping comfortably on one's side in a hammock or will I have to rely on slinging my hammock out of the hearing range of any other living thing?

I'm a world class snorer too and i've been wondering the same thing recently whilst looking for hammocks. I've also been looking for alternatives (aparently my snoring is not always welcome on campsites :D ) and I was flicking through a beterware catalouge yesterday and noticed they sell a little plastic clip that you stick up your nose that supposedly stops snoring. I'm gonna try the sticky strips that you can get from boots before I start sticking things up my snout first though!
 

oops56

Need to contact Admin...
Sep 14, 2005
399
0
81
proctor vt.
Well last year its been 15 or so years that i camp out. Camp at a state camp ground this camp ground is all in the woods nice.So this is a nylon one did not sleep over night just took some naps yep them are rocks under there but its a wide one no worry

 

Eric_Methven

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 20, 2005
3,600
42
73
Durham City, County Durham
Using a hammock shouldn't be a barrier for side sleepers. I can't sleep on my back, and I manage just fine in a double hammock. The secret is to lie in it at an angle. Then you can roll from side to side without falling out. The first night you'll wake up each time you turn over, but once your body realises it isn't going to fall out, you just turn in your sleep therafter. The advantage (apart from being able to sling it over rough/wet ground) is that it is totaly supportive. So if you suffer back problems, or ache on the ground because you're getting older, or snore if you lie on your back, a double hammock is the answer. That, and a decent tarp over you will give you a sleeping solution that's hard to beat.

Double size hammocks can be had from here . These are almost the same as the ones on the group buys - except they are a tad longer.

Eric
 
I agree with the idea that hammocks are over-rated. The floor is not only much more comfortable and warmer but you tend to be able to find it where ever you are. I'm going to have to sleep in a hammock for a year, not looking forward to that but I guess by the end of the year I'll be converted and feeling superior to those who sleep on the floor. My main problem with them is that I roll about all night long, I have woken a number of times to find that the hammock is upside down and I'm only being held in by the mossie net.
 

Goliath

Forager
Jun 19, 2006
174
0
37
Netherlands
I have to disagree with you on that, Ditch Monkey.

Personally, I've never slept in a real 'camping hammock' (waiting for mine to arrive from the groopbuy), but I think the comfort is personal; some people like to lay on the ground, some floating in the air ;)

Also, you can't find a suitable place to pitch your tent or whatevergroundthing everywhere, because there may be lots of roots and other stuff on some places. In the desert or something like that, a hammock isn't the best thing ;)

Another advantage of a hammock, is the 'leave no trace' -philosophy; you barely disrupt the ground, and if you have good treehuggers; the trees won't protest either!
 

dommyracer

Native
May 26, 2006
1,312
7
46
London
I love the hammock, but it is a bit specialised, ie you need trees.

If you're not sure whether there's gonne be trees then its a bit useless. Mind you I have seen a pic of a Hennessy hammock being used as a rudmentary tent.
 

dwardo

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 30, 2006
6,455
477
46
Nr Chester
I love the hammock and the floor i just tend to use what ever fits the place i wish to stay in. The weather i feel is a big cosideration with hammocks as without a big underblanket can be cold so i find its best in winter to use the floor.

However the hammock is far more comfortable than the floor and i find i can sleep on my side diagonally/on my back and almost on my front without any issue. The real indication of comfort is the fact that if i sleep in my hammock i cant get out of bed in the morning :rolleyes:

In regards to worrying if i will fall out of it or not i usually give it a good weight test before hand plus i only sleep a few inches from the floor and i usualy leave my kit under the head end of the hammock just in case.
 
Using a hammock shouldn't be a barrier for side sleepers. I can't sleep on my back, and I manage just fine in a double hammock. The secret is to lie in it at an angle. Then you can roll from side to side without falling out. The first night you'll wake up each time you turn over, but once your body realises it isn't going to fall out, you just turn in your sleep therafter. The advantage (apart from being able to sling it over rough/wet ground) is that it is totaly supportive. So if you suffer back problems, or ache on the ground because you're getting older, or snore if you lie on your back, a double hammock is the answer. That, and a decent tarp over you will give you a sleeping solution that's hard to beat.

Double size hammocks can be had from here . These are almost the same as the ones on the group buys - except they are a tad longer.

Eric

I'm like u Eric, I can't sleep on my back, well I'm not supposed to. However I came up with your solution too, I bought group buy hammocks for the family and a paradise double for me...:) And yes you need a huge tarp. My 3m x 3m Tatonka is too small unless hung on the diagonal! But comfort far better than in a tent!
 
I have to disagree with you on that, Ditch Monkey.


Also, you can't find a suitable place to pitch your tent or whatevergroundthing everywhere, because there may be lots of roots and other stuff on some places.

Trust me I can sleep on anything - I know I've tried :)

I have been given one of these bad boys though http://www.junglehammock.com/ and I can't wait to try it out.
 

gunnix

Nomad
Mar 5, 2006
434
2
Belgium
I've started hammocking as I slept in one for 3 months on a ship.. Occasionally I had to get out of it though. We slept with 80 in hammocks, no one ever fell out because of the rope/hammock braking or because of turning in sleep, only some fell out because they were so silly they had other people sabotage their hammocks... just for fun

Yesterday I slept in hammock with my girlfriend, we tried that out once last year but didn't like it, but this time it was supercomfortable with two in the hammock. I don't really know why it was so much better, but it might have been because last time we were hanging on a quite steep hillside, not trusting the ropes to hold, and being afraid of some scary sounds in the forest at night... Anyway, my girlfriend had a warm and comfortable sleep too, I'm amazed. So this means we only need to carry one hammock, underblanket,tarp, mosquito net(don't really use it yet) and sleeping bag for us two! As long as we don't have a fight :D

I'd prefer sleeping in hammocks always, but I can't hang one in the caravan... Because I don't like matrasses much.. they get damp too easily. And making love is just as good on the floor... Anyone tried in the hammock? :)
 

Pablo

Settler
Oct 10, 2005
647
5
65
Essex, UK
www.woodlife.co.uk
I'm a convert to tree dwelling. I was dubious at first but haven't look back since. In fact the two times I've slept on the woodland floor since I've been very uncomfortable.

Yep, you need a couple of trees and you do need some insulation under you. A blanket is okay in warm weather or a thermarest is fine.

Pablo.
 

TobyH

Forager
Apr 4, 2006
209
0
51
Deepest, Darkest Suffolk
Yep, you need a couple of trees and you do need some insulation under you. A blanket is okay in warm weather or a thermarest is fine.

Which was my next question!! I've got a thermarest, my hammock (the original one) has 2 layers so you can fit the thermarest in between the 2, is that going to be warm enough?
 

Pablo

Settler
Oct 10, 2005
647
5
65
Essex, UK
www.woodlife.co.uk
I've been hammocking over the winter and I think it's fine, although some people prefer an underblanket. The worst problem is the thermarest slipping everywhere. I now put the thermarest inside the sleeping bag, but I'm thinking of sewing up the bottom of the hammock.

Pablo.
 

soa_uk

Forager
Jul 12, 2005
201
3
66
Highlands
I hammock a lot in the pine plantations on the Black Isle. These are very rough underfoot, lots of gullies, hummocks and dips.

You'd struggle to find a pitch for even a bivi bag.

Coldest I've slept in is possibly -1/-2. Since I learnt *not* to but my bag on top of a windscreen cover it's not been too bad.

The underblanket... now, that's the Rolls Royce solution - but, mind, you'll tinker with it till you find how *you* like to fit it. I liked it so much I bought another one (3 hammocks, 3 mossie nets (and boy, do those work? Yep. Essential up here), 2 underblankets, a 3x3 Tatonka - which is OK; a Hex Fly which is wonderful; a basha - which is marginal.)

Never fallen out; pre underblanket, I sometimes struggled get back in after a night time pee. Now? Just pull the bag bag over me as a blanket...
 

TobyH

Forager
Apr 4, 2006
209
0
51
Deepest, Darkest Suffolk
Tried my hammock this weekend, couldn't stand it, ended up cutting the straps at 3 in the morning (couldn't get my quick release knot's undone!!) and lying on the hammock on the floor.

Turns out because your legs are straight mine don't like it for more than about 20 mins (motorbike accidents haven't helped there!).

Going to try the double hammock in a week or so's time to see if that's any different, but suspect it won't be.

Hammock's will go on the classified's for sale if it's no good for me...
 

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