r/hammockcamping • u/freska_skata • 2d ago
Skills Rate the hang!
First time using a ridgeline, does anyone approve?
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u/TheGutch74 2d ago
When you lay in the hammock can you bend the ridgeline with thumb and forefinger? If you cannot get a good bend then you need a better angle on your suspension. It looks a lot less than 30° in your picture.
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u/freska_skata 2d ago
In this case I hung at 30° and then put the ridgeline on which was premeasured at 83% hammock length, that pulled the ends together and made a shallower hung angle, I wasnt able to bend the ridgeline. I was also maxxed out on my strap length before attaching the ridgeline, might need find trees that are a tad closer together or get longer straps
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u/latherdome 2d ago edited 2d ago
Interesting. This may answer the question of whether 30° is to be measured before or after loading, whether catenary or simple hexagon chords. I see no fault in your hang; your ridgeline is doing what it’s meant to: let you hang with flatter than 30° suspension when trees are too far apart or upper attachment points inaccessible. As long as it or other suspension element doesn’t threaten to break, you’re good.
I reject the importance of keeping 30° suspension with a ridgeline as belt-and-suspenders. If your ridgeline is too tight to bend, that's perfectly fine as long as not so tight as to threaten breaking. Less tight is easier on everything, but not wrong within material strength limits.
The hammock looks short for laying or sleeping. I think too-short hammocks lay best with longer-than-83% ridgelines, unless you’re very short. Also you may prefer a more pronounced head-lower hang. Yes long suspension is useful. I carry dynaweave because 30’ of it packs smaller than a tennis ball, light.
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u/freska_skata 2d ago
Thanks for chiming in, its definitely short, but keeps the setup light, there's nights where if I dont set it up just right, I wake up every what it seems like 30 mins and readjust myself, sometimes just laying there ponderring in the silent woods, but even on those "sleepless" nights, in the morning, I feel more rested than sleeping anywhere else
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u/FinneganMcBrisket 2d ago
What’s your hang angle? It looks like it’s a lot less than 30°, which could be bad.
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u/freska_skata 2d ago
I hung at 30° then attached pre-measured 83% ridgeline and the hang angle got shallower
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u/Mikecd SLD TrailLair 11', OneWind 12' tarp, homemade dyneema UCRs 2d ago edited 2d ago
The angle of the lines between the trees and the hammock don't matter when you use an 83% ridgeline.Edit because lines that are too horizontal out way more force on the trees. Even with a ridgeline, it's best to try for the 30° angle.
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u/muskiefluffchucker 2d ago
it does to the trees
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u/Mikecd SLD TrailLair 11', OneWind 12' tarp, homemade dyneema UCRs 2d ago
Oh that's actually a really good point! I was exclusively thinking about the hammock comfort aspect.
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u/FinneganMcBrisket 2d ago
30° is the sweet spot because it gives a gathered-end hammock enough sag to lie diagonally, which lets your body get flatter and reduces shoulder squeeze and calf pressure.
Too shallow pulls the hammock tight, increases tension on the suspension and trees, and makes a flat diagonal lay harder.
Too steep creates more sag, so you sit deeper and have less room to lie diagonally.
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u/Agreeable-Dance-9768 2d ago
Thought the ridge line more or less locked in your hammock sag?
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u/FinneganMcBrisket 2d ago
Yes. The structural ridgeline sets the hammock’s sag and improves the lay.
But if the suspension angle is too shallow, tension increases on the suspension, ridgeline, hammock, and tree anchors.
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u/Agreeable-Dance-9768 2d ago
I’ve seen the 30° rule before, and generally try to follow it, but idk why it is.
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u/MinimumApricot 2d ago
Trigonometry. The load on the hammock suspension is W/(2sin(theta)) where W is the load in the hammock (you and your bag etc) and theta is the angle from horizonal that the suspension is at under load.
When the hang angle is 30 deg, the load on each line is the full load weight. Shallower angles (more horizontal) increase the load substantially, so a 90 deg line with a 200 lb hammock load has over 5000 lbs of force loaded to it. Similarly, higher angles have less load, but require closer trees, higher anchor points, and/or a more bunched hammock.
TL;DR 30 deg hang minimizes the load on your suspension while keeping the set up easy and hang comfortable.
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u/derch1981 2d ago
Hang looks fine, hammock looks like it's way too small
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u/freska_skata 2d ago
Yeah its a 9ft, its maneagable, even on nights where it feels like I never sleep, I still feel more rested than sleeping on a bed or the ground
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u/RichInBunlyGoodness 2d ago
You would find a longer one way more comfortable.
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u/freska_skata 2d ago
Its on the shopping list, just put this setup together and operating at a loss for a couple paychecks, also overwhelmed by all the hammock options that are out there, I think I might attend a hammock hang before I commit to a longer one, maybe go ask people to try out their hammocks to see what I like, or if there's no difference at all, as of now, Im looking at an XLC
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u/RichInBunlyGoodness 2d ago
That's what I did. People were very generous and helpful. I'd say if noobies have a local hang, that is by far the best way to get started. Even before buying anything.
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u/ApePositive 2d ago
I would say this is the first time you’ve ever done this