What was your worst hammock fall?

[devoidapop]

I was just enjoying a fantastic NC fall afternoon in the hammock when my homemade soft shackle gave way at the knot. In an instant I'm flat on my back and covered in beer. I'm grateful it happened in the back yard, rather than in the woods and that made me wonder...

What was your worst fall from a hammock?

[imscotty]

Camped next to mosquito heaven, threw the hammock up in a hurry, hopped in, zipped up the integrated bug net in a rush and.... jammed it on my quilt. With the swarm sucking me dry I desperately tugged on the zipper so hard I ripped the bug net right open wrecked the whole zipper. Spent the longest night awake trying to hold the whole system together with my hands and catch a few winks at the same time. The mosquitoes killed me that night.

[johnspenn]

Once on an overnighter, my whoopie slipped off the knot and ended up on the toggle, unbeknownst to me. I sat in my hammock, the toggle broke (just a stick I found at the base of the tree) and I ended up on the ground.

My most embarrassing fall was when I was showing my hammock off to my youngest son one time. I went to sit in it, but didn't properly spread it and instead sat over it and promptly fell right on my backside. He got quite the kick out of it.

To the OP: if you're interested in splicing a soft shackle yourself, here's a great tutorial in which it is literally impossible for the stopper knot to fail:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0eZz36PRYI

[Feral Bill]

There I was. Two days hike into the Eagle Cap Wilderness in Oregon. At 4:00 AM, after a pit stop, I climbed back into my hammock. Shortly thereafter, I heard a pop, then a rapid series of pops, and I was lying on the ground. The small lines forming part of the head end suspension, had all pulled out of the hammock body.

Three good things: 1. I was close to the ground, so no real crash. 2. I had a backup ground pad, which I deployed in a few minutes. 3. There were no bugs, so no need for the integrated bug net.

The hammock, A Byers Mosquito Traveler, went back to LL Bean.

I have my eye on a Dream Hammocks Raven.

[devoidapop]

To the OP: if you're interested in splicing a soft shackle yourself, here's a great tutorial in which it is literally impossible for the stopper knot to fail:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0eZz36PRYI

Thanks. I'll still use soft shackles for a variety purposes, just not connecting my hammock suspension.

[Just Tom]

I was using my Ridgerunner on an AT trip in Massachusetts with the scouts and the tips on my trekking pole spreader bars gave out around midnight (shooting the pole tip adapters 30+ feet). It was about 40 degrees that night, and I got to spend it on the ground.

[Mikerfixit]

Back in the 80's I used to use a small net hammock for camping and would string it as tight and high was I could. I climbed into the hammock for the night and as I was falling asleep I woke up to a loud snapping sound followed by being spun out of the hammock as one of the side ropes gave way. Trapped in my sleeping bag I couldn't try to break my fall and landed on my face and stomach from about 4ft up. Once I could breath again and my head cleared I pulled a ground tarp out and slept under the remains of the hammock.

[SoaknWet]

When I bought it! I fell for all the hipe! 5 hammocks later I found the one for me.

[perdidochas]

I was just enjoying a fantastic NC fall afternoon in the hammock when my homemade soft shackle gave way at the knot. In an instant I'm flat on my back and covered in beer. I'm grateful it happened in the back yard, rather than in the woods and that made me wonder...

What was your worst fall from a hammock?

I've never fallen from one, but when I didn't tighten the ring buckles on my straps correctly, I slowly slipped to the ground. Ended up on my butt, but slowly, not a fall.

[blue indian]

First night on my BMT thru the smokies hike. Complete failure of my Dream hammock. Put me on the ground and broke my underquilt suspension. Tried sleeping without for 2 nights and was not enjoying myself and ended my hike. Sucked man...

[Feral Bill]

First night on my BMT thru the smokies hike. Complete failure of my Dream hammock. Put me on the ground and broke my underquilt suspension. Tried sleeping without for 2 nights and was not enjoying myself and ended my hike. Sucked man...
Details, please.

[Just Bill]

When I got into hammocks I was pushing and testing the limits of UL suspensions (before I realized and agree- 1" should be the minimum strap size).
I worked my way slowly down to 3/4" grosgrain after using 1/2" webbing. (this was also before the days of Kevlar or dyneema).

So got all snuggled into my bridge hammock when the head end grosgrain strap snapped.
I couldn't figure out what the heck happened. I got the wind knocked out of me from landing flat on my back and figured I got a concussion from slamming my head on the ground.

It wasn't until I went into the house and saw the cut on my nose and blood rolling down my face that I pieced together that it wasn't the ground but my hammock that punched me in the face.
When the strap broke it shot the head suspension of the bridge right at me . The spreader bar was caught in there like a slingshot caught me right across the bridge of the nose.

There was that time I tried to build a bridge hammock out of tyvek... but that was only a few inches up.

[blue indian]

Details, please.


There is another thread somewhere on here about it...but this is basically what happened...


My friend was thru hiking the BMT sobo and I decided to join him for the Smokies section. On the first night, I went to go to bed (which I had been really looking forward to) and BAM! It was the darien UL model and the fabric simply tore at the gathered end. So it wasn't a sewing failure, it was the fabric that failed. I had used the exact same set up for 200 miles earlier that year, so it wasnt user error. As I fell to the ground, the shock chord on my underquilt was over stressed and snapped. It was a real bummer having 2 critical pieces of gear fail on me on the first night on a long trip.

[Just Bill]

There is another thread somewhere on here about it...but this is basically what happened...


My friend was thru hiking the BMT sobo and I decided to join him for the Smokies section. On the first night, I went to go to bed (which I had been really looking forward to) and BAM! It was the darien UL model and the fabric simply tore at the gathered end. So it wasn't a sewing failure, it was the fabric that failed. I had used the exact same set up for 200 miles earlier that year, so it wasnt user error. As I fell to the ground, the shock chord on my underquilt was over stressed and snapped. It was a real bummer having 2 critical pieces of gear fail on me on the first night on a long trip.
If I didn't chime in last time... that Robic 1.0 was discontinued. It was a nice experiment and led to the development of the Hybrid Line of fabrics... but something about either that run or that weave resulted in some sort of random issue with it. It was very weird... but well under 5% of the fabric failed. Out of the roll I have... only one hammock failed. Same deal though. No discernible reason- just blew up. Had to be some kind of flaw in manufacturing.
Randy did the right thing and simply stopped offering it- though he killed off HyperD 1.0 use too. Better safe than sorry I suppose.

Little late- but something like that you could knot the end and hang with it still.

You're the only end failure I recall hearing though. The one of mine that went just opened up horizontally around the shoulder/mid back area on a tester of mine... that seemed the more typical failure if I remember right.

[imscotty]

Lesson Learned from reading this thread: Never hang higher than you are willing to fall.

[blue indian]

Yeah, it was right at the head end; before the gathered sew part.

I got one made with the 1.2 robic xl this go around. ..

[devoidapop]

Lesson Learned from reading this thread: Never hang higher than you are willing to fall.

Word. Or above anything you really don't want to fall on.

[Feral Bill]

There is another thread somewhere on here about it...but this is basically what happened...


My friend was thru hiking the BMT sobo and I decided to join him for the Smokies section. On the first night, I went to go to bed (which I had been really looking forward to) and BAM! It was the darien UL model and the fabric simply tore at the gathered end. So it wasn't a sewing failure, it was the fabric that failed. I had used the exact same set up for 200 miles earlier that year, so it wasnt user error. As I fell to the ground, the shock chord on my underquilt was over stressed and snapped. It was a real bummer having 2 critical pieces of gear fail on me on the first night on a long trip.
Thank you,

FB

[Strategic]

I got dropped on my hind end once, during a section hike in PA. I was hanging alone in a campsite, just settled in to the hammock (a Hennessy Hyperlight), when my ridgeline snapped in half and dumped me about 3' to the ground. Fortunately, I mostly hit on the padded parts and then I had to tie the ridgeline back together to get a decent night's sleep. Replaced the ridgeline with much stronger dyneema line when I got home.

[Shrewd]

I haven’t had a fall yet, but I hiked with a fellow on the AT for awhile that had what we came to call a “rebirth.”

He was using an ENO sub7 that apparently developed a small tear. Or perhaps he had something in his pocket. We don’t know but it split down the middle from side to side in the middle of the night and he slipped right through.

We all had a good laugh about it. Except him, of course.

ENO replaced it for him right away, but man, what a rude awakening


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[QiWiz]

I was doing some test setups in my basement, suspended from 2 spikes nailed into beams. One gave way (pulled out) and dropped me onto concrete floor. Very hard surface to fall onto, but at least it was not sharp.

[map man]

I was in my hut and had just settled into my hammock for an afternoon nap when I saw the skipper and professor pass by my window talking about making me dig yet another hole -- this time it was part of a trap to capture some cannibals who had just arrived on the island. I was really tired of always being the one to dig holes so I decided to leap from my hammock and out the window before they could come through the door. But my foot got caught in the netting and I ended up doing a cinematic backwards somersault before landing in the sand on my back. Luckily I was such a wiry string bean in those days that I was not hurt.

[imscotty]

I was in my hut and had just settled into my hammock for an afternoon nap when I saw the skipper and professor pass by my window talking about making me dig yet another hole -- this time it was part of a trap to capture some cannibals who had just arrived on the island. I was really tired of always being the one to dig holes so I decided to leap from my hammock and out the window before they could come through the door. But my foot got caught in the netting and I ended up doing a cinematic backwards somersault before landing in the sand on my back. Luckily I was such a wiry string bean in those days that I was not hurt.

Map Man for the Win!

[Knee Jerk]

Personally, I've never had a hammock fail and I usually sleep right through the night. However, a friend had a hammock with a spreader bar and every time he rolled over it would dump him on the ground.

[Qajaq]

I've only had one fall, right in my backyard. I had set up two sets of turtle dog (tripod) stands side by side, for my son and I to hang from. Heavy wind and rain was forecast, which we wanted to enjoy in our hammocks. While hanging our tarps, I tied the inboard lines to the opposite tripod stands, instead of staking them to the ground. Just before midnight, as the wind kicked up, my son announced he couldn't sleep and headed inside.

"OK, buddy", I said, while I peered under my tarp to make sure he made it in the back door. I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep. In the middle of the night, I had a strange dream, albeit very brief, that I was falling and woke up to hitting cold, wet grass with a bugnet and soaking wet tarp collapsing on my face. Evidently, when my son left his hammock, there was no weight to secure it and so when the wind blew hard on his tarp (tied to my stands), it pulled them over dropped my like a brick. Somehow, I recognized what had transpired and could only laugh as i fought my way out of the soaking wet tangle of mesh and fabric and cords, gathered up both of our messes in the downpour, and dropped the whole works on the tile sunroom floor until morning.

[scuddr]

The bad- I was hanging between two trees above a large flat rock when a 'biner failed , after years of trouble free usage.
The good- at the time i was using a neo air inflatable pad instead of an under quilt. a pretty soft landing all things considered.the pad did not burst.

[scuddr]

The bad- I was hanging between two trees above a large flat rock when a 'biner failed , after years of trouble free usage.
The good- at the time i was using a neo air inflatable pad instead of an under quilt. a pretty soft landing all things considered.the pad did not burst.

[thegooddoctor]

Yup, happened last month. Headed to a buddy's woods cabin and my gear was all spread out. So I grabbed a couple random biners that we're nearby - unrated, non-supporting ones. Got about 30 seconds of hang time and hit the ground hard. Straightened the biner completely.

[Tipi Walter]

This thread reminds me of a backpacking trip I did with Sgt Rock in 2010 as we hiked a section of the BMT from Calderwood Lake south to Unicoi Gap---and also included others like 4 time BMT thruhiker Regina Reiter and Rick Harris etc.

Sgt Rock was very proud of his homemade hammock he built from scratch using uber-light materials. Excellent! He spoke highly of the thing. We passed thru Beech Gap and headed south to the top of 5,000 foot Whiggs Meadow and set up in some nasty October weather with wind and cold rain and fog.

Around 10pm as we were all in our separate shelters (I was several hundred yards away on top of the actual bald)---Sgt Rock hit the ground as the bottom fabric of his hammock split lengthwise and dumped him out. Hope he doesn't mind me telling this story. Fun was had by all etc etc.

We had to make a few emergency phone calls to get Dixiecritter to come from Knoxville to deliver a new hammock in Tellico Plains.

42553
Sgt Rock sports behind me with his poles (?) in Cold Spring Gap on the BMT.

42554
Sitting out a cold rainstorm in Mud Gap.

42555
Rock on left on the Whigg.

42556
Rock resting in his upgraded hammock on the Brookshire Creek trail below Sled Runner Gap.

[JohnBelly]

Luckily I haven't fall from Hammock Yet.