7 Hammock Camping Mistakes That Ruin Your Sleep
Fix the most common hammock camping errors that destroy sleep quality. Learn proper angles, insulation, straps, and setup techniques.
Hammock camping lets you sleep anywhere, but bad setup turns a night in the field into hours of back pain and restlessness. These mistakes are fixable with simple adjustments to gear and technique.
1. Strapping at the wrong angle
Most people hang their hammocks too flat or too steep. The suspension straps should attach at 30 degrees from horizontal—not 45, not 15. At a true 30-degree angle, you get a safe lay with even weight distribution. Attach too steeply and the hammock fabric bunches under you. Too flat and you're putting excessive side load on anchor points that might fail.
Check your angle with a phone level app pressed against the suspension strap itself. You'll immediately feel the difference in how your back curves when it's correct.
2. Skipping the underquilt
An underquilt is not optional gear—it's your insulation system. Regular sleeping bags compress under your weight, killing their R-value. Hammocks with top quilts alone leave your bottom uninsulated, and you'll lose more heat downward than upward. A quality underquilt like the Enlightened Equipment Revelation or ZPACKS Underquilt costs $200-400 but replaces the entire problem.
If budget is tight, a thin foam pad inside the hammock beats nothing, though it's uncomfortable and shifts around.
3. Hanging too low
A hammock 18 inches off the ground feels cozy but creates problems. Your body weight sags dramatically, and you're sleeping at an angle that stresses your spine. Hang high enough that there's a 30-degree curve to your body when lying flat—this usually means 4-5 feet between anchor points and the hammock's bottom. You'll sleep straighter and flatten your back naturally.
Higher also keeps you away from cold ground air and any critters moving through brush.
4. Using tree straps that are too narrow
Thin straps (under 1 inch wide) concentrate pressure and damage tree bark. That's bad for trees, and it also creates an unstable hang. Your straps will twist and slide, throwing off your whole geometry. Use 2-inch minimum width straps—brands like ENO, Warbonnet, and Kammok all make solid options. Wider straps also let you hang on smaller trees safely without harming them.
5. Not accounting for diagonal lay
The secret to hammock comfort is lying diagonally, not straight across. Your body naturally curves when you lie straight in a hammock, torquing your spine. Angle yourself 30 degrees across the hammock instead. Your back flattens, your shoulders have room, and pressure points disappear. Every experienced hammock camper lies this way. Most beginners lie straight and think hammocks are uncomfortable.
6. Forgetting about foot boxes and draft
A top quilt with a foot box prevents cold air from flowing past your feet. Without it, warm air escapes and you're fighting convection all night. Paired with an underquilt, a quilted foot box keeps your lower body isolated. Look for designs that angle downward at your feet, not flat across. This single feature is why most quality hammock quilts cost more than cheaper bag alternatives.
7. Using a regular sleeping bag instead of a quilt system
Standard mummy bags are designed for pads, not hammocks. They shift and bunch, creating cold spots. Hammock quilts are tapered to match your body and hang differently than terrestrial gear. A 20-degree synthetic underquilt plus a 20-degree top quilt from a hammock-specific brand like Enlightened Equipment costs $400-600 but performs infinitely better than a $150 general sleeping bag.
If you're hammock camping more than twice a year, this upgrade pays for itself in sleep quality.
Fix these seven mistakes and you'll sleep like you're in a bed, not suspended in air. The hammock becomes genuinely comfortable once the setup is right.