John, good questions. I didn’t “go there” because I was focused mostly on just the tarp deployments. For radio, iPad mini, etc. there are “organizers” that hang like pockets from the hammock ridgeline. The ridgeline is not the same as the suspension line that hold the hammock to the tree. The ridgeline is a line - usually 1.75mm or 2.2mm Amsteel - that runs between the two ends of the hammock. It is usually sized at 83% of the physical hammock length (remember to put “-ish” and the end of any number). That keeps the hammock sag at a constant shape as you pull the suspension taut. You connect one end of the hammock suspension to the tree and bring the other end toward the other tree, connecting it so that ridgeline is just snug - not guitar string tight. You find the distance that works for you by experimenting with different hammock end distances (again, usually 83 - 86% of physical hammock length) then make/attach a line that limits the hammock ends to that preferred distance. As a finesse, many suspend the foot end about six to eight inches higher than the head end. It levels out with your diagonal lie and keeps you from sliding towards the foot end at night.
Other hammocks, like WarBonnet’s RidgeRunner bridge hammock, have a “saddle bag” pocket on each side. The Warbonnet Blackbird has extra material that makes a “shelf” extending off of one side by your head.
The is an issue called “calf ridge” where a “hard line” can be felt under your leg. It is alleviated by changing position, changing the sag amount, adding a small camp pillow under your knee, etc. In other words, with different body dimensions, weigh distribution, hammock length and width, sag and hang angle, there is no “right for everyone” setup - but they are usually all very close. It might just might take a little tweaking if some discomfort appears.
Also, sleeping in a hammock is different from a bed - the pressure points are different. So people who say the must sleep on their side or they have to toss and turn in a bed, find they can sleep comfortably on their back in a hammock (you can also sleep on your side - takes adjusting). But your muscles need to learn they can relax. So the first night or so feels funny. Add to that, my first night in any strange/new place is less than completely peaceful - new night sounds, etc. So if someone says, “I tried a hammock
once and didn’t like it.” I’m guessing they may not have known what adjustments to make coupled with the “newness” factor of a remote location. Hammocks are not for everyone, but I’m guessing I can get most people to sleep in about 30 minutes - and not just by having them read all my posts.
Additionally, the dry bags can live under the hammock and tarp. Sometimes I even have a … wait for it … hammock for my dry bags. It’s called a “gear hammock” - usually 5ft long or shorter. it’s strung up between two nearby trees and gear goes into it like an open canoe. So I’m looking for stuff standing up and everything is collected in one place. Or the gear might live on the picnic table. Only one time a raccoon tried to make off with a paddling bootie but dropped it after about 15 feet. I think he surccumbed to the smell and his buddies had to carry him off.
Often, as gear is emptied out, dry bags go inside dry bags. I try to consolidate loose items as much as possible. All expensive items are with me in a small day pack if I’m hiking away from camp.
The mat I stand on when I put on my drysuit is also a door mat (third photo) but I usually put down some plastic sheet and anchor it with shoes, or a dry bag weighted with extra “just in case” gear. For privacy, if the tarp is in porch mode, I just lower that side and I’m enclosed.
Also, though a hanging hammock is the preferred sleeping arrangement, I could set the hammock on the ground with the net and tarp suspended between two poles if there were no trees, But I often carry a “Plan-B” tent. Amazing but true, some park officials don’t like hammocks. Maybe it reminds them of Yahoos who leave cord and nails in trees after they leave. So often a tent is put up too and all “blow away” bags and such are stowed in the tent. During the day, I might take the hammock down - once it’s all set up, the distances are locked in so it’s just a matter of clipping it to the tree again; no additional “distance” adjustments necessary - and stow it in the tent as well. Same with the tarp. Once it’s centered where it needs to be on it’s ridgeline. I can just detach the line from the trees. When I go back to those trees, I just wrap the line and clip it again. No need to readjust the position of the tarp on the line.
When hiking - like a week out - a person might run into a treeless situation. Of course you can always seek it out - hike in a desert. There are people who do long thru hikes with just a hammock. They tarp camp on the ground when trees are not available. But kayaking is different. Your only camp area might be a shell/sand beach or a rocky shelf. More “no trees” opportunities. So I’m more prepared to “go-to-ground” if I have to.
In other words. Just as you're hosed if you have a tent and nothing but big thick tree roots to sleep on (Burwood photo), so you can be hosed if you run into a no-good-trees situation. A little self standing solo tent (Plan-B) takes up very little additional room in the kayak. But sleeping in the hammock is like waking up on a cloud.
A camping hammock setup consist of a hammock with an attached bugnet or a separate one that can be added. A tarp, and something to keep you warm. A Top quilt (TQ), for on top, is like a sleeping bag with 3/4ths of the zipper removed. A pad or Under Quilt (UQ) is on the bottom. If a person is going to use a pad, they usually have a double layer hammock so they can sandwich the pad inside (doesn’t move around as much). But most people end up with an underquilt - like half a sleeping bag that hangs snuggly under the hammock.
On the ground, you loose heat by conduction - contact with the ground and your pad insulates you from that. In a hammock (and cot for that matter) you loose heat by convection - the air currents flowing under the hammock. the UQ saves you from that heat loss.
But I know you don’t want me to retype every thread in HammockForums.net
I’m happy to answer specific questions and if you Google YouTube and shugemery, lots of educational videos appear.
Maybe it’s time to start my own channel.