A lot of customers e-mail us or call us asking for help in hanging their hammocks. This information should help you to decide where best and how to hang your hammock.

First, decide where to hang your hammock

Most people think they need to hang their hammock between two trees. In reality, there are many different ways to hang a hammock, especially for people who don’t have two trees correctly spaced. Here are a few ideas for how to hang a hammock that may help you decide on the perfect location for you:

• If you hang your hammock from a tree, make sure the tree is mature enough to support the weight of the hammock and its users. In general a 12″-14″ trunk diameter at the mounting locations is sufficient.
• Hang one end from a tree, and hang the other end from a pressure treated 4×4 wooden post that you can buy from any local lumber or home improvement store
• Better yet, use two wooden pressure treated 4×4 posts an find a nice sunny (or shady) spot to hand out
• A hammock stand allows you to set up shop anywhere in your yard you want. Buy a wheel kit with it and you have a mobile hammock stand that one person can easily relocate

What is the best Hammock Hanging Distance and Hanging Height

The optimal hammock hanging distance depends upon the type of hammock you have. Hammocks with spreader bars require the hanging distance to be equal to or greater than the overall length of the hammock. For example, our large Pawleys Island and Castaway Hammocks are 13 feet in length. These hammocks require a hanging distance of 13 - 16 feet between the supports. Do not exceed 16 feet in length, because as the distance between the support and the tip of the hammock increases, the hammock stability decreases. Try to keep the supports as close as possible to the overall hammock length. As for hanging height, these hammocks are typically mounted 4 - 5 feet off the ground.

Brazilian type hammocks that do not have spreader bars are much more flexible with regard to the hanging distance requirements. In fact, these hammocks can be hung in locations where the supports are closer than the overall length of the hammock (but not by much). This is because the Brazilian type hammocks are supposed to “dip” in the middle when you lay in them. Of course, as the supports get closer to each other, you will have to raise the mounting point of the hammock to prevent “butt dragging”.