This Summer season has provided warm nights so my son and I have taken time to camp outdoors with our hammocks. I’ve tried different hammocks through the years and consider my Hennessy Hammock with a built-in bottom access as the Cadillac, but each hammock has it’s benefits.

Before I bought the Hennessy Hammock I found that entering a conventional hammock could be an awkward task. I once rolled out the opposite side of my first hammock while trying to enter it and I landed on the ground and rolled a bit down the hillside.

My son taught me a new entry technique for a conventional hammock that he learned from a friend on how to enter a high-mounted hammock from below. To execute the entry, approach the hammock from below and extend your arms forward with your thumbs turned down and your palms facing outward, then grab the outer edges with each hand and roll your hands inward while creating a fist. This creates a trough with the fabric on each side. Then place your elbows in each trough. Next, lean your head back to face the fabric and lift/swing your legs up into each trough and immediately arch your body upward. The hammock will automatically roll upright. You will be lying in your hammock in a prone position facing down. You can reposition yourself into a supine position lying face-up which most folks prefer.

It only takes a few tries to master this technique but until you do, I suggest that you practice it over soft or padded ground in the event that you fall out before completing the roll. I haven’t learned the name for this maneuver but I call it the “inverse roll-up entry”. If you have heard a common name for this please let me know in the comments section below. Click HERE to view a video that demonstrates this technique.