I had a couple rough nights in my hammock on my last trip. I kept sliding out, either my head and shoulders, or my feet. Now, my "Byer Mosquito Hammock" is about the least expensive one you can find, so I'm wondering about a few things.

What is the length and width of a good hammock?

I'm thinking the Byer is maybe just too short for me, and possibly not wide enough either. I'm not very big, probably about 5'9", and not very wide either, but no matter how I set the sag on that Byer I still seem to be too close, or hanging over, the ends either way.

The other thing is, after dinking around with it now for 4-5 trips, it seems that between the tarp, hammock, pads, tree huggers, guy lines, and stakes, it's a bit of a hassle to set up, and with all that together it's not really all that light as compared to some tents. So I'm not convinced they offer a big advantage in either of those areas anymore and I'm beginning to think more about using just a tarp, ground cloth, and pad.

If I could get the hang of them, they do offer a big advantage in being able to use it most anywhere around here, where there are trees everywhere, the ground is usually uneven and rocky with lots of expose roots and undergrowth, and way more often than not you're on the side of a hill.

I know that to a large degree, using one, or not, is a personal preference, but I'd really like to hear from others why, or why not, you use one.

Has anyone here, after going through the learning curve, decided a hammock just wasn't for them?

I seem to be heading that way, but I don't want to jump to a conclusion before I get some experienced based opinions, and I don't think I could really get a range of objective opinions asking this on the hammock forum, while I know for sure I will here