Cottage vendors

[Bubba]

When I fist started, I ordered a whole ENO set up before I knew better. I still have and use my ENO DN for the backyard, car camping and day trips but I sold everything else. At the time, Warbonnet was the most popular vendor. Nowadays there is more choice. I would still recommend Warbonnet but there are other great vendors and hammocks available. Good luck and have fun!

[FLRider]

Rather than giving brand-specific recommendations (of which there are as many as there are vendors; seriously, I've yet to purchase anything from our cottage vendors that has been anything less than top-notch quality), I'm going to make two general recommendations.

One, GO TO A LOCAL GROUP HANG! No joke, this is the greatest bit of research you can do before purchasing anything. All of us are pretty accepting of anyone, even if it's just for a day trip or if you bring that horrid t**t () along to spend the night. You'll get a better chance to handle and see gear in person than any internet search will do for you.

Two, think about your style of outdoors experience before purchasing. If you prefer short days hiking into camp or pulling up to the curb at the campground and unloading the car, weight and bulk aren't going to matter much; comfort and longevity will. If you're broke and need to do this on a low budget, factor that into your plans (though, honestly, I'd save my pennies; good gear tends to cost a bit, especially in the places where you really need good stuff--such as insulation). If you enjoy long, grueling days on trail where you hike 20+ miles over mountain tops, look around for the lightest gear you can for your budget and comfort level. Essentially, prioritize what you're looking for in an outdoors experience: light weight/cost/comfort (features) are the tripod upon which gear purchases are made. Shorten one leg and the other two can be lengthened.

Hope it helps!

[billygoat]

I disagree strongly with Gresh's "sacrifice durability for weight" assessment of cuben fiber tarps. Several people have hiked the entire AT with cuben fiber tarps. Cuben fiber is durable, and the most easily field-repairable tarp there is (just carry some cuben fiber tape and you won't even notice the repair). I've been using CF tarps for three years and they're as good as the day I bought them. Expensive, but worth it if you're a hiker.
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+1. Treat your gear right and it will treat you right.

[Thumbs]

One, GO TO A LOCAL GROUP HANG! No joke, this is the greatest bit of research you can do before purchasing anything. All of us are pretty accepting of anyone, even if it's just for a day trip or if you bring that horrid t**t () along to spend the night. You'll get a better chance to handle and see gear in person than any internet search will do for you.

This is the best advice you will get. Talk to others about their setup and why they have what they have.

[Trucky308]

Thanks to all

[IRONFISH45]

ENO gets a bad rep. however most of us have a ENO someplace in our history. A ENO was our first hammock, it was okay, gave me a feel for using a hammock instead of the ground. I had a problem with my ENO, the company fixed it right away, even though it was out of warranty, the problem was the carabiner corroded shortly after I purchased the hammock. I think the problem was I purchased the hammock from a shop on the coast, high humidity and everything in the area of the coast corrodes easily. ENO was nice and fixed the problem. That won a lot of points.

Now I use HF vendors. However, I am willing to wait for what I want, sometimes I pay a bit higher price. Most of the HF vendors are small companies that do not carry stock, your item will be constructed for you, that takes more time than going into the storage area and pulling out the merchandise. Sometimes communication is a bit challenging, very difficult to be producing products and answering the telephone or using the internet.

So if you want a quality not mass produced product HF vendor's are the place to shop (do your homework first), realize you may need to wait a short period of time before your purchase arrives at your front door. The old anticipation thing.

Also be aware this is an addictive move you are making, please note, many of us own several hammocks!

[Xtrm tj]

Anything ENO offers, you can get better from one of the cottage vendors. When I was in your position, I developed analysis paralysis and just couldn't find something to fit my budget (and I also had an upcoming trip). I went with the HH Expedition Asym Zip and I don't have any regrets because it got me off the ground. And when I saw my friend's complete ENO setup, I was glad I didn't go that route. My Hennessy setup was more affordable, easier to set up, and weighed less.

Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't go with ENO or Hennessy because the cottage vendors sell a much better product than the big-box vendors. Some of them have long lead times on orders, but it's worth the wait. If you're in no hurry to order, get yourself to a group hang and you might actually meet some of the cottage vendors and talk to them in person.

If you're taking a little time to reconsider your purchase, you should probably figure out whether you want to go with the Swiss-army knife hammock/integrated bugnet approach, or stick with simple, gathered-end hammocks. Swiss army-knife hammocks that do multiple things (Dream Hammock, Warbonnet) are extremely popular but I prefer a modular approach where I can bring just what I need. The great thing about simple, gathered-end hammocks is the low cost to try out new fabrics affordably (and there's a lot of new fabrics coming out lately). A Dutch PolyD 1.4 or Argon 1.6 hammock is approximately $30 - that's cheap!

I'm personally a fan of Dutch's hammocks, BIAS bugnets and hammocks, and HG quilts and tarps. I've spent a lot of time on the phone with BIAS and HG - they go the extra mile on customer service (I really like to talk to the vendor before I buy to get their advice). Dutch's products are kind of self-explanatory - I've never called him (at least not about his products) - I just order and wait for them to arrive in lightning-fast time.

You also need to decide how you feel about pack weight. If all you're gonna do is car camp, weight is not important. If you're a hiker, that changes things. My current setup is:

HG Winter Palace cuben fiber tarp (8.5 oz.)
HG TQ/UQ (I have a 40, 20 & 0 set - so weights vary, but the 20* set weighs 33 oz.)
Dutch PolyD 1.4 hammock with Speed Hook suspension (approx 14 oz)
BIAS NanoBuginator bugnet (7 oz.)
Dutch tarp hardware (Flyz, Fleaz, Wasps, and Dutch hooks)
Zing-it 1.75 mm for tarp and hammock ridgeline, and guylines

I disagree strongly with Gresh's "sacrifice durability for weight" assessment of cuben fiber tarps. Several people have hiked the entire AT with cuben fiber tarps. Cuben fiber is durable, and the most easily field-repairable tarp there is (just carry some cuben fiber tape and you won't even notice the repair). I've been using CF tarps for three years and they're as good as the day I bought them. Expensive, but worth it if you're a hiker.

By all means check out the customer service comments in the vendor-specific forums. Some of our cottage vendors are communications-challenged. It's worth the time researching so you can adjust your expectations and won't be disappointed.

Well said SS. The knowledge everyone shares is priceless on here. Good luck...and I cant add anything that already hasn't been said.

[CoreyR]

I've never been impressed by ENO but I do not think it is bad gear, per se, just not as good as you can get for the same money from cottage vendors.
I have met the guys from Appalachian Hammocks and the Meck brothers from Hammeck, (I own two of their products a Breezy and an Envy) and I found these guys to do very good work and to take pride in what they do. I have not met Dutch but I own some of his gear and it is well made for the money
. This gear is just not like mass produced, "big box," elcheapo stuff. There is a quality in what comes from our cottage vendors which we just no longer see in factory produced goods.
IMHO