Hi, everybody. I just finished my first night in a hammock and thought it a fitting finish to the adventure to make my first posting in the forum to introduce myself and say thanks. My adventure wasn’t exactly an adventure since it was only in my back yard, but it is really cold and wintery here in WV now, so it seemed smart to do my first hang in a safe place to try some things out that I have learned while lurking here.

I’ve done quite a bit of camping and hiking, mostly in connection with hunting and backpacking in a younger life, but have never used a hammock before. Last night was my first overnight hang. We recently had two huge snow storms here in WV and still have lots of snow on the ground. The temperature was 24* F when I crawled out of my HH Expedition and headed back inside to warm my cold feet at 5:30 this morning. Other than my feet getting cold about 4:30, my set up worked great. I was toasty with several layers of clothing (poly/fleece/wool/down vest), a blue CCF pad (the wide ones from Wal-Mart), a 1/8“ poly 3x6 ft. auto carpet, a square piece of 1/4“ poly carpet pad and my old down/fiberfill combo bag. The down in the bag is pretty much shot, but the fiberfill kept my backside nice and warm. I’m still working on my cold weather set up and look forward to getting it just right with the great information that is available on this forum.

With that thought, I must say that my successful first hang would not have been possible were it not for the great information I have found here. Thanks to all of you have posted such great information, tutorials, and videos. Because of you I have been able to take my new HH and upgrade it with Amsteel 7/64 suspension and MSHs, make a top cover with some old parachute cloth that helped keep the inside of my hammock above 40* last night, made several whoopie slings, learned a bunch of new knots, and have found a DIY heaven. I love DIY projects - find they are good for the mind and spirit, not to mention the check book.

I look forward to learning so much more and eventually maybe being able to post information that might help other newbies like me.

Looks like a great community here. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and for letting me play.