Learning to Hang in CT!

[Trailblazer007]

Learning to hang! I am a noob and am looking for the right hammock. My first experience was with a 1-man hammock (parachute material) and no tarp. This was in February snowstorm at Washington State Forest - Mass. 2010. I'l post pic of this later. On that trip a light bulb went on! I have been converted!! I have been dreaming of hangin' since. I searched the net and started checkin' out Shug's HammockForum.net video's on youtube (love 'em). I'm at that point now where I am analyzing products to purchase. Any feedback from vet hangers is welcome. I am interested in 4 season hanging in New England. Anyone with suggestions to choice of products and why would be great or provide previous threads to read. Here's to future hangin'!

[bigbamaguy]

TB007:
Welcome to HF from Bama..........congrats on the winter hang with no tarp, really want to see the pictures. If you have seen Shug's vids he is the one to follow and learn from when it comes to cold weather hanging. Watch the 10 parts Noob video series he did to get an idea of the different styles of hammock and setups that may be needed.

[adam.skinner]

Some things to think about:

Do you want a modular system, or an all in one? Going for something like a Warbonnet Blackbird will give you a suspension system and integrated bugnet. But you don't need the bugnet all the time, do you?

Also to consider is whether you're going to lay out the cash for an underquilt or not. If you're planning on using a CCF pad instead, getting a double-bottomed one (where you can slip the pad in-between the layers) is probably a good idea.

Tarp is also a concern. If weight and bulk are a big deal to you, then you'll probably want a different tarp for cold weather than for warm. But you can get modular tarps that you can attach "doors" to to winterize them, which would let you get away with one. The lightest and smallest tarps are made of cuben fiber, whereas normal tarps are made of silnylon, and light and not so small tarps are made of Spinn UL.

Then there's the topquilt. You can adapt a sleeping bag for this purpose, or use a Big Agnes bag (that doesn't have insulation underneath, but an integrated sleeping pad pocket), a blanket, or a topquilt with a footbox.

When I first started, I didn't realise the absolute necessity of having insulation underneath you. I spent a very cold night in pretty warm weather on top of a mountain.

[mmmm Scotch]

Welcome to hanging! I live in CT as well (New Haven). We should get together sometime and "hang" out..... sorry i had to

[Trailblazer007]

i used the winter picture as my avatar!

[Trailblazer007]

Thanks for the info everyone. I am gathering as much info I can before purchasing product. I am definitely into the ultralight perspective.

[Shug]

A Whooooo Buddy to you!
Shug