Hammock problems for a newbie

[redrob]

Tell me more about such fans...

Regarding my oldest son, last year, we went out to a cubscouting event near Bastrop State Park east of Austin. I strung up two home-made hammocks at right angles to each other. He started to get scared about 10 minutes after getting into his hammock. He wanted to go home and I said yes without hesitation because it had just rained and I have never felt such miserable humidity.

Thanks,
Rob

[jeroldharter]

Sounds like you got the hang of it with the pitch angle and asymmetrical lie.

When you are in the hammock, you can reach over your head and grab the scrunched up fabric at the top and pull yourself up or adjust your angle. You want to hang the foot end slightly higher than the head end. Mark the head end of your hammock or ropes with a small piece of brightly colored string so you can easily identify the head end when hanging it.

Mosquitos should not bite through the bottom. However, better safe than sorry. You can spray your hammock with Permethrin and that will help with bugs.

http://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-SP657-P...d_bxgy_k_img_b



Or you can by the concentrated stuff, do the math, and dilute it yourself to save a lot of money.

Hammocks typically sleep colder than tents. That is the main limitation. So if you do much cold weather hammock camping, you should consider a full length underquilt and a top quilt. For warmer places like Texas, you could use a Big Agnes sleeping bag coupled with one of their Air Core inflatable pads that fit in a sleeve on the underside of the bag. I partially inflate the air mattress so that it provides some insulation but is flexible enough to conform to the contours of the hammock.

This is a great deal on one of those bags:

http://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com...fm/4,6624.html



This is an insulated Air Core Pad on sale:

http://madathlete.com/Big-Agnes-Insu...B001AYYEY8.htm

For the kids, it would be great to get them hammocks too. Don't know their ages but at some point it might be a good DIY or scouting project to make hammocks. Learn about sewing, knots, rigging, etc.