Hi gang! I'm new here, been lurking for a little while, first post and all that. Warning - wall of text approaching. You have been warned...
I'm very intrigued by the idea of hammock camping so I've done a mountain of research over the last week or so and feel like I almost know some of the basic concepts now. Let me provide some info on me and what I want to accomplish and see what you all suggest.
I'm about 5'8" and around 200lbs (ouch when did that happen!?)
The majority of my camping is done in the Colorado Rockies. 3 season camping primarily, but even so it can obviously get down below freezing in the spring or fall when you're at 10,000ft. I'm stuck at the moment with a rather large synthetic sleeping bag right now (not currently ready to plunk down for a good down bag) so while the bag is plenty warm, it just doesn't compress nearly as much as I'd like. I have a few different pads and that would initially be my main form of under insulation in a hammock.
I figure I'll want bug netting sooner or later, particularly right now as mid-summer around lakes in the mountains means bugs.
I know I'll need a tarp sooner or later. I have things I could make do with, though they really aren't well suited to covering the length of a hammock setup.
Skip to the end - ultimately I want a Warbonnet BlackBird I just don't want to start there without ever having camped in a hammock. I want to start cheap and make sure this is a direction I want to go before moving up the price ladder.
Ok with all that in mind I started down the DIY path, but quickly came to the conclusion that to do it right I'd be spending as much as the low-end fully ready pre-built hammocks and I'd still be lacking some features. I like the idea of building my own, but eh... not right now for my first setup. That leaves a few options:
Grand Trunk Skeeter Beeter - UL for $60 or Pro for $80
Warbonnet Traveler - $ depends on which version
ENO SingleNest for ~$43 or DoubleNest for ~$52
My gut says I'd be most comfortable with either a Warbonnet or ENO hammock, but I really like that the Skeeter Beeters have the attached bug net. I would probably go for the Pro version so I could get more flat and so my wife could join me sometimes.
At that price point it seems like the Skeeter Beeter Pro makes the most sense for my needs - am I missing anything? I know it comes with some sort of mediocre suspension, but I can't find much info on what it actually comes with - does anyone know the specifics and will it be sufficient to use a couple times before I buy better suspension?
If you've managed to read this far without falling asleep I salute you
Thanks everyone!
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