Hello everyone...

[Gra_factor]

... I'm an aussie living in upstate New York. But that's a story for another day

At the age of 50 my camping trips have ground to a halt. I love the outdoors, and I have been to the Adirondacks a few times, (a lifetime of stunning places to explore and only 3 hours away) but at the end of the day I go to ground.... bits of me go numb and the other bits hurt! Next day, the bags under my eyes make it hard to see the nature around me! And don't talk to me about those lean-tos. A great idea but the floors are harder than the ground! At least if you pitch your tent under a nice fur or pine tree you get a bed of needles. I've used a 1" thermarest for years but it ain't cutting it any more for this old bugger. To be honest I have trouble getting comfortable in a bed these days.

A couple of months ago I heard about hammock camping, and went out and got myself a Byer of Maine Moskito hammock. It was only 40 bucks so I thought well worth the price to try out. Then today I got myself a poncho liner from the army disposal store. I have hung my hammock outside, tied the poncho liner to the outside and have a lightweight fleece sleeping bag which I will probably just drape over me tonight. Expected temps are down to the upper 60s F.

So far it has felt very comfortable to lie in but this will be my first attempt to sleep in it. Wish me luck!

[sierrajud]

Good luck, I'm sure you'll be comfy !! Welocome to HF !!

[Catavarie]

Good luck, and welcome aboard.

[bhinson]

Welcome to the trees
And hello from Canada
Let us know your thoughts on your first nights sleep

[Tumbleweed]

Hi,
Welcome to the best forum on this planet. People here are so helpful with ideas and solutions. It's a family and everyone here is respectful. No Dissing allowed. Hang onto your wallet. So many neat ways to spend time & money, however the gear you accumulate from these suggestions will be top quality.

I'm a loyal Warbonnet hanger from Central Wisconsin.

[Gra_factor]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcomes.

So... that was odd. I should not have gone to bed so late (after 1am). At 6 in the morning I had to pee so decided to go back inside.

Some observations:

• it was hard to stay on a diagonal. When I've tried it out during the day it's easier because I can see where my feet and head are going, but when I move in the dark I'm not so sure. When I hit the right spot sometimes I can feel myself straightening out. The problem is though that my body has a tendency to want to fall to the center line of the hammock.
• Definitely a bit of shoulder squeeze, especially when I rolled to my side. But you know, even though it was very noticeable there was no ache or numbness, which I sometimes get even in bed. It just felt odd.
• The worst thing was my head. I have a little inflatable pillow. Without it my head falls right back if I'm lying on my back. On my side I find the edge of the hammock creates a raised area that I can put my head on without the pillow. Nevertheless this was the biggest problem. I have a headache this morning. My head never really felt right but I'm not sure whether it was too high or too low.
• My hammock is not well made. I have a friend with the same hammock: she was the one who told me about it but when she helped me put it up she remarked on how there was a lot more mosquito netting on mine than on hers. The netting fell in my face, even when hooked to a ridgeline. I used a kitchen clip to clip some of it up out of the way

It took me a long time to get to sleep. It just feels so much different to a bed. After I bailed at 6 and went in to bed inside I noticed how much different it felt in bed: the pressure points on my hips and shoulders were more more noticeable after being in the hammock. There were none in the hammock. It's just my head that I need to get right.

So in summary it was not a revelatory experience for me but neither was it horrible either. Obviously I need to work on it a bit to get it right. I have a camping trip in a few weeks with some friends and I wanted to make sure it worked for me before committing to a night of hanging without any alternative sleeping arrangements.

Any thoughts from the experts are very welcome!

[Shug]

I got ViDEOS.....!
They may help....couldn't hurt....may drive you crazy...hammock crazy.
Shug

[hippofeet]

UNless you are hiking in, take both options. If you get the right setup, it is super nice to just pull your hammock and tarp from a black bishop bag and hook up and 2 more tieouts and done. Like a minute. On to the cooking. My friends have all asked for a setup like mine. Mind the mosquito's, a single layer light hammock will let them bite through. And I hang high, because sometimes I sink at night, but others here can let you know how to avoid that.

Good luck, and have fun, and nice to meet you.

Hippo.

[raiffnuke]

Welcome to HF from Mass.

[olddog]

Welcome aboard from Florida.