Poll: How did you get into hanging?

[Miguel]

I just thought it would be fun to ask people what set of circumstances lead them to hammocking. (from the dark to the light) No one in my circle of friends hammock camps although all are outdoors folks who regularly camp.

I'll start. My daughter graduated from college last year and of course with graduation comes the obligatory "graduation gift". I decided to be blunt and ask her exactly what she wanted. Much to my surprise she said she wanted a "camping hammock". She knew little of them and I even less but she knew she wanted one. After a bit of googling with no advice from anyone I decided on a fully decked out Clark Jungle Hammock which she has come to love. This of course piqued my interest and after borrowing it a few times and many happy hours of research, settled on Claytor Jungle Hammocks for both my wife and me. Looking back, I wish I had been introduced to hanging many years ago which would have relieved me of many years of suffering on the ground!

How'd you become introduced to hanging?

Miguel

[Coffee]

Just by chance I had a weekend off in Sept sometime in '05. I was able to put together a hiking trip with a friend (my only friend at the time who hikes). I was in my TNF tadpole tent on a cc pad and he was in a mesh hammock, sleeping bag, and cheap blue tarp. He said he really didn't know what he was doing other than it was comfortable. I wanted to try it out but did not trust my weight in it. Needless to say I didn't sleep very well. But it evened out when he woke up with bugs crawling on his back.

When I got back I starting doing some web searching and reading. I came across Rock's site and then later WB. A month later I order my HH. Sometime in that time period I decided to do a thru hike.

Funny how things tend to work out in the end.

[headchange4u]

I first learned about true hammock camping on WB and when I saw the HH it was love at first site. I have 2 Speer type hammocks but my HH is my favorite.

[Perkolady]

A few years ago, I started reading about it on WB, and ordered my first HH.

It was love at first night!

Then, came the second...
And soon, I will make my own

Perkolady

[Ewker]

I am not into hammocking as of yet. First time I laid in a hammock was 2 yrs ago at Trail Days. Hennessy Hammocks was there showing their products out. I thought I would see what the all the fuss was about. I walked over looked at them and some guy came up and asked if I wanted to lay in one. I said sure and tried to figure out how to get in it. He finally showed me how...lol.
Now I only was in the hammock for maybe 5 minutes. Maybe it was the way you had to get in or the way you had to lay in it or a combo of both but I was not impressed with it.

I had a normal weaved hammock that quite a few people have in their yards. Those are easy to get in and out of but I have flipped over in one.

That is my experience with hammocks. Yes I bought one a few months ago from Sportsman Guide but it still hasn't been hung or laid in.

[blackbishop351]

I wanted to upgrade some VERY old gear this summer and came across Sgt. Rock's site as a gear review source. I started reading about hammocks there, then migrated to WB, then the Yahoo group, then here when it was started. Long is the road that leads...

[Doctari]

I was converted by the evil crowd at White Blaze.

What convinced me was my last trip using my tent (Nomad): I'm over 50 years old, crawling on the ground stopped being fun about 50 years ago Anyway, I had read a few posts about hammocking, thought it all silly (Honest, I did) but after that last trip in a tent, I got to thinking that in a hammock, getting out of bed was just like at home, swing around, put your feet on the ground, stand up. AND, I have missed my tarp since switching to the Nomad tent, so, After Hammock Engineer let me lay in his HH for a few minutes, I decided to "take the plunge".

My first hammock was a Byer, not exactly the best, but comfy enough to convince me that I was on the right track.

Then, when visiting the Carolina Ren fest, I stayed in a tent, I slept on TWO pads, on soft ground, Misery.

I'll never go to ground again.


Doctari.

[Just Jeff]

I had slept in a cheap old BX mesh hammock since I was about 17, but didn't really think anything about being a "hammock camper." Then I went hiking on the AT with a 50+ pound pack and decided there was a better way. After searching on TrailForums and WB, I saw some of the "real" camping hammocks and decided to give it a try, so I picked up a HH from my local outfitter. I think I found Risk's and Rock's sites around this time...which turned me on to homemade gear. My first project was a two-layer hammock based on Risk's design. I quickly figured out that CCF pads weren't for me and I sprung for the JRB set...and thus started my gear addiction.

[eyewall]

Been crawling around the AT sites for nearly 3 years now. Discovered Hiking HQ and Sarge turned me on to hammocks. I would not be hiking without them. Sleeping on the ground is torture. I'd rather sleep against a tree than lie on the ground.

[titanium_hiker]

Saw a story about confluence points on tv got a GPS- Garmin's site lead me to backpacker, which started my internet searching- eventually I ended up at Risk's site and hammocks. Yay!

I love hiking- I hated the hard, cold existence of tents. Big tents, with limited positions to pitch. Slopes. Rocks. ARGH! I love hammocks.

TH