Hello Hammock People,

I'm a 47 year old dad of three kids (6, 9 and 15), all of whom would love to go on hikes. We live in western Washington State, so there is no shortage of nearby hiking trails. I love hiking the Olympic Peninsula, and also in the redwood forests and the Trinity Alps region of Northern California.

Obviously, I'm interested in trying out hammock camping. It seems like a good idea for our upcoming trip and possibly a step closer to lightweight hiking as well. Funny how the older I get, the more interested I become in ultralight hiking...

A year or so ago, I saw an "Easy Traveller" hammock at an REI and was intrigued. I had this notion that hammocks were for pirate ships and backyard snoozing. I had no idea that people use them for lightweight, low impact camping!

I have a car camping trip to the Redwoods planned in a few weeks that I think will be a great opportunity to try out a hammock. So the search is on!

I'm 6'1" and 280 lbs so I should skip the "traveller" hammocks and some of the ultralight suspensions; the stuff rated for 250 lbs (or maybe skip a few meals). I have $75 in REI gift cards, and Father's Day is around the corner. Given those factors it seems that an ENO DoubleNest would be a good bet. Then again Amazon has ENO DoubleNests on sale -- some color combinations are $50 there. I'm not above saving $15 and using my REI cards for something else. As I have no style sense, I'm not super concerned about color choice.

Aside from a hammock and some tree straps, I'm not sure what else I'll need at first. I have some old tie-down straps I could use, or maybe pick up the Pawleys Island tree straps from Amazon for $18.49.

I have some biners (Petzl Spirit), some high-visibility guy line and a few different tarps around. I also have an old Ridge Rest foam sleeping mat and a Thermarest ultralight self inflating one.

I know that Search is my friend, and I'll be doing plenty of that in the next few days. I just wanted to introduce myself and mention where I'm at as far as trying out hammock camping goes. From what I've already learned on the site, it seems like this is a great place with information freely shared. Your enthusiasm is catching.

I look forward to learning more and reading about your hammock adventures -- and picking up a hammock of my very own in the near future.

Regards,

Flash
Yet Another Hammock Newbie