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  1. #1
    Senior Member Doctari's Avatar
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    How long have you been hanging?

    As sort of an off shoot of the " how did Hammock Forums start Grandpa? " topic. And I was curious about myself.

    I first started questioning about hammocks around Jan of 04, finally Feb of 06 Hammock Engineer came over & let me test hang his HH, 3/3/06 I took delivery of my first camping hammock: a Bayer mosquito traveller, & I was hooked. Which is odd because I never did get the hang of the Bayer right. I now think I could, but the Bayer is now assorted stuff sacks & accessory cord. Yet, I have never once looked back, & now a hammock is my primary bed, at home & even at work.
    SO, I have been hanging for almost 3 years. Much less I am sure than many here, but still it may be fun to know how long everyone has been "Swinging from the trees".

    On a personal note: I wish I hadn't put it off for so long! It took over 2 years from interest to exicution, 2 years I could have been camping in comfort. No excuses, I just kept putting it off, after all, "I had a perfectly good backpacking tent & had been sleeping on the ground nearly 50 years, so why change now?"
    When you have a backpack on, no matter where you are, you’re home.
    PAIN is INEVITABLE. MISERY is OPTIONAL.

  2. #2
    Senior Member FanaticFringer's Avatar
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    Around 2.5 years
    "Every day above ground is a good day"

  3. #3
    Senior Member animalcontrol's Avatar
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    About 8 yrs ago, I stumbled across the HH website and ordered one (the original Exped version, I think). The first time out camping, 30*F WITH NO UNDER INSULATION! One of the coldest nites I've ever had (only one colder, I was hypothermic)
    I used it off/on for the next 7 yrs (mostly off) and only in the summer!
    Found this site and got hooked again!
    BTW...I've been a winter ground sleeper for better than 15 yrs. Now, I' hanging in the winter and loving every minute of it.
    I seem to break my new low temp every time I hang! (I'm still a good 35* off my ground low, but I'm catching quick!)
    Last edited by animalcontrol; 12-12-2008 at 13:55.
    "Every day is a new day to a better future"
    "Of all the things that matter, that really and truly matter, working more efficiently and getting more done is not among them." ~ Mike Dooley
    "What if I told you that you couldn't have anymore of anything... No more friends, no more money, no more anything, until you first got happy with what you have?"~ Mike Dooley
    "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." ~ Socrates

  4. #4
    Senior Member te-wa's Avatar
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    i did what you did, AC. slept in my byer travel hammock without a pad. figured my 35° bag would be enough! that was 3 years ago. i really dont remember the reason why i tried hammock camping but that turned me off for a while... jump to spring 07 - i purchased a Hudson River quilt and used it on the ground a few times. then purchased a Travel Hammock UL. at the time I was using a GG nightlite pad so it was a no brainer to try hanging again. A few months later, i thought there has to be other options and found Just Jeff's hammocking site. So ive only been seriously hanging for a little less than a year, and with the help of Jeff and this here HF i was able to make a bunch of gear that works to my exact needs. Priceless, i tells ya.

    i read someone say that if you can sleep under a tarp on the ground, you can sleep under a tarp in a hammock. that's basically how it all started!

  5. #5
    Dutch's Avatar
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    I bought a HH ULBA for a my 2003 thurhike after reading on WB. Springer Mt was the second time I slept in it. Now look at me. A hammock junkie all strung out with down and mixing my own sil on the weekends. My freinds say I'm not the same anymore. They want to get low and I want to fly. I have woken up in a strange hammock some weekends. Sometime I find myself checking the neighbors trees for distance. One time my wife even caught me checking out her mother's trees. I keep figure 9s in my pocket just because I like to hear the jingle. I need a hammock intervention.
    Peace Dutch
    GA>ME 2003

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  6. #6
    Senior Member Doctari's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dutch View Post
    I bought a HH ULBA for a my 2003 thurhike after reading on WB. Springer Mt was the second time I slept in it. Now look at me. A hammock junkie all strung out with down and mixing my own sil on the weekends. My freinds say I'm not the same anymore. They want to get low and I want to fly. I have woken up in a strange hammock some weekends. Sometime I find myself checking the neighbors trees for distance. One time my wife even caught me checking out her mother's trees. I keep figure 9s in my pocket just because I like to hear the jingle. I need a hammock intervention.
    Sorry, it's too late for you.

    Say, can you spare a few figure 9s,,,,,, um,,, I'll pay you back soon as I score,,,,, honest.
    Where are those trees & just how far apart are they?

    I don't have a problem, & there is NOT a bolt of sil nylon behind my back, , , , , , it's a gift,,,,,,,, yea, a gift,,,, for my wife,,,,yea, that's it, a gift!
    When you have a backpack on, no matter where you are, you’re home.
    PAIN is INEVITABLE. MISERY is OPTIONAL.

  7. #7
    Senior Member drewboy's Avatar
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    1.5 years hanging

    I got interested in hanging in early 2007 after reading a hanging article by Carol Crooker on the Backpacking Light web site, and some other postings on their forum. I eventually got referred to this forum, where the hanging world opened up for me. In April/May 2007 I worked myself up to purchase my first HH Hyperlight and have been hanging ever since. My first major hang was a 5-day backpacking trip through the Weminuche Wilderness in July 2007, which went flawlessly thanks to all the tips I learned here. Like most people here, I have become a hopeless gear fanatic and now own 3 hammocks, several tarps, quilts and under insulation options. My wife just shakes her head, but I'm having a blast. Hey, everyone needs a hobby they can be passionate about. I tell her it's a cheaper hobby than buying fast cars. I'm really intrigued with all the DIY activity going on here, and hopefully some day I will find the time to start making my own gear. Right now, my priority is finding the time away from work to get out on the trail, savor the outdoor experience and enjoy all the great stuff I have.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Ramblinrev's Avatar
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    In 2007 I very nearly sold all of my camping equipment. I had fallen trying to get out of my tent and actually bent an aluminum tent pole. I figured that was it. If I con't get up off the ground to get out of my tent safely I have no business being out there. Two things happened that changed that. One was getting an internal fram pack rather than my old time Kelty external. I love that pack and still do, but I couldn't control it. It waved around on my back and threw me off balance. The second was some one gave me a HH Safari they were no longer using. That finished it. It took me a while to get my nerve up to try this out. But once I did... I have been out more this past year than I was the three years before combined. I am loving it. I don't need to get up off the ground. I start off the ground. It took me a bit to find the limitations that I have in terms of hammocks I can use due to my mobility issues but for the first time in my life I am actually hoping to be able to camp in the winter. I've got my DIY Bridge strung up in the workroom to tailor an over cover and adjust the DIY quilts underneath. I am hoping I can make it to Mt. Rogers in January.
    I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.

    "Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
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  9. #9
    Senior Member Cannibal's Avatar
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    April of 2007.

    Read a post on Whiteblaze about bad backs and hammocks.
    Ordered what is now a "Grand Trunk UL Hammock" for $19.99 at Campmor.
    Lurked on HF.
    Put eyebolts in and strung it up above my bed (just in case).
    Slept 3 nights in the hammock, then tore my bed down and moved it to storage.
    Bought Hennessy from Coffee.
    Never looked back.

    I don't have a hammock problem either. I have a hammock collection, but I certainly don't see it as a problem . Just because when I was looking for a place to live in Denver I would eliminate possibilities because there wasn't enough room for a work/hang shop doesn't mean I have a problem either. Now, the massive pile of fabric in the corner and the fact that there are several flocks of naked geese out there because of what's in all the Rubbermaid containers in my basement, that might be a problem. But, I'm not ready to take that first step and go to H.H.A. (Hammock Hanger Anonymous):

    "Hi, my name is Cannibal and I've been sleeping in the trees for almost 2 years"
    Trust nobody!

  10. #10
    Senior Member animalcontrol's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cannibal View Post
    But, I'm not ready to take that first step and go to H.H.A. (Hammock Hanger Anonymous):

    "Hi, my name is Cannibal and I've been sleeping in the trees for almost 2 years"
    Your first step is to make up for all your previous transgressions (ala "My name is Earl") You can start making amends by selling me those Sierra Design booties you beat me out of (4 minutes!) the other day!!...

    "Hi my name is animalcontrol and I knocked a lil old lady down to get to the Walmart fabric clearance bin first"
    "Every day is a new day to a better future"
    "Of all the things that matter, that really and truly matter, working more efficiently and getting more done is not among them." ~ Mike Dooley
    "What if I told you that you couldn't have anymore of anything... No more friends, no more money, no more anything, until you first got happy with what you have?"~ Mike Dooley
    "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." ~ Socrates

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