What made you a "hanger"?

**Envikin** · 05-09-2015, 17:34

I split the blame 60/40 between being a gear-head and Shug's info-tainment Youtubes.

**redneckgymrat** · 05-09-2015, 22:14

Hmm. Most seem to come from a camping background.

I've never been camping. I was forced, years ago, to go to a campground with a school group and I was so miserable I was put in a cabin and never really partook of the experience. What a horrible memory.

My path to hammocking is, consequently, unlike many listed. I'm in my forties and frankly I'm tired of not sleeping well. Years of mattresses, foam mattresses, memory foam mattresses, and most recently sleep number inflatable mattresses have never permitted me to sleep through the night. My back aches, my sides hurt, I toss and turn all night, stagger out of bed, and am both miserable and exhausted all day, until the night comes, dreading the time I have to spend, yet again, in that bed, tossing, turning, and awake until I literally pass out from exhaustion.

It seems that the more money I threw at increasingly complicated and (in hindsight) increasingly toxic solutions, the better my rest would get, but...only marginally. Certainly not good enough to warrant the price.

So, one day I had an epiphany. Turn it around. KISS. Go low tech. Go simple. In other words, what did people use before the 20th century innerspring mattress?

And I tried a hammock. The Yukon double from woot.

Oh my God, I felt like an idiot, dangling from two ropes in a fabric sling. The freaky thing moves! The sides flap and sort of wrap around me. I'm supposed to lay diagonally across it? And it's kind of hard...though I must admit it did conform to my body.

And this, after drilling holes in my walls, yes I did it indoors.

But you know what? Eventually I fell asleep. This idiot slept through the night, and awoke in significantly less pain than before. Seriously, I didn't have to stumble out of bed and stagger through the house until the pain subsided. (No, chiropractic didn't help)

Over the last two weeks I have become a fan of hanging, and intend to upgrade my wall mounts. But, the basic concept obviously works, and I can believe that over time, my bad back may even be able to heal.

If I continue to do this well, I'll be not just a convert, but an evangelist.

**daveysnowis** · 05-10-2015, 19:56

On a complete whim I bought a hammock bliss hammock and aqua quest trap. That was 2 years ago. Still using both.

**zebra-tape** · 05-11-2015, 15:44

I've done tons of hiking and camping as well as some backpacking. My biggest challenge while backpacking is getting a good nights sleep! My friend mentioned he was reading up on hammocking and as I started to I realized it might be an awesome solution. I've been watching Shug's videos, reading a bunch on the Ultimate Hang and doing a significant amount of lurking around here. I'm excited to try it out. I'm borrowing a Grand Trunk Ultralight, I picked up some webbing for tree-huggers, Kelty's Noahs Tarp, and bug netting and I will use a sleeping bag and pad I already have. I'm planning on hanging my first night later this week, we'll see how it goes! (If it doesn't go well I will definitely keep trying, with so many options out there something is bound to work for me)

**msharitt** · 05-14-2015, 09:15

I came from a camping background. Caught a Grand Trunk ultralight on sale on amazon for $16.00. At that time I thought ENO was top dog and that's what I was after for that is all I have seen. The GT lasted me years and I still have it, I never bothered camping out of season so if it wasn't perfect weather I just took a tent. Now through this forum, other sites and the Ultimate Hang my eyes have been opened and now own many hammocks from a Grand Trunk to Dutch to Hennessey. I make way too much DIY and Dutch gets part of my paycheck each week. It's defiantly an addiction whether it's splicing Amsteel or working on the proper pitch of just hanging in the park. It's defiantly a lifestyle and I keep a hammock in every vehicle.

**-c0de-** · 05-14-2015, 16:02

I have always taken a hammock with me when going camping or backpacking since I was a wee little cub scout, and this is merely the next logical step. Now... to start making my own gear!

**troutalope** · 05-19-2015, 14:06

I saw the cool kids hanging in their ENO hammocks. It got me interested and after doing some research found this forum and all the awesome vendors that we have here. I ended up grabbing a Dream Hammock FreeBird for my first hammock, and it has all been down hill after that lol.

**1eye** · 05-21-2015, 19:08

My hike on the Foothills Trail last fall did it for me. I was using a Big Agnes tent like I had for years (a wonderful tent, no complaints there) but I had big problems finding appropriate tent sites. Trying to maximize mileage each day I would hike until sunset. The trail is rugged and most days I would stumble across suitable sites in the middle of the afternoon then would find myself with nothing at the end of the day. Then I would end up pitching the tent on a slope or right next to the trail on questionable terrain. I quickly started thinking how wonderful it would be if I had a hammock instead of a tent. Now that I have converted I will never go back. The hammock is comfy, quick to set up, and it's easy to set up almost anywhere here on the eastern seaboard. I wish I had converted years ago.

**southernfire97** · 05-21-2015, 19:22

I would say the popularity is what initially brought me into it. I figured if there was so much positive buzz about it, maybe I should give it a try. Glad I did!

**Codger** · 05-21-2015, 20:10

I was on a Reforger Exercise in Germany in October 1983. Cold. Wet. My unit was playing bad guy against both sides at once so we were always in the boonies. We had these funky mesh nets with about a 1" weave that we called yeti nets. Strung them up with 550 cord, tossed in our intermediate bags and hopped in with our 1st gen goretex. I slept like a baby. Fast forward 20 years - We took the kids car camping and I couldn't carry enough ibuprofen to keeps the aches and pains at bay, even with a huge inflatable mattress. I remembered sleeping so well in the darn yeti net so I went and bought a ENO DN and strung it up. Draped some bug netting over a paracord ridgeline and marveled at the wonder. When it rained I just threw a poncho on top of me and went back to sleep. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up sleeping in it for four straight months in my basement.

Now I have grown a bit weary of having to jury rig bug and rain protection and I have a little more cash with the kids gone so I decided to jump in and ordered a Dangerbird a couple of weeks ago. Need I mention the anticipation?