What made you a "hanger"?

**Gamut** · 07-18-2017, 21:46

Hello everyone!

Well, I'm a prior army airborne ranger and have always been in the woods. Either on the ground, a cot or a tent. Mostly i have rucked and slept in a tent. I have always been an outdoors man practicing survival skills and bushcraft.

The way I came across hamocking was actually by pure luck. I was given a hammock as a gift and just threw it in my closet and didn't think twice about it...I know, what a shame, lol. Well the family decided to go on a trip to the mountains and stay in a cabin about 3 weeks ago (FlintLock Camp Ground, Boone North Carolina). I remembered that hammock I shamefully tossed away and thought it would be useful to throw up and "hang" around in around the cabin. When we got to the cabin I saw that a creek ran right threw the campground. I spotted 2 trees and using my military training, I hung that hammock right next to the creek to lay and listen to the sound of the rushing water! That night i fell alseep in the hammock, woke up the next morning and the rest...well, is history! I'm a seasoned combat veteran with PTSD and I have to say that, that weekend was the BEST sleep i have had in 8 years!!!

I have been on the research bench since my weekend with my hammock and haven't thought twice about a tent! I have come across the famous Sean Emery (AKA, Shug) and king of lollygag on YouTube and "Whoooo Buddy!!" is he a character! Watching his videos is how I found this outfit. Look forward to discussions with you all and learning the ways of the hammock!

I'm currently upgrading gear little by little and will begin hitting the woods hard in September once this North Carolina humidity takes a hike, lol!

Gamut
RLTW!!!

**Russ1409** · 07-18-2017, 22:41

I'd say Shug has done more for hammocking than the rest of us combined.

**Gamut** · 07-19-2017, 21:09

Yes, he does seem to be well seasoned and has loads of knowledge about hammocking, lol!

**SCWalker** · 07-20-2017, 14:14

Originally Posted by Russ1409

I'd say Shug has done more for hammocking than the rest of us combined.

I concur. He has more energy than most of today's teenagers. I know he can run circles around my fat @rse and I am about 10 years younger than him. I tell ya members, the old easy chair looks better and better everyday, and Shug is out there every chance he gets.

**Cycleslinger** · 07-24-2017, 10:58

I started because i was getting really tired of having to repair air mats after getting punctures on every trip and a few of my friends were using hammocks so i thought i'd give it a try and have been hooked ever since

**regnaD_kciN** · 07-25-2017, 08:58

My brother, Donn, 1st showed me how to hang my father's two army issued jungle hammocks back in the early 60s. I learned to untangle, re-tie and replace the strings. We would hang these up in our garage on poorly attached clothesline mounts. I used these hammocks up until a few years ago when the bottoms eventually dry rotted out. I miss their canvasy smell. Those old hammocks accompanied me to the Humber River in Toronto, Bear River in Charlevoix, MI, St. Peter's church in D.C., and mounted within a single mangrove tree on the shore of Bahai Honda, FL., where i was teased about the odd anchor points (there were no two trees close enough) by the folks camped on the beach, until the next morning when the tide had come in and flooded them out, while I was "high and dry" (in more ways than one).
I found the Hennessy brand to be familiar looking to the old WWII Jungle hammock and have since purchased 3 of their models.

**evanphi** · 07-25-2017, 09:03

I have a bad back, and I was also planning my first major motorcycle adventure tour. Didn't want the weight and bulk of a tent, and heard great things about the comfort of a good hammock for camping.

I'm a convert, through and through. I'll never sleep on the ground again!

I also live by Shug's mantra at the beginning of his ridgeline video:

"And I really don't care how I dress."

**Rmrcleo** · 08-01-2017, 10:17

Growing up trailer camping every summer, my grandpa had a blue net hammock. I loved it. My cousin and I were hanging and swinging every chance we got. My grandpa was a sailor at Pearl Harbor and I think his time in the Navy is why he had the hammock. Anyway, for as long as I can remember I've wanted a hammock indoors. I finally have one!! I also have one in the backyard. And one in the car with a stand for the park, the pool, Girl Scout overnight trips, and staying at a friend's house whose bed is the most uncomfortable bed ever. Also, I love to camp but absolutely hate setting up a tent. And more than that air mattresses are truly the worst night sleep I've ever had. Like sleeping on a bumpy hard moving bubble. If I can get the rest of my family into a hammock, we might actually start camping my! Fingers crossed

**loopsage** · 08-02-2017, 03:34

Found Shug on youtube, got inspired and made one of my best gear purchase decisions to date

**Sparkster** · 08-14-2017, 10:25

I haven't even got to sleep in my new hammock yet, that's how new I am to it.

I was recently on a long father/son hike with a group. I was practicing some outdoors skills and my only shelter was a tarp I pitched as a tent. Some of the guys found a fake tarantula and put it in my tent as a gag. Funny thing was, when I found it, I didn't freak out like they wanted. I yelled, "hey is that a tarantula? Come check this out!" (pic below) But it did get me thinking and I searched my tent (this was day two) and I found two mid sized, and very real, wolf spiders. One of them was down in the curl of my thermarest pad where my feet go. I killed em, toughed it out for the remainder of the trip, and vowed never to sleep in a tent of any sort when I could hang from a tree in a hammock. Soon as we got back I started browsing and landed on a Winner Outfitters double on Amazon. I'm itching to get out and try it. BTW I also have minor back problems and even with an air mattress I usually wake up sore when camping. I'm hoping this will help.

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