What made you a "hanger"?

[jungleandy]

Then southeast Asia and a lifetime of camping and mucking about the South China Sea. I was in my hammock way up on Mt. Pinatubo on Luzon with the Aeta tribe, until the 12-16 June 1991 eruption caused us to flee. It was 7x as big an eruption as Mt. St. Helens, and buried my favorite sleeping spot under 450 feet of ash.

My little jungle in Cut and Shoot Texas is as hot, wet and mosquito infested as any jungle in the world, with the usual three hurricanes every year. I love to camp out during storms.

I want advice on strong hammocks with realistic rain flys. The rain blows sideways here at 60mph (100kph) and the mosquitos can sand the paint off a barn. I just bought a traditional (new) WWII style hammock, and it reminds me I'm not a kid anymore. Now I'm not as athletic. I'm a smidge over 6 feet and a few short of 300 pounds. Advice welcome. Not at all interested in how lightweight the gear is. No lingerie grade hammocks made for skinny grammer backpacker people, please.

The old jungle hammock I know as well as anyone alive. I know I need new gear. Willing to learn. Thanks.

[trouthunter]

I was sentenced to hang for cattle rustling.

Well, seriously I bought one of those el cheapo military jungle hammocks from a surplus store many years ago, it wasn't all that great. Several years later I saw two guys hanging on a trail and stopped to talk a bit. They both had Henny's and I was impressed.
The rest is history.

[skistrees]

I've feel more comfortable off the ground. I always loved climbing trees as a kid and later rocks. I think sleeping in hammocks somehow goes back to our roots as tree dwellers. I like the gentle sway of the nest/cocoon. I feel safer somehow in a hammock than in a tent.

It is also lighter than my tent, not quite as light as my bivy-sack, but much more comfortable and drier. I guess all told the biggest reason is comfort for body and soul.

[Hangin' Fro]

My dad (Deuce) got a HH about 2 years ago. Later my brother (AccidentProne) also got a HH. Just recently I got my Clark North American w/ the XL tarp. I like hammock in general because they are more comfortable, easier to pack, lighter, and cooler then tents.

[carolinasbackpacker]

Got an ENO as a luxuary item on trips. My brother loved his so much, he decided he was going to sleep in his on our next trip ( I wasn't carrying a 5lbs tent by myself). I hated it my first time, but then I started doing resarch and learning a few tricks... changed to the Blackbird recently and well, you can pretty much guess the rest!

[jungleandy]

How do you handle getting into your hammocks with giant gobbed up muddy boots while it's pouring rain? This is one reason I find my old WW2 style jungle hammocks no good for me anymore. I'm just not limber enough -- need a much bigger tarp I think.

[lizzie]

I was introduced to Hammocks in 1990 in the Army reserve. I was in Georgia for training at the time. On patrols we mainly slept under the stars, and occasionally, under a poncho stretched out with bungies. But on many occasions we slept in net hammocks - our trainers called them "Hiltons" because they were the ultimate luxury.

I live in So Cal, and rarely winter hike, so I actually used the net hammock for many years. About five years ago I got a Byer, and thought that was heaven on earth.

I recently I got my ENO DN and only recently found this forum. Now a whole world is opening up to me thanks to you guys! Who knows, maybe I'll even venture into some winter camping...

[etmorchicn]

A lot of the people I work with (outdoor rec guide) use them, but I wasn't sold until a recent climbing trip to Alabama. My friends had ENO's and they slept much better than me with two crashpads stuffed into my tent. Got home, bought an ENO doublenest, and promptly set it up in the living room. The rest is history.

I recently stumbled across Just Jeff's page and from there found this.

[Pipsissewa]

Shug. Shug made me a hanger. (My back and I both thank you, buddy!)

[Mountain Gout]

For me, it was a last desperate effort to get a decent night of sleep
Waking up almost every hour on the hour was slowly killing me..
And yes, Shug played a major roll as well after seeing his vids on the tube
and remembering how comfortable the few hammocks I had for the yard over the years were, I purchased a black bird and now spend more time in it, than in my bed currently setting up the bed room for a perma-hang set up... Can't really thank you enough Mr. Shug..