What made you a "hanger"?

**Crich** · 01-23-2018, 19:52

I've been section hiking the AT for the last eight years with a group of buddies. We started in Springer and have made it to about 80 miles south of Damascus so far. We figured at the rate we're going we'll all be dead long before we reach the end but nevertheless we enjoy the trail time we can get. We're about half and half in the group between ground dwellers and hangers. I've been a ground dweller this whole time (BA fly creek II, neo air, and EE revelation quilt) but have always wanted to switch to hammocking. My problem has always been not being able to lay flat enough. I've used an ENO double nest for years and really like it for lounging and taking an afternoon nap but could never quit get as flat as I wanted and therefore wouldn't make the switch. I did all the techniques, hanging the hammock at the proper 20 to 30 degree angle, laying diagonal, etc.. but still felt too much sag.

Fast forward to this Christmas, I picked up a WBBB XLC and the laying flat problem was solved with the asymmetric design. Great hammock so I'm making the switch for this year's trip.

**j-Fish** · 01-31-2018, 01:51

I have been ground camping since I was a kid. One year when I was in my teens my step-dad decided to give hammocks a try. It was a WBBB. My first reaction was.... seriously? You’re going to be cold and your gear has to be outside. Not for me. But then I noticed how great he slept and how much he loved his hammock, and frankly was curious about this YouTube person named shug he kept talking about. So I starting learning more about it (thanks shug) and decided to get a WBRR since I tend to side/stomach sleep. Needless to say that was it, I haven’t looked back and I’ll never go to ground again!

**aquaman** · 02-03-2018, 00:56

I spent many nights as a kid "car camping" with my dad. I enjoyed it, but we never had to worry about how much our gear weighed. As I got older, I wanted to try backpacking and noticed that a tent, poles, ground tarps, etc. would get rather heavy. So, I suppose it was out of a slight sense of "lazy" that I decided to try a hammock and tarp. The first night in a hammock was enough to get me hooked, and the only tent I have slept in sense was when I took my daughter on her first camping trip.

**nunnner** · 02-03-2018, 09:50

I was invited to a "bachelor party" hike along the Fundy Footpath in NB, Canada. I didn't have much camping gear and put a lot of research into single sleeping systems. The bachelor and I were doing the full 4 days, and the other hikers were turning back after the first night. The bachelor already had a bivy set up. Lost cost and weight were my two concerns. Hennessy's expedition with the radiant pad seemed like the best option. Plus everyone on reddit/forums who tried out hammocks seemed to never want to go back.

Here I am a year later looking to upgrade my set up a bit, which brought me to hammockforums!

**Ronin14** · 02-05-2018, 12:50

I wanted to try a hammock I purchased a eno double deluxe. It is ok I found out about dutch ware gear. My wife says I'm cut off buying anything else haha!

**yo_its_alex_ellis** · 02-13-2018, 12:39

In college I couldn't afford a tent, so hammock camping was a no brainer for comfort and cost.
As a married man, I still can't afford a tent as easily, so I'm diving into the DIY world and am loving how more complicated and diverse people's setups are than I thought.

glad to be here!

Alex Ellis

**Car Camper** · 02-14-2018, 01:31

As a younger kid my parents had a hammock between a plum tree and another tree. I use to relax in summer in it eating fresh plums but didn't do much else. I think I was looking into camping and was on a big website that sells anything and typed in camping or something and saw hammocks. Looked up YouTube videos and saw peo0le did it. Bought a cheapo $20 hammock and slowly got more into it. I think that is how. I don't have any family or friends that hammock camp. So it wasn't from them. I also like to find reasons to be outside and do things so this was a great reason. Good question to ask.

**MagicPaddler** · 02-15-2018, 16:54

What makes me hang? Tent pads.

**FakeDavidBowie** · 02-15-2018, 23:17

Had a bunch of college roommates that had hammocks, mostly ENOs and cheap ones. Got a really basic hammock from my cousin's husband and it came with some weird suspension that i cant even remember how it worked. Figured i needed a better suspension system. I looked up hammock suspensions and found Shug's How To Hammock Series way back in 2011/2012. I had tent camped with my dad and brothers all my life but as soon as i started watching Shug's videos i knew i had been converted to hammock camping. Been a member here since 2012 but finally have a job that allows me to buy all the gear i want and i've become much more of an active member. Don't have a lot of other friends into camping and my dad is still a tent camper (although i think im changing that slowly) so this forum is awesome to be able to talk about all of this stuff with all you fine people.

**Smckinney0031** · 02-17-2018, 01:30

I have always loved hammocks, but until 2016 I never had one. For my birthday, when I was asked what I wanted, only one thing came to mind!!
I didn't get to use it more than a couple of day hangs in the woods or by the lake in 2016. In 2017 i took it for a test drive. When the dew fell and the temps dropped in the woods I found that I was not well prepared. I didn't get to go back out camping for another run in 2017.

It's a new year. I will go out and I will hang. It is so much better than waking up in the middle of the night and having to blow up your air mattress because tour rear end and all those other pressure spots are hitting the hard ground!

I used to be an avid hiker, and always wished I could just hike out and pitch a tent, but I never found a light enough tent. Now I plan on beginning to hike more, and enjoy nature while strung between a couple of trees!

Hopefully I will not only have a little more relaxation, but I will become more healthy in the process!

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