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  1. #1
    Senior Member Bad Biscuit's Avatar
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    Mar 2012
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    Alabama
    Hammock
    Dutch Half Wit
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    This is addictive (and expensive)

    So I thought I would give the whole hammock camping thing a try. BUT already having a tent and being broke at the time, I bought at GTUL and whoopies. I used some plastic sheeting for a tarp. That's what I'm using in my avatar. It wasn't real pretty, but it worked and kept me dry - and I slept AWESOME!!!

    Then I needed to upgrade my bulky (but cheap) tarp and purchased a WBMJ. I love it!!! Now I have my eyes on a WBBB, JRB UQ, and WL TQ. WOW, that will hurt the wallet!!!

    So, when I add the weight together off all those items (Hammock, Tarp, TQ, and UQ) I'm still over 4.5 lbs total. Is it really worth it? I could buy one heck of a sleeping bag and ultralight tent for the same money - and it would be lighter.....
    Last edited by Bad Biscuit; 04-23-2013 at 02:28. Reason: I can't spell....
    "There's not much of a learning curve with a tent. Lay on the ground and suffer; repeat as often as necessary." - Silvrsurfr

    http://jnunniv.wordpress.com

  2. #2
    Senior Member zugcat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Issaquah, WA
    Hammock
    WBBB DL1.0
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    Superfly
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    HG Phoenix 0*
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    122
    Ya I got back in to camping because it was..."Cheap". Well at least cheaper than sailing. After hammock(s), Tarp(s), UQ, and TQ I may have to redefine cheap.

  3. #3
    STinGa's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Georgia, ^ of Atlanta
    Hammock
    DIY standard gathered end (DL 1.1)
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    Chinook 12x9
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    Nada ... yet
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    DIY whoopies
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    Any hobby has the potential of becoming expensive. In my opinion, it becomes a quality of life issue. Are you sleeping better? Is it easier to find a place to settle in for the night?

    Jumping in feet first can be a hard hit on the wallet. I have had to piece things together a little at a time. Not only does this spread the cost out, but I can also make purchases that fit a need rather than getting an entire system at once.

    As the site manta says … HYOH … Hang your own hang.

    STinGa
    Sarcasm is a dying art.

    Eagle Scout September '85 Troop 339 Smyrna, TN

  4. #4
    Senior Member AaronAlso's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Indiana
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.7DL
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    HG CF 4s
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    Shamu & RAB
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    All in One whoopie
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    713
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    Quote Originally Posted by jnunniv View Post

    So, when I add the weight together off all those items (Hammock, Tarp, TQ, and UQ) I'm still over 4.5 lbs total. Is it really worth it?.
    Well only you can answer that. Their are lighter options out there if your wallet goes deeper. Or, you can go back to ground and save some funds. For myself a good nights sleep is worth the extra weight and the costs. I can't really enjoy myself on a hiking trip without being well rested. When I compare the costs and weight of items needed to get an equally restful night as I do in the hammock its a no brainer, hammock wins everytime.
    "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." -Plato

  5. #5
    Senior Member Jtupnsmoke's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Mount Juliet, TN
    Hammock
    Ridgerunner
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    Cloudburst
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    Lynx/Diy TQ
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    389
    It might be lighter, but not near as comfortable. I prefer to carry a few more ounces in the morning after a comfortable nights sleep then to save a little weight and wake up with my body aching.

  6. #6
    Senior Member MAD777's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    White Mountains, New Hampshire
    Hammock
    DIY, WBBB & Switchback
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    HG cuben,OES Spinn
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    DIY 3/4 UQ/TQ, UGQ
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    Dynaglide / Dutch
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    This is addictive (and expensive)

    Quote Originally Posted by jnunniv View Post

    So, when I add the weight together off all those items (Hammock, Tarp, TQ, and UQ) I'm still over 4.5 lbs total. Is it really worth it? I could buy one heck of a sleeping bag and ultralight tent for the same money - and it would be lighter.....
    My hammock, suspension, tarp, bugnet, 40* underquilt and top quilt, pillow and foot pad come in right at 3 pounds.

    And I have an 11' long hammock, no stubby GTUL.
    There are plenty of folks lighter than me, and then there's Sgt Rock

    Is it cheap? You will have to decide that. Is backpacking something that you really like to do or is it a sideline diversion? What hobby is cheap? I haven't found one yet. Then there's your civil duty - wouldn't you feel good about doing your part to end this recession?

    Seriously, I was where you are now a few years back. I still have my Tarptents and Western Mountaineering sleeping bags. But now, I can't figure out why I wasn't in a hammock from the beginning.
    Mike
    "Life is a Project!"

  7. #7
    Senior Member Curmudgeon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    PA
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    WBRR
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    OP, I feel your pain. I started with a $20 hammock and now I'm in for several times that - and I have yet to buy anything really expensive.


    I always seem to gravitate toward hobbies that require new gear and new skills to operate that gear. Think of it as continuously improving yourself.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Fish<><'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Yigo, Guam
    Hammock
    DL1.1XLC/ BIAS WWM/ DIY
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    HG Cuben/ DIY
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    N/A
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    depends...
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    1,140
    I'm with the others. Yes it CAN be expensive, but I have yet to go over the $500 dollar mark and have been doing this for going on 2 years. It can be very inexpensive to camp this way if you already have gear from ground dwelling. The only gear you should HAVE to buy is a hammock, and maybe an underquilt...max of about $400 if you go with an elitist uq and a roughly $100 hammock. I personally repurposed a couple of GI poncho liners and use one as an uq and one as a tq (~$70). There's really not too much difference in cost if you are already a camper. Anyways that's my .02.
    "We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it."- G. W. Sears

    My forum name is Fish<><; I'm in the navy; and I hate sleeping on the ground. If I didn't need ground to walk on or measure resistance to, I think I could happily give it up.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Bad Biscuit's Avatar
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    Mar 2012
    Location
    Alabama
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    Dutch Half Wit
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    I know I could go lighter, but I really can't afford it! Camping is one hobby - scuba diving is the other. Now THAT'S an expensive hobby!!!! I can dive in the summer, hike/camp in the spring and fall....

    The gear I have from ground dwelling needs upgrading also - so I'll just upgrade once with my hammock gear. I know I could go cheaper/lighter - but the items on my shopping cart fit my "style" of camping. When I upgrade everything (total approx 4.5 lbs) I'm still coming in a pound or two lighter than my previous tent/sleeping bag, etc. AND it IS much more comfortable.
    "There's not much of a learning curve with a tent. Lay on the ground and suffer; repeat as often as necessary." - Silvrsurfr

    http://jnunniv.wordpress.com

  10. #10
    Senior Member Caveman's Avatar
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    Apr 2012
    Location
    Springtown, Tx.
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    WL Lite Owl / DIY
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    Yes... When I started hiking and camping my wife was excited that I was interested in a "cheap" hobby

    If you would have told me a couple of years ago that I would be spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on blankets I would have said you were crazy. I sure do love my downy goodness though

    My biggest problem is that I feel the need to have several set ups (just in case someone else wants to go that doesn't have gear) The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem....right???
    If you ain't havin' fun, you're doin' it wrong

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