I was so looking forward to meeting everyone, and to thank Brandon for my BB and Brian for my tarp, I was very pleased with both on my hike this year. Can't wait to see you all next year.
I was so looking forward to meeting everyone, and to thank Brandon for my BB and Brian for my tarp, I was very pleased with both on my hike this year. Can't wait to see you all next year.
I too made it down to TD but only for the day , Saturday, arriving about 9:30 and left for home just after the vendor booths closed at 6pm.
Met Brandon, Angrysparrow , Ed Speer and Brian the OES guy. Lots to see and do, and not much time to take it all in. Also spent more money than I intended to spend since I went down with the intention of mostly getting to see products first hand. I wasn't aware that War Bonnet hammocks was going to be there with a booth. Wish I had had more time or taken more time to just chat with folks. But I didn't want to interfere with folks presenting their products since that's why they were there and being a rookie hammocker I couldn't help sell a hammock or tarp with any wise advice about how to use hammocks.
Tried to get some under insulation on a budget by just purchasing a couple of SPE 2x2 from Ed and going the foam pad insulation route - which all went out the window when I made an enquiry about the future availability of the Yeti. That was the worst budget breaker of the day as I ended up buying it. The one with the black and pearl colored snap buttons for the heat sheet. But no regrets , glad I brought it home. Hoping I get to try it out this weekend, which will be the first time to actually overnight out in the woods in a hammock. Thus far I've only had opportunity to day hike and practice learning how to pick out the correct trees and play around with hanging the hammock and tarp in slightly different configurations. However, if I go hammock camping I'll be going solo since my 13 yr old son is heading out Thur. evening to the family cabin in Pocohantas county, near Cass. Memorial Day weekend has snuck up on me. :-(
I did notice that most of the hammock builder biz guys are of the grey headed generation , except for WBG Brandon. Upon learning he is a young lad of 30 yrs I had to point out that the backpack I was wearing was nearly as old as he is since I purchased it in Amsterdam in 1980.
The only pricey item I intended to buy and did buy were a couple of Leki poles, no one locally at home carries them or if they do they don't have much of a selection. Never did find the Leki booth which I thought was supposed to be there somewhere. I guess I just missed finding it since a previous post in this thread mentions having been to their booth. A guy at Gander Mountain this evening said he had been to TD in the past and that Leki was usually out in the tenting area but I didn't go there. So even though this was my second visit to TD there are still things going on there which I have not yet learned to find.
The weather all day was great. Don't know how it went later in the evening , I know I drove home through some heavy rains and got stuck for 45" behind an accident on I-77, just 2 miles short of my exit.
Hope to return next year with some actual hammock camping in the log book. And more of a feeling that I'm part of the hammocking cult. :-)
D
Leki usually sets up back at the campground. Not sure what they sell at TD, they do service everyone's poles there.
Is that too much to ask? Girls with frikkin' lasers on their heads?
The hanger formly known as "hammock engineer".
must be a long linethey do service everyone's poles there.
I knew angrysparrow seemed happier than normal
Ok, all the jokes I can think up are x-rated, so I have to stop now
Live by the sword, die by the arrow
Thanks Hetairoi! I'm glad I'm not the only that thinks that way!
The only one that is! sorry!
I can't believe I wasn't the first one with my mind in the gutter. Nice change of pace.
Trust nobody!
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