Father's Day newbie from Utah

[mchlwise]

My son (16 yo) got me a hammock for Father's day. I'd been interested for a while, but never gotten one for myself.

On Friday, we had a planned campout so he gave it to me early. I decided to sleep in it, having done little or no research at all. How hard can it be, right?

I don't know if I slept any worse in the hammock than I would have in the tent, but that's not saying much.

I've got a LOT to learn.

[mr hvac]

Your in luck HF can answer all your questions. (Well most lol).

[donig]

Welcome to the obsession!

Tell us more and you will get lots of opinions!

DoniG from Richmond, VA

[2eez4life]

Definitely a learning curve... I would say about 30 degree slop... ; )

[Starfish Comet]

Welcome from NC. So what kind of hammock did you get?

[grannypat]

Welcome. Lots of good info. and people here. Tell us your problems, and we'll try to give you some fixes and tips.

[mchlwise]

Thanks guys.

He's on a tight budget, so he got me a cheap/chinese nylon hammock off ebay for under $20 bucks.

I made the mistake of thinking that it had to be strung tight to be comfortable. Learned about the 30* slop here.

I quickly realized that a roof would be nice, so I strung some paracord I had with me between the trees and threw a rug I had in the back of my jeep over it. Now I'm researching better tarp-type options.

I used a CCF pad we had taken with us under the sleeping bag which wasn't terrible, but also not ideal. It was probably high 30's/low 40's by morning and I was cold. I think most of that was my sleeping bag though, which is also not the best. I was colder on the air side than I was on the hammock side.

So... now I'm looking into tree-strap options, carabiners, rope, tarps, tent stakes, shock cord, reflective pads, etc. etc.

Where's the "throwing money around" smiley?

[OutandBack]

snip...

Where's the "throwing money around" smiley?

If hammocks get you and your 16 year old out camping together it is worth every penny.
Get some good hammock gear and if you two deside it's not for you it can be sold on this forum with very little loss.
Welcome to the forum.