Hello,

I'm a noob in more ways than one. Boyfriend and I have just begun backpacking. We've always enjoyed hiking and camping--and so far backpacking has seemed like the perfect way to enjoy these together (with the added benefit of eliminating the car camping freeloaders! "Oh, we'll come camping, too. You do all the work and we'll sit around the fire!").

So far, I'm finding sleeping on the ground to be HORRIBLE. I toss and turn and am miserable all night with aches, pains, and numb arms. Not sure what the big deal is since I've been known to take impromptu naps on the living room floor, but I can never get comfortable on trips.

So, I've just about got boyfriend sold on the hammock idea. Unfortunately, we've got a lot of stuff we want out of a hammock and we really don't want to spend a million dollars on the Clarke Vertex lol. We want to fit two and a half "people" in this thing. Him and I are around 300 pounds together and we have a 42 lb dog that we like to snuggle with. Good news is that after a day of backpacking, Maya the dog sleeps like a rock and isn't likely to "rock the boat." She is also familiar with hammock napping as we have one for the backyard.

So, are there options for us? Any suggestions?

Should I take this question to the General Hammock Talk board?