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View Full Version : Hammocks have come a ways in the last 10 years



Chop
05-16-2011, 09:27
As I get prepped for a thru hikes, a friend lent me a 'Workbook for planning thru-hikes' which appears to have come out in 2000.

In the Luxury Gear section, the part on Hammocks reads:

'For the truly comfort-conscious, a fold-able hammock could be the pinnacle of luxury. Some varieties don't need to be screwed into trees and trees as support posts are everywhere. I heard of one fellow who slept in his hammock every cloudless night and rigged up some no-see-ums netting over himself as protection against insects. I heard he was quite happy'

I really have no idea where hammock camping was truly at back in 2000. My first time seeing one in use was last year on a stretch of the AT.

flashbang009
09-22-2011, 08:47
Very interesting. I wonder how many backpackers would be kicking themselves if they knew how much more comfortable hammocks are and how many times they could have used them on trips.

OneThing
09-25-2011, 15:36
In 2004, there could have been more, but I only saw 2 other HH's & one Clark.

In 2005, there were 4 Amish boys who had HH. They would find 4 trees in a line and hang. They became known as the Pea Pods.

Below is at the GA&NC line in 2005. My HH in the front, & the Pea Pods in background.

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=1514&pictureid=11105

zukiguy
09-25-2011, 15:51
Yeah, if you'd told me I'd be on the AT in a hammock 10 years ago I might have laughed at you (even though I already owned an HH). I had a "Snap-On" version of the Expedition I got off Ebay. This was only my "hot weather lounging in the back yard" hammock.

A few years later I got my Explorer UL and hocked the old one to a buddy for cheap. I met a thru-hiker in '08 that showed me his 2QZQ zipper mod and told me about the forums. Until then my hammock was still just an oddity in my gear pile. Now my tent/pad are collecting dust and both my sons have their own hammocks.