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I am new at hammock camping and have seen many types and brands of hammocks! I want to get a hammock for backpacking but do'nt want to spend alot of money. I do go with my daughter alot so the tent I have is the way to go bot I do hike by myself also. Any ideas on what kind to get?
If you can sew or know someone who does, a homemade hammock would be your cheapest option. You'd also have to have some kind of bugnet in the warmer months. Not needed in colder weather.Quote:
Originally Posted by slongenberger
I have both Speer and Hennessy hammocks. I think they are both great.
The best all in one set-up IMO without upgrading to better tarp or anything is probably the new Speer hammock. It is a foot longer than before at 9' and the new cat cut tarp looks really nice. It is $200 though.
You could scan ebay for deals on a hennessy hammock and e-mail hennessy and ask for their demo/sale list.
Dont know if it is still for sale but this is a great price if it fits your size:
www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=25214
Trek light and Eno hammocks are lower priced options also.
Welcome to the forum
yep, what fanaticfringer said is on the money. if you wanted to try a home made hammock two good places to check out for instruction & pictures would be rick's & jeff's sites.
http://www.imrisk.com/
http://www.tothewoods.net/
and welcome to hammock forums Slongenberger. ...tim
Homemade is cheapest option. I did Risk's test hammock with 11 ft of material in about 10 minutes. I could have slept comforatably in that hammock without any problem.
If you go with a pre-made hammock, look for one made of woven nylon or poly, 55+" wide and without stablizer bars. There are cheaper models that fit these criteria mentioned in several threads on this site.
I'm not a fan of the bottom-loading Hennesey as a first hammock because the design makes under-insulation harder to accomplish IMO.
FD, etal,Quote:
Originally Posted by Frolicking Dino
Don't forget the entire family of standard size JRB quilts lash right up to the HH as welll as all the top loaders.... The JRB Suspension System allows them to be pushed aside for entry and automatically return to proper postion when ones legs are pulled into the HH.....For those seeking the ultimate in comfort and convience in under insulation for HH the JRB Nest UQ marries right to the HH entrance slit... could not be easier.
Pan
Ah, never one to miss the sale. :p Seriously, I've never heard anything bad about the JRB stuff. It's a good thing to have some of the folks who make all this cool gear here to make suggestions, give advice etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_pan
Is that a paid advertisement? :eek: :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_pan
Quote:
Originally Posted by angrysparrow
he does that a lot on here :eek:
Well, it's valuable information either way.Quote:
Originally Posted by angrysparrow
True enough. If I was going to buy a piece of gear, I'd like to be able to talk to someone who knows about it first. Who better than one and/or both of the owners of the company?Quote:
Originally Posted by funbun
Yeah, it's valuable to Pan's bottom line income.Quote:
Originally Posted by funbun
Seriously, the last time I checked, this forum was about hammocking, discussing hammocks, and hammock-related products, not convincing people to buy one manufacturer's product. Pan's post above goes a step beyond that.
I'm not knocking any JRB products. I understand that they are well made, quality offerings. But, we don't need to hear that from Pan on every post.
Many other forums have manufacturer-specific sections and vendors are asked to restrict their 'propaganda posts' to their own section. While this forum has a hammock-manufacturers section, it doesn't have a 'hammock accessory manufacturers' section. I think there should be one created, make JRB (and every other accessory vendor) their own forum area, and let them talk about their products and answer questions there.
That wouldn't preclude any of the vendors from being normal forum participants, but it would give them a place to 'talk up their goods' without spamming threads.
I'm sure I'll get blasted for saying this, but someone needed to.
I stand corrected re under-insulation - but I still don't recommend the HH as first time hammock. HH almost got me to swear off hammocking forever. I still have nightmares about my 're-birth"
I've seen some posts by Pan like that. I wouldn't say everyone of them is or he posts off topic to say that. I think if he didn't someone else would.
I will have to add that reading Pan's posts on this forum and WB helped a lot when it came time for me to make my own down quilt.
OK so Pan posted, why not? He presented an option for someone asking for info. We currently have a few threads from other manufacturers going on right now. Is there any difference?
As HE said he has contributed A LOT to both this site and Whiteblaze.
My $.02 worth. Go ahead fire back.
there is a difference between posting your opinion and pushing your product. He tends to push his product. I haven't seen any other manufacturers come on here and push their product like he does.
But I don't see Pan responding to every post with "propaganda." angrysparrow, are you a Commie?Quote:
Originally Posted by angrysparrow
True he did truly answer the guys question/comment. Yes, it did read like sales copy, but so what? Is wrong for companies to post comments about their products even though their product(s) solve problem(s)?Quote:
OK so Pan posted, why not? He presented an option for someone asking for info. We currently have a few threads from other manufacturers going on right now. Is there any difference?
Personally, I take no issue with anyone, Pan included, plugging their product here. It's part of what makes grassroots products like JRB, OES or Speer, etc. unique. This is definitely the place for it, he stays on topic and does, provide a valuable deal of information about his product. And like I said, where better to get information on a particular product than from the proverbial horse's mouth?
As long as they don't "bash" the other products out there, I don't mind the occasional sales pitch. It helps newbies like me become even more informed about what's available.
if a person is asking a question about something that JRB's slitted underquilt, or jeff's all in one, or blackbishop's patomic, or warbonnet's hammock, etc, etc, would address, i'd think it kinda silly if they didn't respond.
i've seen a number of posts were one of the jacks were answering hammocking questions, but said nothing about their product.
If I owned a great hammock gear company like JRB, I'd promote it any way I could. Even if that got some peoples hammocks in a wad.:rolleyes:
I don't think it takes much reading here to be able to figure out which of the Manufacturers have the communities respect as honest, truthful advisers for us newbies. If someone were merely trying to make a sale, and offering inferior gear, I'm sure it would be obvious.
There is enough context here if someone is truly interested in getting the facts and figuring out relationships. I see no reason that Pan shouldn't offer his suggestions and views. I would expect that a manufacturer would think that their products are the best or among the best, and so would recommend them. I'm quite sure I have read posts in which Pan has explained his relationship to JRB, so no deceit is intended.
I don't have a problem with it either. It's not like they're plopping an ad in the middle of somebody's trip report. In this case they were correcting an apparent misstatement and I don't recall any responses that weren't topical. As experienced manufacturers they are valuable members who have a lot of been-there-done-that wisdom they often share with the group.
Pan and Smee probably have the most experience in hammock camping on this forum, beside Ed Speer, although Ed doesn't post here. I'm sure if Ed did post he would biased toward his products and would suggest them when the question came up.
JRB does make a great product, whether you like the owners of the company or not. Pan and Smee have been a part of HF almost since the beginning, and have given back to the site in many ways. The advice of any veteran hammock camper is much appreciated, IMHO.
I think this thread needs to be back on topic and if others feel this discussion needs to continue, start a new thread. Threads started by newbies needing advice doesn't need to turn into a thread bashing a manufacturer.
EDIT:
You really have to ask yourself if Brandon from Warbonnet Hammocks or Ed Speer had suggested one of their products would this discussion even exist?
True, try one of those Claytor like hammock on ebay.Quote:
Originally Posted by headchange4u
I have been wanting to try a Claytor hammock for a while and ever since neo posted the thread on the Ebay hammock I have to keep from clicking "Buy It Now". ;) I will wait for someone else to be the guinna pig and give us a report and some pics.Quote:
Originally Posted by funbun
Quote:
Originally Posted by headchange4u
I would say the same thing...this is a place to discuss not push your product...so there :p
At least you are consistent:rolleyes: .Quote:
Originally Posted by Ewker
Once again the thread goes off topic. . .
slongenberger, which hammock are you leaning toward getting?