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What made me a hanger--uh, I'm not one yet. But I'm curious enough to give it a whirl.
This journey started a couple years ago when I found myself in forced retirement with time to burn. First, I replaced a 7.75 lb Dana Astralplane backpack with an REI Flash 62 & jettisoned a weighty Thermarest standard sleeping pad. I lightened much of my remaining kit and used a 23 ounce tarptent on a circuit of Mt. Rainier on the Wonderland. Then, on a 4 day trip to the Enchantment Lakes with my daughter, for which we made 12 ounce packs, we used a tarp with net tent (40 ounces). My trip 2 weeks ago along the Olympic National Park coast trail found me with a tarp and groundsheet (10 ounces together--Frostking clear colorless window shrinkwrap for winter insulation.)
My interest in hammock camping arose during that trip. I passed some ideal tent/tarp sites in late morning, where I saw one camper still in his/her hammock . By 6 p.m. when I wanted to make camp, I could find a zillion well spaced tree-pairs from which I could hang, and finally, one site suitable for my tarp--failing that site, I might have had to pitch right on the trail or on the beach near the tide line where the surf often deposits big logs.
I have a sewing machine, so discovering hammock camping won't cost much. Thanks to all the experience and great advice people have shared, I shouldn't have much trauma with this new thing. I plan to test my setup at/near home rather than tempt Mother Nature or compete for the Darwin Awards.
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I started using a hammock after watching shugs YouTube channel seemed a lot better then laying on the "hard not so easy to find a good spot" ground lol since then I have made my own underquilt and top quilt and I'm turning back from a hammock unless I have too
Thank you Sean "shug" emery you the man
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I was taking a canoe trip with my dad, and picked up an ENO doublenest for the trip. We were doing many portages, so I thought it would be a good relaxation alternative to a camp chair...It was! I've gotten more hammocks and have been slowly gathering/making the remaining necessities since. I've got enough to get me through overnights. Now I'm working on luxury/pack size reduction.
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All began last summer. I was heading off to Spain for a music festival and it was notorious for being extremely hot (around 35 degrees celsius AT NIGHT!!!) and basically impossible to sleep in a tent as soon as a sun came up at about 7 o'clock. The music would end around 4 in the morning, meaning 3 hours sleep each night. Looking on some forums I found a couple of people mentioning hammocks, and then I stumbled across DD Hammocks, a UK based hammock company. Cut a long story short, at the festival I would go to bed each night at about 4 in the morning, wake up covered in sweat and feeling like I was in a sauna at about 7.30, get up, walk for about 20 minutes to the beach, find a cluster of palm trees with some shade, set up my hammock and sleep for hours with the cool sea breeze blowing over me, whilst all my friends were laying on towels on hard, rocky, dirty, and insect ridden ground beneath me.
From that point onwards I was sold. I had done a lot of tent based hiking with my school through the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, but nothing since. That brings us to now. I'm in the process of figuring out all my gear so I can head off this summer and do some hammock camping!
And, of course, it wouldn't be fair not to mention the incredibly 'Shug-shug-shuggy-shug' and how his videos have allured me even more. Whoooooooooo budddddddyy!
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A quest for more comfort and a lighter pack I got me a TTTM Double and was sold after the first night. After nearly getting one 5 years ago(luckily I didn't back then) I'm enjoying every second of it now.
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I've stayed in hotels quite a lot the last year (work/education related). I needed (okay; wanted) a shelter that really is comfy and can be easily camouflaged in the piney woods (like the sound of those words!). So now I've got my own hotel-in-the-woods :lol:! Now I'd like a way to hang in my home/garden... where will it end?
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I actually started for the first time last year with my sons along the Canoochee River. I was looking at getting a new tent and ran into an article about hammocks, got real intrigued about the idea, then BAM, got me a HH, explorer, with the velcro exit. We stayed on the Canoochee, fishing and camping. It rained/lighting stormed, most of the rain was DOWN POUR! I hung my HH with the rain fly, just to set it all up, and boy was I glad, stayed dry as a bone! Since then I ran slap into some YOUTUBE videos by none other that SHUG and was sucked in by the craziness and knowledge and the fact that he was sharing...the rest is now history! :shades:
I hang because it is comfortable and I love the easy up (got snake skins, beaners and asender rings) easy tear down and light weight of it all
PLUS, they are a blast!
No Mo GROUND Fo Me!
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I bought my first hammock last summer after tearing the ACL & MCL in one of my knees. I was in a full-length leg brace and couldn't bend my leg much but didn't want to miss the family camping trip that we had planned. There was no way that I'd be able to bend down and crawl into a tent so I decided to try a hammock instead. After having 6 great sleeps in that hammock, I was hooked!
Of course, I didn't even know what "getting hooked" was. Getting hooked happens after reading HammockForums for almost a year. Now I have amsteel and lash-it spread all over the house, the basement ceiling joists are peppered with bolt hangers for indoor hanging and my has perfected the rolling of the eyes when I show her the latest suspension system. And let's not even talk about the sewing machine that I'm thinking of buying.
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I became a hanger after the Gabes Mountain/Maddron Bald/Snake Den Ridge trip where we could not find any level ground at the campgrounds. Been hooked since the first night out.
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always liked hammocks growing up. well id have to say at 32 prob wouldn't own a hammock if I never seen a video on you tube (should say like 50 videos) who made the videos you might ask??? but I bet deep down ya know who im talking about. always loved the woods, just more enjoyable swinging in sweet comfort. woo buddy