Sticker Shock

[oldsoldier]

As others have said, keep an eye out for used gear. Also, remember, a good, quality tent is about $200 or so, for a small 2 person one. Which, of course, translates to a 1 person + gear. And, they go up from there. A starter package, on the low end, may cost you $250-and can last you, essentially, forever, if you choose not to upgrade. Or, you can go cheap, to start-a DIY hammock, or an inexpensive one on the market. A cheap tarp, a blue CCF pad-you could start for about $100. Then, upgrade as you like.
I started with an HH Asym, had some mods done to it. It came with a tarp. Eventually, I bought another tarp, then another-settling on a WB Superfly. I sold my HH Asym, complete with the supershelter underpad and the 2QZQ zipper mods, and bought a first run WBBB, and a now defunct LeighLo underquilt. I owned that one for YEARS. I just sold it last weekend, and bought a WB Ridgerunner. I put profits from sales towards new equipment. I still have my Superfly, and, eventually, I may get a Cuben Fiber tarp, for warmer weather, but, to date, this thing hasnt let me down, and the ONLY reason I'd get another tarp is for weight. But, I REALLY like the SF, with its roominess, and different setup options.
So, my suggestion is, get what you can afford, save up, buy what you want, and sell off your old gear to apply towards your new acquisitions. It works for me!

[Chum!]

What a great collection of responses! My original post was really just an observation/rant, but with all the advise I have learned a ton and have a better idea about the direction I should go with hanging. As far a comparing hammocks to my current ground tent, I really can't...I've been using a little purple and green (Barney-esk) kids dome tent! Something like this: Tent.JPG My buddies would raz me about it, but it worked for me! So really, anything for me right now is step up...which is good!

[bravoniner]

If you don't mind the weight and bulk, the Noah 12 is a good tarp and it will save you some money. But I don't know any silnylon tarps that cost $200 and up. Most winter tarps from the cottage gear vendors are between $130 and $150. Of course they are not 12' x 12', but I have never needed a tarp that's 12' wide.

You're right the 200 was a bit of an exaggeration. The only one I saw at that price was a JRB universal tarp at 220.
And your right on the size for most people 12x12 is overkill. Only reason I use one that large is because I cover my hammock and my daughters and I prefer not to carry 2 tarps.

[genixia]

You can save a lot of money on DIY, but only if you don't value your time. A 0f full size underquilt requires about 5 yards of fabric and about 16oz in down.

My DIY gear has 'cost' me a lot more than it would have if I had just bought the equivalent from the cottage vendors. A 7/8 length 800FP zeppelin from UGQ is about $240. My 7/8 length UQ with the same fill weight of 800FP down cost me about $40 in fabric and $50 in down (from an ebay my luxe pillow), and $10 in sundries. (thread, baffle, webbing). That $140 savings sounds awesome until I add the hours of research and learning, and then construction. I'd be willing to bet that I didn't beat minimum wage in that deal, and my down is not HyperDry either.

That said, the satisfaction I get waking up toasty warm and dry is so much more for my efforts.

[Opus87]

Buddy of mine got me into hiking and after the 3rd hike I realized 40+lbs. was stupid. Got home and looked up Light Weight Hiking. Already had the SBPro, but, nothing else really light. Not that the SBPro is either. New backpack saved 6lbs. Saved a lot of weight changing out everything and cutting things down to smaller but useful. Now for a 3-4 day hike I am down to 17-18pounds. Granted the tarp and UQ was about $270 on sale but worth it on the back. Beauty of it is that taken care of it is only bought once.
Car camping is different and weight don't matter and hanging is just as nice.
So looking for my next hang, but, injury keeps from hiking and hanging for quite a while.
Something about double skull fracture, swollen brain and bleeding brain, supposed to not be here has a lot of
Restrictions on me right now. It will all be used again and will never leave. Hang The Happy Hang!

Opus

[hanggirl]

I agree that you don't need to spend a zillion bucks to get started. However, I really went the opposite way to start. $25 equip hammock from walmart and a tarp for about $10. Already had a sleeping bag, bought a used thermarest pad for $50 and made a mossie net for about $6 with walmart yardage. This was under $100. The benefit (other than cheap) was it allowed me to see if I liked hammock-ing and gave me some time to do research into what I thought I might like to buy "for real". I just got my WBBB XLC and Hennessy hex tarp in the last few weeks and am quite excited about them. I don't regret for a minute that I bought the really inexpensive stuff first. I was tarp-talking to a little girl at church today and she asked if she could try out one of my hammocks. I took her mom camping this summer (child was away with dad) and the next trip will be all three of us. Nothing spent is considered wasted in my books. I don't mind letting an 8 year old use the equip, even if it's damaged, hey, it only cost $25 and I bet there will soon be a new hammock convert at a young age. She already said she doesn't like sleeping on the ground cause it has lumps. LOL

[gunner76]

We spend our $$$ on what is important to us.

Good high quality gear is rarely cheap but can last a life time.

Attend a group hang in your area to see the different setups and talk to the users as to why they use said gear and what would they do different.

Different styles of camping have different requirements....
Car camping....weight and bulk are not a concern
Motorcycle camping...bulk is a concern
Backpacking....weight and bulk are a concern

Down insulated gear cost more but weight less and packs smaller
Synthetic insulated gear cost less but weighs more and does not pack as small

[peterhase]

Hammock camping is a very small market for manufacturers. If you compare it to the tent camping market, there are far fewer potential customers and fewer potential sales to be made. The biggest top-quilt manufacturer might make X amount of sales a year, while the biggest sleeping bag manufacturer will make 100, 500 or 1000 times that. Therefore, sleeping bag manufactures can get away with smaller margins, because with so many customers, those little margins turn into healthy profits.

The companies that stick their neck out to make hammock camping specific products are making a risky gamble. High prices don't always indicate greed – in fact, the vast majority of products show great workmanship and innovation. So thanks to those companies. I hope the market continues to grow and the hammock economy becomes a prosperous one for manufacturers and customers alike.