Sticker Shock

[Chum!]

How much did your motorcycle cost? How about your kayak? I don't own a bike now, but I imagine if I went shopping for one today and limited my search to well known high-end brands like Harley, BMW, or Ducati, the first thing I'd think was "**** these things are expensive! I could buy a good car for this money!" I had the same reaction you did when I looked at the investment to fully convert to hammock camping with high quality gear.

Then I took a step back.

If you think about it, sticker shock is common any time you get into something new. A new hobby, sport, or home improvement project always turns out to be more expensive than you thought it would be if you want the nicest (fastest, lightest, loudest/quietest, biggest/smallest, shiniest, i.e. the "est-iest") stuff. If you're on this forum, then you are looking at high performance camping products. Performance and craftsmanship always come at a price. Nice stuff costs money.

Thankfully there is a whole range of "good enough" products out there which are 80% as good as the best stuff, sometimes at 10% of the cost. My set of used golf clubs for instance. There are also a lot of high quality "great value/quality for the money" products out there where design choices have been made to balance performance with cost. Synthetic quilts from Arrowhead are a great example. Great bang-for-your-buck there.

As others have pointed out, you have lots of options. A DIY investment can make something every bit as good as top of the line hammock gear. Not to belittle it, but sewing isn't rocket science. I can't say the same thing about making my own golf clubs (or building your motorcycle for that matter). Those might as well be rocket science for the tools, materials and skills required. All-in-all I'd say you have more high-quality budget-conscience choices than with most hobbies.

Forgot to hit Submit after typing this up in the morning. Risk of redundant commentary is high as a result.

This is a good point. I'm actually renting a Harley for the trip (I try to do this at least once a year...it sure beats the price of a new one and fills that urge to ride), and the kayak has been paid for for about 10 years. The kayak is an example, though, of biting the bullet and paying up for quality. I got what I really wanted, and to this day couldn't be happier. I'll have to keep that in mind.

[Tonykarter]

It is a journey. Enjoy it. I'm only slightly ahead of you on this path and what I have learned here is that if I had but one purchase I could make it would be the underquilt. Cold hammocking is not fun, so if you must spend money somewhere, bite the bullet and get you a good underquilt. You can pretty well make everything else fairly inexpensively.

[Nodust]

The first few pieces of gear were tough to pull the trigger on. The next half dozen or so it was second nature hitting the paypal button.

One vacation this summer when we all slept in our hammocks in Yellowstone and Glacier parks instead of hotels for a 10 day trip just about paid for it all.

[Chum!]

There is already some good advice ^^^^^ So I thought I would leave you with this thread https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ghlight=plasma

I probably just spent the best $10 I'll spend hammock camping because of this post! I was already planning on becoming a donating member but you sent me over the edge!

[h12plus]

For me it all started with a skeeter beater pro. I am also on a budget and have slowly upgraded. My wife can't understand why I spend so much time on this site, but all I can tell her is when my back hurts I go lay in my hammock and good bye back pain. I hung mine in the basement until it warms up outside. I've dropped some cash but I look at it as an investment. If for some reason I can't afford something I could sell almost any gear I have within days due to the craftsmanship of the cottage vendors. I just bought a Thunderbird which is on order and I'm so stoked to try her out. I got a new river and owyhee for Christmas and I'm going to test them outside tomorrow. I can't believe the time I've spent on this forum and can't thank you guys enough for figuring all this out. I feel as though I'm obligated to go outside more and enjoy this rock that spins around the sun. I'm now going to spend another small fortune equipping the rest of my family to drag them outside and enjoy things the way they should, which is under the stars. Should I get a superfly or an old man winter? This all started when I was building a bug out bag and I found Shug!

[latriper]

I learned something a while back and I think it was on this forum. The more I thought about it the more I believed it. Its like the law of gravity, you really can't fight it..... Here it is. 1.Great quality 2. Really light weight 3. Inexpensive
You can have any two of the three you want but you can't have all three. I got started doing DIY both because I love it and I couldn't afford the cost to get new everything. So I picked #1 and #3 which worked great for me as I am really a car camper. By the way, I started sewing up hammocks for a few friends as gifts which turned into selling a few hammocks to others. Now my addiction pays for my addiction. Good luck, its worth it!

[Brancher]

Lots fo good points here. Bottom line, the path to the tool kit (and it is DEFiNiTELY a 'kit') you want is a progression, not an instant destination. I am a backpacker, not a 'hanger' per se, but I, like most others here, have started with what they thought was a great kit - until they got better at it, and started demanding more of both themselves and their gear. For example, my first shelter was a 6 lb dome tent, from REI, and I LOVED it ... until my first long section hike. I went to a smaller tent, then a tarptent, then a Hennessy then back to UL free-standing tents, and finally to hammocks and UL tarps. And don't even ASK me about my first backpack (no, I don't mean my old canvas Yucca pack). It was a Mountainsmith Frostfire, 6600 CI. 8 lbs I think. Same with sleepgear. Started with synthetic bag that was pretty warm but heavy, then to 600 down, then to lighter down and layers, and now I am a quilt guy. My current tool kit contains a hammock - well, actually two hammocks - and a Tarp - well, two tarps. And a nice cook set. Well, make that three cooksets, three backpacks, three base layers, etc, etc. I also go to ground with my tarptent and/or my hammock tarp erected as a ground shelter.

Hey, you ride? I had a bike. Well, a few. Started with a 1972 Honda 450.....then to a 550-4.....then a 750....then an evo V-twin....oh, never mind.....

And don't even get me started on my fleet of sea kayaks.

It's all a progression. FWIW, I've been 'improving' my gear for 40 years. And I am finally done! (except for those BD carbon trekking poles I need.... and maybe a merino shirt....but that's ALL).

Cheers. And LOSE that irrigation pump you call a motorcycle - move to a BMW. K series.

Just kidding. Cheers. Hope this helps.

[hutzelbein]

When I'm reading that hammock gear is supposedly so expensive, I'm always wondering "compared to what?" It can't really be to "tent camping", because whatever cost for your tent set-up you quote, I'm sure it can be matched with comparable hammock gear. I think beginners often think that "tent" equals "hammock + tarp + underquilt + top quilt". That is not the case. What you have to realize is, that

tent = hammock + tarp
sleeping bag + sleeping pad = underquilt + top quilt (or sleeping pad)

I don't know how cheap the cheapest tent is, but I'm sure there's an equally cheap hammock and tarp option on the market. Same goes for the insulation. Maybe you have been looking at some of the cottage vendor's stuff? In that case you should compare it to equally high quality and lightweight tent camping options. Jeez, I just had a look at light weight 1-person tents last night; prices for tents not heavier than 1.5kg started at something like 400 EUR. My much more comfy WBBB hammock and WB Edge tarp didn't cost that much, although I had to had it shipped overseas and had to pay a hefty customs fee for it. Plus, the hammock set-up is lighter.

Bottom line, if you compare apples to apples, hammock camping isn't more expensive than tent camping.

[Firesong]

I have to agree. In Canada the tents deals aren't as cheap unless you go to Walmart / canadian tire etc. And those tents arent made for a serious rain or bad weather. They are the ones people leave behind when they abandon camp or burn all their crap when they leave. Half decent gear still costs money. Especially if they want it to last more than a year and keep them dry. I find it comes down to if you can sleep in a hammock then you have a great opportunity for a great sleep. Half my family can, the other can't. So they have to lug around the expensive light tent

[Thumbs]

Go price a backpacking tent <3lb (don't forget the ground cover/footprint). I'm fairly confident my hammock plus tarp cost less.
On the underquilt go price a down 0º rated bag (don't forget the pad). Probably a wash.
The one thing that gets a tad more expensive is when you add the second (top) quilt.

Overall it is similar in cost to get equally good equipment when comparing ground to comfort (hammock) sleeping.