“Hi" from TN

**commanderkeen** · 11-21-2018, 10:30

Hello to you hangers near and far.

I’m Jonathan, and I'm an aspiring hanger from Tennessee, US. Thanks to a buddy, I’ve recently been bitten by the backpacking bug, and he's encouraged me to acknowledge that hammocking might be more comfortable than I imagine intuitively. See, I was one of the masses that didn’t know about diagonal lay, and any time I've been in a hammock (briefly, and infrequently), it hasn’t been comfortable. Now, I’m determined that it can work for me, even though I'm a side sleeper. (I’ll be posting a couple questions about that shortly in the appropriate places).

The itch has gone deep, and I’m anticipating eagerly the delivery of a sweet 1.6 Chameleon, after seeing this forum's love for the WBBB, and realizing that I can't live without an integrated bug net, and then subsequently learning about the Chameleon. An AliExpress SilNylon 10x10 tarp will get me my start, until I inevitably upgrade to something hammock oriented in SilPoly.

I’m endlessly intrigued by the genius of rigging and suspensions, and I can't wait to play with splicing various Dyneema-based cordage, and continuous ridgelines, and new knots, and Dutch bling.

I have to admit that, for a newcomer on somewhat of a budget, the price of hammock insulation is off-putting. I’m coming to this arena at a good time to take advantage of the Black Friday sales from folks like HammockGear, but.... geeee... It's still a little hard to accept that a capable 3-4 season (non-DIY) hammock system is likely to be a $500(+) undertaking.

I’m hoping that hammock camping will offer some great opportunities when hiking with buddies, and enable me to make some memorable and fulfilling moments doing “family speed” camping/hiking with my wife and young daughters. (Thank goodness for “3 minute $20 tablecloth hammocks”, haha.)

I’ve already been absorbing lots of content from this site and I’m looking forward to engaging with all you wonderful people over the coming months.

Greetings to all.

**Appanoose** · 11-21-2018, 11:33

Welcome aboard!

**dakotaross** · 11-21-2018, 12:05

Welcome!! Ya, the hobby will lighten your wallet for sure. Keep in mind that most people kind of accumulate gear over time, eventually upgrading their tent, their bag, their pad, etc. There's not as much cheap hammock stuff out there so it does seem more daunting at first to get property outfitted, but the cost ends up being not all that much more than what most tenters might pay for similar quality gear, perhaps even less considering the upgrading over time.

And I can think of a few other hobbies that would set you back much further, most of them involving a motor of some sort.

**sidneyhornblower** · 11-22-2018, 04:43

Glad you showed up and welcome from a state just south and east of you. With all the various sales going on, you may be able to get very well equipped for less than your $500 figure. Off the top of my head, I know I've gotten sales newsletters in the last few days from HammockGear, Dutchware, Arrowhead Equipment and Jacks 'R Better along with RBTR.

To ease the pain of acquisition, you can start by using what you already have, assuming you have a ground setup. Skip the top quilt and use your sleeping bag for a while. Look in the For Sale forum too.
Cheers.

**StrungUpNewfoundlander** · 11-22-2018, 09:31

Welcome to the forum.

**Biker Bob** · 11-22-2018, 10:22

Arrowhead Equipment is running a 15% storewide sale. He has hammocks, quilts and tarps. A combination of all three will be less than $500.00. The for sale section might have something of interest.

**Rain Man** · 11-22-2018, 14:02

Welcome to the 'boro from The Music City!

**TNhunter** · 11-23-2018, 00:03

Welcome to HF. I live in Murfreesboro as well and there are lots of trails and places to explore in TN. You can read up and check into down quilts for insulation but don't overlook the Climashield quilts from Arrowhead Equipment. They can be had quite a bit cheaper and then you can do what I did - upgrade sometime in the future and start building loaner sets of equipment.