Hi folks, I'm Tobias from over at WhiteBlaze. I am thinking seriously about moving up off the ground. However, I have some serious reservations and concerns before I plop down my hard earned cash for one. I'd appreciate any and all comments, suggestions, flames, or what have you.

Here are my concerns and questions:
  • I'm a big guy and will, therefore, require a pretty beefy hammock. I'm very stocky and have a good amount of muscle mass. I could loose a few pounds but because of my overall build, I will likely never be below 265. I'm 290 right now.
  • Because of my need for a heavy duty quilt, most of the hammock systems I've looked at are quite heavy compared to what I am used to with my 13.5 oz. tarp. It looks like a complete system, before adding an under quilt for those cold nights, will weigh in around 4.5 lbs. For an ultralight weight guy like me, that's quite a bit of weight for your shelter.
  • I'm a side sleeper, will I have any problems sleeping in a hammock?
  • Are the difficult to hang and get in and out of? I'm not the most graceful guy on the planet.
  • So, if I do decide to go for a hammock, how does a newbie like me pick a manufacturer to go with? A few years back when I was first looking at Hammocks. we didn't have near the number of manufacturers we have now.

I am currently looking at:

  • Speer's Hammock IIIC - Rated to 350 pounds
  • Eno SingleNest System - Rated to 400 pounds, very surprised by this.
  • Hennessy Safari Deluxe Asym Hex - Rated to 350 pounds but the heaviest at 4lb 8oz. Also, the description doesn't mention if it comes with bug netting or not.

There are probably many others I haven't looked at yet.

I'm willing to give a hammock a serious try, I'm mostly confused on what system is right for me. I also don't want to get stuck with a system if it turns out hammock camping isn't for me. The majority of folks aren't big like I am, so resale might be tough unless I take a big loss.

Again, any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!