I've been hanging around the forum for a while now trying to learn as much as I can before abandoning the tent this year. So far my experience with hammocking has been with a Byer Amazonas parachute that I picked up at REI and always carry with me when I go camping. I use it just to relax and nap in. It's not really ideal for a shelter though.

I was set on getting a HH ULB, but I really think I want to build a DIY ( like maybe a Hennessy Clone like Headchage built) My question is do you think for a "first" hammock I should buy something or build? I like the Hennessy, but don't really care about the bottom entrance. I'd rather have a removable net. Also, I'm 6' 1" so I think I'd need the Explorer size. ? I'm not sure how much difference it'd make. It sure weighs more though. I wouldn't want to sacrifice comfort though.

My concern with a DIY, especially the HH Clone is that I wouldn't know how it should feel, since I've not used a HH. I figure I could get comfortable though, right? a DIY would be much less expensive and maybe I could try out a few styles of hammock. Any thoughts or advice?