Start off cheap or spring for higher end

[PokeEm]

Thanks for a great discussion! This is exactly where I am in getting into hammock camping. I am very cheap, but I am also never more upset than when I have to spend money a second time for something I should have bought right in the first place!

[PokeEm]

Now if I can just manage to beat some of you guys to the goodies on the for sale thread!!

[GT]

Seriously...If money is an issue I would just go over to your local fabric shop or ebay and pick up a 10-12 foot piece of #70 denier ripstop nylon, non coated.
Bundle the ends up and tie them off. Order some cheap tree straps and try out hammock camping. If you like it, pick up something better and use the old material for a something else.
You could probably be sleeping in a hammock for less than $40.00

[Ebola]

I'm not an expert. But, my philosophy is whatever you spend on the cheaper stuff, you could have saved and used to get the quality product. But, if you get the cheaper stuff and eventually get the better stuff, give the cheaper stuff to a friend and get them into hanging too!

[mbnow]

never mind.

[Mancat]

If I had to do it all over again when I first started I would have bought a hennessy to start out with. I spent more money going "cheap" than I would have spent buying an all in one hammock system like the hennessy. On the other hand I did learn allot. I still should have started with a hennessy.

[Stormstaff]

I started out when it was warm (no insulation needed) and got lucky that there was a breeze so I didn’t need a bugnet but I started with an ENO Doublenest w/ whoopies & Dutch clips and a 10x10 tarp.

Well, since then I got a Gargoyle Mega Ogee tarp, AHE Jarbridge UQ followed by a Wilderness Logics Old Man Winter tarp (yet to be used), a Papa Smurf Dangerbird (yet to be used), Hammock Gear 20* Burrow and last but not least a Hammock Gear 0* Incubator.

It’s funny how this “hobby” is so freakin’ addicting. Personally, I like the fact that I started out cheaper and worked my way up. As long as I like the newer gear as much as I think I am, I have spare gear for my son to use and/or to tempt the scouts in the Troop that my son and myself just crossed over into.

[Atlas918]

I have an ENO DN. I love it very much, it is super comfortable, and I sleep great in it.

That being said, if I could do it over again, and if I had the money, I would get a WBBB.

Maybe someday I will grab one off of the FS forums, or take the dive and buy one myself, but for now my ENO works fine for me

[Gideon]

I think the adice to list your needs and criteria of use is critical. If you already think you'll get into this and maybe have camped a lot and love the outdoors then I'm against starting out "cheap". Depending on how good you are at assessing your needs/desires, you should try to buy something that will meet those needs and be quality gear. Quality or value doesn't mean expensive although it usually is.

I love the outdoors and have tent camped a lot. I love a hammock (cheap web one) for naps when we're car camping. So I decided to start out with a good "value" set up. A Hennessy systema and Pads. I'm limiting how early or late in the season I'll be out. If I really get into this, then I'll consider the under/over quilts. Frankly, if you really go 4 season with quality gear that whole rig is going to cost far more than a comparable tent set up. It's really the fact that you're buying the equivilent of "2" high dollar sleeping bags.

i know I won't do that anytime soon but wanted bug protection for Missouri and enough quality that I would be satisfied with it for years.

I think you have to research a lot, make a list of what you're really looking for and then research more and try to start out at the right level. Too many times I've started out cheap on a hobby only to quickly outgrow the initial gear. Then I'd buy better stuff that performed WAY better and essentially wasted most of what I'd orginally invested.

After that, i wouldn't worry about it.

Gideon