To find something interesting to listen to while I worked I searched for podcasts on backpacking, one of the things I most enjoy. I found Practical Backpacking and those podcasts were excellent! He talked a lot about hammock camping; it may even be a majority of his topics, and it started to make sense to me. I decided to give it a try at the end of Summer 2011 on my first solo backpacking trip. I had a amazon hammock (I think thats what it's called) in storage and put it in my pack. I used no tarp or bug net (didn't have one and thankfully didn't need one), and a sleeping pad under me. I enjoyed it so much I was instantly hooked! What a great way to sleep out in the middle of nowhere!
I then found Hammock Forums and I've pondered over all the seemingly countless ways to modify or reinvent the hammock tent. It's as if we're in the hammock tent idea gold rush. The amount of inventive designing and execution by members here is incredible. It has me thinking (way too much) about how I can contribute to the pool of innovation. I do have some ideas that I will have to submit to all of you at some point.
As for now I'm still in the same hammock. I've gone out in it on a couple more trips and I've used a ground sheet for a solo tent as a tarp and ditched the sleeping pad. I've experimented with a second sleeping bag as an under quilt (very clumsy), a single sleeping bag doing both under and top quilt (better), and zipping me and the hammock into one sleeping bag like a pea pod (very warm but no moving is possible).
Hopefully by this coming season I'll have a respectable, functional, efficient system.
Thanks for putting all this great info out there!
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