Cheap is fine Gresh to get you started. Heck it may even last you a few seasons. It will have limitations in weight and performance but you'll be in the woods. What I've taken from this thread (and I agree) is buy nice if you can but get what you can and enjoy yourself if you can't.
Look up before you hook up!!
Originally Posted by body942
Me big. Me like hammockgear burrow. Long. Problems no. People good.
Indeed. Physical limitations I can deal with.
Right now, weight isn't a consideration since I don't anticipate any backpacking in the immediate future.
I look forward to your open letter to underquilts and top quilts. Sticker shock is pretty common for noobs.
I, too, suffered from major sticker shock at all the things I couldn't afford. I tried using tent tarps and blue Wally World tarps. It was all a colossal waste of money, and I got wet. As many have said, save your coin for a proper tarp rather than putz around with "not exactly."
I didn't listen to the advice on this forum, and I paid dearly for "not exactly." You can get an HH Hex tarp for $70 and get years of enjoyment out of it, or you could go for "not exactly." Don't waste your time, if you ask me.
Wanna buy a crappy 12x12 Guide Gear tarp, 2012 edition? It hasn't kept me dry, but maybe you'll have better luck.
It's looking more and more like I may have to shell out proper dollars for a proper tarp.
As far as UQ ant TQ goes, I just pulled the trigger on a PL to use as an UQ. For a TQ, I'm using (or will be using) a sleeping bag that I already have. I don't imagine it gets THAT cold here in South Carolina.
I never tried the PLUQ route. I started out with 0* synthetic sleeping bag and CCF pad and that got me to 25 degrees. When I wanted to go colder, I remembered my experiences with going cheap on tarps.
I didn't want to waste any more money on "not exactly" insulation, so I went straight to a HG TQ/UQ combo. One of the best decisions I made - I saved a lot of time and effort that would have been spent trying to make inferior solutions work.
Is all your hammock camping going to be local where it's warm? I thought so at first as well, but since then I've hammock-camped anywhere from 45 miles south of the Canadian border to Virginia. I have pretty much expanded my range from an hour and a half from the house, to 500 miles from the house. Lots of different weather in a 500-mile radius.
Try to think of where you're going to be in one year - if it's car camping in the neighborhood where you can easily bail out, then go the cheap route. If you're gonna be hiking into areas where bail-out is not an option, then you might want to rethink the cheap route. Cheap weighs a lot and is often not as reliable as "reliable" gear.
All reasonable, and all noted (and like a good little nerd, I do keep notes).
For at least the next five years, I'm staying right around here. School and whatnot.
...however, I may do some overseas when I go to visit the in-laws...not sure I'll be able to say no to that opportunity. lol
An ultra-cheap tarp route is if you have friends in the construction industry - Tyvek is lighter than silnylon and easy to work with. I would never pay for Tyvek - it's too expensive in small lengths like for a tarp (check E-Bay).
Cruise construction sites and see if you can get some. You don't even need to know how to sew. - just buy a $12 roll of Tyvek tape (indestructible). I found a roll of Tyvek in my garage and have made some wonderful things - rain mitts, gear tarps and hammocks, camp booties. Again, I wouldn't pay for Tyvek at the current rates, but I think it would make a perfectly serviceable tarp that kicks the crap out of a Wally World blue waste of money.
If the Tyvek tape really works that is an excellent option.
In fact, I may now have a project for tomorrow!
Mike
I'm right there with you Gresh. I am looking at picking up a WB Superfly and I have to figure out what I am going to have to live without for a while so I can afford to drop the cash on it.
Everyone says save up and spend the money on quality gear and forget the cheap stuff, but this economy sucks and it is extremely hard to make enough money to have a couple hundred extra a month to play with. Especially since I have to save for a wedding, as well.
TIL Shug is the Stig.Originally Posted by Shug
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