What got me hanging? The ground. The hard, wet, bumpy, abrasive, rocky, sharp, buggy, muddy, low, ground.
I love frisbee, mangos, 7.62x39, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Atlas Shrugged, 1984, fresh grown tomatoes, oatmeal with raisins, America, potted meat, and the N.C. mountains.
I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.
-Thomas Jefferson
I've been section hiking for five years using a mix of shelters and a one man tent but seeing a hanger now and then. The final night of last year's section hike there was a torrential downpour and in the morning I was breaking camp with a wet muddy tent and the thru hiker next to me was easily sliding snakeskins over his clean dry hammock. It just looked like a much better way to do things and after reading different posts here and on Whiteblaze I was sold on hanging as a better way.
Having now spent five nights hanging in my front yard I can hardly wait the next 8 days until this year's hike.
I first started hanging because I was seeking a lightweight shelter for backpacking. Little did I know I would soon become addicted to the comfort and ability to hang in the sweetest spots ever! No more tents for this guy!!
I was browsing tents on the MEC website when I noticed the "hammocks" category and clicked on it out of curiosity. As soon as I realized that a hammock could be used as a camping shelter I was sold.
I hate how I always wake up stiff and sore in a tent despite spending ages hunting for a patch of relatively even ground and clearing it of sticks and rocks. I hate that tents weigh so much and I especially hate the extra weight and bulk of sleeping pads - as far as I'm concerned, if it's thick enough to make sleeping in a tent comfortable then it's too heavy to take backpacking. I usually end up leaving the sleeping pad behind and settling for an awful sleep. Oh, and I also hate having to awkwardly knock all the dirt out of a tent before I pack it up, and if it's raining and muddy I then have to unpack it at home, clean it, air it out, and pack it up again. What a pain!!!
I guess I was just always meant to be a hanger.
I've been an HF member for a few years now, and never stopped here to socialize before. So, I'll start by replying to this thread.
I've been very outdoorsy since childhood, but I come from a cold part of the country (Panama) where the few people that hike/camp do it with mainstream gear, like tents, sleeping bags, etc, and so did I.
Then I moved to the warmer climes of Panama City and surroundings and found that the standard setup wasn't working. Around that time, I befriended a retired military guy who had an army jungle hammock, with bugnet, tarp and all that he had made himself. One time we went camping in the jungle and the next morning after a downpour he was perfectly dry and well-rested and I was miserable. My tent felt like a sauna inside, so I couldn't sleep, but then the railfly was so wet. The tent floor on the outside was so filthy, full of debris, dead roaches and even a scorpion.
So, that got me thinking that there probably wasn't a better shelter for the jungle than a hammock. I copied his model and then ran into what must've been the first Hennessy Hammock brought to this country, owned by another friend of mine. I borrowed it, and it felt so much more comfortable than my military setup that I just dove in and got one. That was back around 2000.
Ever since then, I've been just updating my hammock gear, trying to make it lighter and bomb-proof.
For me, rigging it up and playing with the different features of my hammocks is a big part of the fun of being outdoors.
So that's my humble story.
R
I recently got invited to go on an UL camping trip with some guys from church. i have always been a recreational car camper so I was up for the challenge. In preparing for the trip I knew I wouldn't be caring my big 4 person dome tent so I was looking for something like a bivy sack, but one of the guys in the group turned me on to the idea of becoming a hanger. I did some browsing around, a lot of which was on HF, and decided to go with a HH+WS. After a trial run in the back yard I'm excited to get out on the trail. I look forward to honing my techniques and sharing with the community.
I stoped Camping because the last time I went out in 2005, I couldn't walk after one night cause my back was GONE! I found my back 2 weeks later on a street corner, drunk and pregnant. After paying off my backs pimp, I truly believed camping and backpacking was over, especialy cause I'm not a small guy. I'm 6''9' and 390lbs. In 2005 I was about 320lbs. Little did I know Comfy Camping sleep was just around the bend. My good friend Kentucky from Fort Hickory kind of kept hinting at me to try it. I didn't even bat an eye cause of my size. Then I started doing some research. Que music montage of me, web searching, looking at books in the library, and pondering while standing on the beach at sunset. short story long, I got a WBBB, a WBSF, and I have 4 trips planned this year and hopefully a Redwood trip next spring. Hammocks are lite, comfy and as a Heavy Hanger I am proud to camp again. Also going to help get me back down to the 320lb mark again!!
chetter72
“Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.”
― John Muir
5x6outdoors.com
youtube.com/5x6outdoors
I discovered hammocks searching youtube for 'winter camping'. Came across Shug Emery and the rest is history. I bought a HH Explorer Deluxe and I've been practicing with it at home and at my parents farm. Its a really cool setup.
I went car camping with my brother-in-law and a buddy of ours from church one November. Our buddy made a hammock for the trip and really seemed to enjoy it. After seeing it I was intrigued, and soon found this forum and I was quickly hooked! I found a cheap hammock online and took it backpacking and camping in the Uwharrie National Forest. I didn't have the best night's rest because my hammock was too short and my nylon straps stretched overnight, but I liked the fact that I didn't get up that morning feeling like I had been beaten in some alley like I often did after sleeping on the ground. I have since been bitten by the DIY bug and have made 2 double layer hammocks. There's no looking back now. I thank everyone here for sharing their knowledge. I told my wife the other night that she looked at Facebook, I looked at Hammock Forums. I know I am coming out better on that deal!
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