What made you a "hanger"?

**gringoperdido** · 09-26-2016, 18:31

Like some others, I started hammock-ing when hiking in the jungle where ground camping is dangerous and wet. Was surprised how comfortable you can get once you get used to it.
First hammock was Vietnam era army issue jungle hammock, which was heavy and uncomfortable and didn't do much to stop the rain. Hammocks have really come a long way since then.

**Draggingcanoe** · 09-26-2016, 19:27

I have a shallow draft skiff called a Gheenoe Super. I have wanted to hang a hammock on it to run the Everglades and stay where I want. I set up two posts on seat bases 11 feet apart, enough for my Warbonnet Blackbird and Superfly. The Superfly drapes over the side, weighted with small Gatorade bottles. The setup handled some 30 plus mph wind gusts in early June on the heels of a tropical storm. Staying in marinas in the Keys when no campsites are available is awesome. Having a tarp that can be deployed is a few minutes is a huge plus on a boat. Can't wait to hang in some colder weather on land, too. The Appalachians are calling me.....

**Robin A** · 09-27-2016, 15:58

I kayak and needed equipment that would be able to be stowed inside.

Robin

**Heber Hammock** · 09-28-2016, 01:23

Originally Posted by Heber Hammock

I am an accidental hanger. Which is not to say that I haven't become slightly obsessed. I was a devoted knot head for years. One fateful day, I decided to try my hand at net making. What better net making project than a hammock, right? I made two. One thing led to another, including finding this place, and now I'm busy DIYing all the gear a guy could need for hammock camping.

Just thought I'd post a couple of pics of the hammocks that got me started. I don't use them any longer, but they were fun projects.

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**Hylarborea** · 09-28-2016, 04:19

Military service, they had us walking for 40km and then set camp with tents on a rocky plateau behind Marseille. I hated sleeping in tents: stones, rocks, sleeping with that FAMAS gun. We did our best to remove all stones from the ground but there was always that last one you forgot, as if they spawned magically. I truly learned to hate camping in the army.

Then I tried regular camping with a tent, you are given an allotment and you put your tent there with dozens of other tents and campers all around you. No privacy, people being drunk at 1 in the morn... meh :-(

And then there was that time in 2011 when I got lost up in the Alps like a noob and spent the night on the ground at 1900m with cotton shorts and cotton shirt and cotton everything. I even used a German army bag to keep my feet warm. I got bitten by insects, cold, wet, miserable. A week later I was buying books on bushcraft and survival and I swore I'll never sleep on the ground again because of too many rocks, pine needles, hungry insects and trees. And then it dawned on me, most of that pain could have been alleviated had I got a hammock. I could have spent a much better night in the mountains just hanging above the cold wet ground with its nasty insects.

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**firemedic5586** · 09-28-2016, 17:37

The last time I slept on the ground was a Boy Scout event with my son. My back hurt for a good two months after that... So I bought a cheap hammock to give hanging a try, and my back thanked me.

Now my Son hangs in my old hammock and he loves it, and I have my Clark NX270.

**GardenJen** · 10-02-2016, 12:51

We do a lot of camping with our church scout group. Because of my back, I can't lay on the ground. A friend of mine had me try out a hammock, on one of the campouts, and I have been hooked ever since. I have only been doing it for a year, but learning a lot through Youtube, especially Shug, and a couple others.

**Great American** · 10-04-2016, 13:51

I first was exposed to hammocks when I did a month on a large sailboat after high school with my friends family. With limited space we could hang from the boom above deck. It was heaven on earth. Ever since then I have enjoyed hanging whenever possible as often as possible.

**tlhup** · 10-04-2016, 22:43

I did an internship in a restaurant with a couple of line cooks who were both avid hikers- one had thru-hiked the Appalachian trail and the PCT, and got really interested.
I was doing some research on shorter trails (no way I can hike for 5 months right off, my family isn't really the 'outdoorsy' type so I haven't done much hiking pr camping), and I found the New England Trail.
Some excited research later, I found an ENO flowchart on hammock types and became fascinated. Bought a bundle off amazon and now I can sleep almost anywhere.
I want to use my pronest as a permanent sleep space instead of a bed when I move back to school- less bulky furniture to move/store when I'm not going to be staying anywhere for longer than a year.