What made you a "hanger"?

**michael why** · 10-12-2009, 09:24

Hi Guys

Not 100% sure how it all started , Following a canoe trip for 4 days and ground sleeping I knew i had to find something better. But just not quite sure where the idea to try a hammock came from. It was a definate comfort decision rather than weight.

We have an inflatable canoe and we did try and sleep in that one night rather than in a tent. We should have tied a rope to each end and slung it from two trees

Any way there is no going back now, Even my 8 year old son refused to ground sleep now

Mike

**Rat** · 10-12-2009, 19:12

Growing up in Southern New Mexico I can't remember when I learned to camp. But I can remember being very young and using a tarp, bedroll and an old ruck sack for my excursions. My grandfather was a cattle rancher and I had many square miles of property to roam at my leisure. Every year we made several trips to the high country (Northern New Mexico) to hunt bear and mountain lion. It was on one of these trips that I first saw someone using a hammock. I was strung up there is camp for anyone to use to catch a nap. I later learned it was a jungle hammock from the Vietnam era, very similar to what we use today. However, living in the low country I didn't have much need for a hammock as there aren't that many trees.

Fast forward to my Summer before high school and we moved to the Texas Hill Country on the Nueces River. I met some pretty cool people and they all liked to camp, fish, hunt and just hang out in the wild. Of course I was still using a tarp at this time, but eventually found a net hammock that I mainly used for lounging and fishing from. It never occurred to me to use it for my primary shelter; I was still using tarps. An old timer who lived on the edge of town saw it one day on the river and asked me about it, told me how they used hammocks in the jungles of Vietnam. One day he he stopped me at the local general store and gave me a package, said he thought I would get more use out of it then he would. It was a jungle hammock wrapped in a poncho; when I unwrapped it it smelled like cordite. I used it all the years through high school for camping, but never in cold weather,I always went to ground with my bedroll and tarp.

I learned of the different hammock styles and cultures that used them mostly by accident, I read alot and it was just there. I did come across a very cool looking hammock used by captains on ships; I built one. It was very similar to the bridge hammock that JRB builds, I never really liked it as well tho.

Fast forward to 2003 and I was in Al Kut Iraq, suffering on a military issue cot, or worse, a cheap spring bedframe and thin mattress. I got online and discovered Hennessey Hammocks and Speer; I ordered a Hennessey Exped set up and used it exclusively for 18 months as my bed.

When I returned home I built many hammocks and played with several different tarps and insulating systems. On my return to the Middle East my hammock accompanied me. I built several while I was overseas and gave all of them away to soldiers and other people who wanted them.

Like others Sgt. Rock, Risk, the Speer Yahoo Group and eventually Hammock Forums helped me refine my hammock camping into a full 4 season shelter system. And now, I are a hangar exclusively.

**Norwood** · 10-12-2009, 21:43

Since I am new and only made one hang.....but I motorcycle tour and rallies...wanted something that packed smaller than my Big House 4 and with a total knee replacement and my age... I need a better night sleep....

My first hang was great...I expect the next to be even better....

**Pitch** · 10-12-2009, 22:04

What really made me want to hang?

Initially, the rain

I hate muddy tent splatter mess... setting up the tent (likely in the rain...)...
Tearing down the tent... rain or not it is still wet and muddy...
Packing the dirty wet tent, because when you gotta go, you gotta go...

Getting home... setting up the tent again.... hosing it off... trying to dry it out without getting it muddy again... usually alone... or in high winds... fun...

Yea, I'd say hammock camping is much "cleaner" camping. Not that I mind the mud and dirt, I just hate cleaning off my gear multiple times for a weekend trip.

The fact that it is faster to setup and break down, more comfortable, lower profile and just plain cool are all close seconds

-Xex

**LyttleBryan** · 10-13-2009, 07:18

I don't really remember, honestly. I remember hanging on my patio with my (then) lady and being quite cold. We put a pad under us, and it got much warmer. I guess I just put two and two together and spent the rest of the summer hanging. Now it's Winter and I have my peapod on the way!

**Widerstand** · 11-02-2009, 17:14

Well i'm not really a hanger yet...

Bit of a background on me... Been riding freight trains for about 13ish year... Past 5 years or so been living indoors which cool for a lot of reasons like having a computer, running water, and a bed... In the past 5 years or so I have really gotten into spending time hiking, practicing wilderness self reliance...etc. I still take train trips places... Just not full time.

Anyways I made my own hammock out of tyvek and paracord and it only lasted about 1 week or so, then I got on this forum to learn more about hammocks...etc. So I plan on giving it a shot even if it means returning lots cans and doing day labor for the money to get a hammock setup.

-Widerstand

**bignick2112** · 11-03-2009, 23:46

I am new to the forum and i have not slep in a hammock yet. I am wanting to try it out for a couple different reasons. first is the weight. when i go on long trips weight is def a big deal for me. I would rather carry around a 1.5 pound hammock than a bulkier tent. Also it appears that you can go more places with a hammock. what i mean by that is you can go off trail to a spot that is better looking, such as a bluff or overlook. I saw a picture of a buddy on face book and he was in a hammock. I started to talk to him about it and he convinced me to give it a try. So here i am now about to by my first hammock.

**Big D** · 11-10-2009, 16:19

I was walking around REI with my dividend in my pocket. There was nothing I really needed, so to my left was a hammock in a bag. I noticed it was lighter, more compact and more stealthy than my current tent. I had the thing for 3 months before I even set it up, but that wasthe day the lights came on! The HH was hung way too tight, but way better than sleeping on the ground.

JJ's and Risk's sites led me here, and the rest has been a pleasent dream.

**Scottish Pirate** · 11-11-2009, 12:01

Well I have been a backpacker/hiker for quite sometime now. I friend of mine got into the hammock thing. At first I was happy with my good old Tent, it was light and nice. Then he got me on to these forums and I saw many more advantages. I got to try two hammocks at the FALL MAHHA which was really cool. I am not a 100% converted mostly because I haven't found a hammock I like yet. But the advantages and also why I want to be converted are as follows:

1. Cleaner: Just watching my friend setup and take down, it stays clean.

2. Faster: I can setup and take down a hammock faster then any tent.

3. Lighter/smaller: You can fit everything in a compression bag/stuff sack and
it makes things a lot lighter.

4. And Finally it is cooler. I sleep as a human torch, I always have
condensation in my tent (except one tent) that sucks in the morning. The
Hammock gets rid of that.

So those are my reasons just thought I'd share.