What made you a "hanger"?

[hangin around]

I guess it has been about 10 years now and I remember taking a stroll through street fair and I met a guy that was selling small hammocks under the name Hammock Bliss. We got to talking and we ended up trading an hour of massage for my first hammock. So to answer my title question, it was a very worth while trade. I have been camping between two trees ever since. Recently I have even gotten my wife and daughter of the ground as well.
I am glad to have found this forum because I have found many more questions about hammock camping with a family in tow than I ever had by myself.
1) I need to find a less bulky way to keep the girls warm than I have found with a tube sleeping bag all the way around them.
2) I also would like to find a better solution the the curve that a parachute nylon hammock naturally falls into. This is the main complaint that my wife has and I would love to help her flatten out. She very much dislikes the HH asym design. And I am not a big fan myself since it forces my head to the L and my feet to the R. My natural sleeping position is the other way.
So, I am pretty good on the sewing machine and would love to come up with something that had a flat bottom and maybe accommodate a sleeping pad for warmth at the same time. Any suggestions. My first two attempts have failed with great laughter and the sound of seams ripping.

Thanks to you all and look forward to good discussions.

[BigTurtle]

i have to say the reason i switched from a tent to a hammock has to be comfort i can wake up and actually stretch without about screaming at my back also i can stand up lol

[SnakeSession]

Hammocks are cool!

While hiking the Foothills trail this summer saw a Hammock/Tarp set-up and thought it was the coolest shelter I had seen.

I used a small tent about 20 nights and never had a good nights sleep even with sleeping pads. Plus the floor always got damp or wet in the rain. So why not get off the ground?

Did not think I would like it but bought a $20 Grand Trunk ultralite and after trying some different DIY slings and tarps am hooked on hammocks!

Now have the Nano 7 and sleep better on the trail than in my bed. So much comfort and like the rocking effect plus it's fast to set-up, etc.

I find myself walking in town or whatever and see trees that would be cool to hang from.

[2new2hang]

I had been looking at HH's years ago but never pulled the trigger. Moved the family to Japan last year, and then in March of last year, we got hit with the big quake. Didn't do much to those of us in Tokyo, but made me realize I was totally unprepared for a big disaster. I figured I would need something light, fast, and simple, which wold keep me off of potentially flooded ground. Found the infamous "Shug" vids, and was hooked.
I have now almost outfitted the entire family, but the darn stuff is addicting (as is making friends on this site), so I'm probably going to eventually require some sort of intervention...

[Wicked]

I joined the forum because my wife and I are seriously considering using hammocks on our PCT through hike attempt in a couple of years. We are trying to get as much information as possible before purchasing. We were ready to each get a HH and then started reading that not all sections of the PCT are all that compatible with hanging. I section hiked the PCT 750 miles in 2009 and I don’t remember any place I could not have used a hammock but I have also hiked the JMT twice and remember areas that would have been very difficult to find a place to hang one.

[begleysm]

I have a not so awesome back and I have to toss & turn a lot when I sleep. I'm also pretty fit so when I sleep on my side (on the hard ground) only my shoulder, hip bone, and knee touch the ground. When I sleep on my back only my shoulder blades and hips touch the ground (and parts of my legs).

Everyone at my local outdoors store has switches to hammocks and talked about how much more comfortable they are. I bought an ENO ProNest on clearance and used it as a test. It was fairly nice but, of course, it is small, and not designed for an asym lay.

I found this forum after googling for information. It has been great here.

I took the plunge and bought a WBBB 1.1 DL. I spent a night in it outside my apartment and was really impressed by the comfort level and how not-stiff my back was upon waking.

I've since also borrowed (and then ordered) a Big Agnes sleeping pad that is 2.5" thick (vs my 1.5" thick Therm-a-rest self inflating pad) for when I have to use my tent. It is a vast improvement.

That being said the hammock is still the most comfortable option I've found which is why I think I will be sticking with it. The other advantage is that it is so much cooler (ie: awesomer) vs sleeping on th ground.

Other advantages I'm looking forward to include not being on the ground during a heavy rain and not having to worry about irritating rocks and roots!

Ok,that's enough rambling...

Sean

[Badchef]

I enjoy being outdoors, but never got the restful sleep I wanted. I somehow stumbled upon this forum and have been intrigued.

Being the do-it-yourself guy that I am, I refused to buy a manufactured hammock and am in the process of making my own. In short, I'm jumping in full-bore and thanks to all of the great wisdom on the forum, I hope to be able to test my first construction this weekend.

Chef

[Hike2Hang]

I was looking for DIY related camp gear ideas on YouTube.
I had promised myself that THIS summer, I'd make the time to get away from society (to which I've never felt I belonged, because I've never understood it's motivations, morals (or lack there of), ideals, etc).
While looking at various DIY camping videos, and watching "related", I found myself getting more and more lost in a web of Hammock related videos that were both entertaining and informative. A great deal of these videos were by the Shug.
It fascinated me, as the one thing I didn't enjoy about camping was the use of tents, but didn't know of away other way (aside from survival shelters). The more I watched, the more it interested me. I remember clearly one video Shug said "I'm not trying to convert anyone..." and he was saying how no matter how you camp, just CAMP.
Too late Shug, you had me so excited about trying it I couldn't stop thinking about it.

I started looking online for prices on hammocks, and i was almost turned off the idea.
I knew I could make my own by following the basic DIY hammock videos, but I was looking at buying a small lightweight compact hammock at a good price.

I check my local hardware store, and they sold nylon hammocks for about $30 that pack into a sewn on pouch. Picked one up, tried it out, and never looked back!

I have since taken friends along (supplying hammock and tarp) and after only one night out, they have denounced tents, and started looking further into hammocks.

I am new to it myself (just began this summer), but I'm very excited to carry on camping year round. I've never even considered winter camping until I discovered hammock camping. Although that sounds absurd (given the nature of hammocks being harder to stay warm in), but I've enjoyed the experience far too much to stop just because there's snow on the ground.

Thank you Shug, and thank you everyone at Hammock Forums, along with all of the posting members!

[phatpacker]

as i explore the lighter and lighter real of backpacking I realized that my comfort level was dimminishing. Try a hammock on a car camping trip and froze but was not sore. I then began a search for the solution and HF was it.

[CrackMunk]

I always had a pocket net hammock with me camping, for years I would hang it up were ever I camped. Even hung it in my moms back yard when we went for a visit. I tried to sleep in it a couple of times but bugs or cold cut that Idea short. I came across a ad for a nylon hammock and after a few more clicks of the mouse I came upon HH website, Well my birthday was coming up so that's what I got. then in searching for more info on camping hammocks I found HF! I thought to my self..... I'm home!