was looking for a lightweight option to ground/tent camping. Been using a bivy for years and decided to give a hammock a go. I can say I haven't been back in a bivy since.
I wanted to be able to stay off the ground while camping on multi day float trips.
I am a assistant ScoutMaster withToop85 out of Florence Mississippi. After a few years of sleeping on the ground or on a cot I decided to try hammock camping. I purchased a ENO doublenest this past Christmas and have been on two camp outs so far. I enjoy the hammock camping much more.
I was complaining on another forum about tents being too hot and I hated it. Alot of people said go Hammock, but I just pushed it to the side as those are just crazy people. Then my wife got a porch hammock and laying in that one day I realized how much cooler I felt and I decided that maybe those people weren't crazy. I bought an Eno and started learning how awesome hammocks are.
I love camping and started backpacking last year. After some sore mornings coming out of the tent I spoke to a couple of REI employees who said they hammock camp and told me to check out hammock forums. After tons of research on this forum and watching Shugs videos, I made the jump!!!
I started backpacking this year and found out how much my back bothered me after a night. Started looking for my own equipment and came across this forum. Right no I'm intrigued but seriously considering my first hang.
I am a father if eight boys and we all love camping. The sleeping part (in a tent on the ground) was always a challenge. If the air mattress didn’t develop a hole and it didn’t rain a lot it would be a good night. Of course backpacking was out of the question. Last year I purchased a small cot that I did take backpacking and I almost left it in the woods… it added a lot of weight. One of my older son’s got a Hennessy and that was it for me. Now I can not afford nine Hennessy’s nor nine of any hammocks. I had some rip stop nylon from another project and I was able to make my first bridge hammock (it was surprisingly easy). I copied my son’s tarp and I am working on a bug net.
My good wife was able to find two cheap cotton hammocks at a thrift store and we are working on some others. Honestly, my sons enjoy camping so much I could give them a piece of plastic and a pillow and they would be happy.
I have found hammockforums.net very helpful.
I have never been one for the indoors so I was always camping than i became a cub scout this lead me to by a very active boy scout. The first year of scout camps i did in a tent like everyone else, but that all changed in my second year we were at PV a local summer camp and I bought my First hammock (one of thoughts Walmart like ones for $20 that i would never touch now) just planing to hangout in it that we had are outpost night so i decided i was going to hang it. I din't sleep in a tent for the rest of that trip. I was hooked.
Then came the DIY I have been making stuff scene the moment I was born so when the very cheep rope set up on my first hammock broke I decided to make some tree straps. That was like putting lipstick on a pig so I decided to make my own hammock. After that I needed a tarp to go with it and being a young man without a job a couldn't spend 100+ dollars on a eno or the like so i made one. I used that setup for over 100 nights of camping between OA and BSA.
I am now in-charge of my troop and have over 60 nights of camping planed for this summer so I invested in buying some new materials for a lightweight setup for backpacking the CT.
I have camped at about 2-3 out of 4 weekend a mouth for the last 4 years and have not been back in a tent.
I somehow stumbled upon Shug's videos, and thus begun the affliction that is being a hammock camper. This has to be the deepest rabbit hole of any hobby I've picked up.
I run Crafted Magazine, a publication dedicated to handcrafted goods with a focus on Made in USA. We've got hammock reviews coming up soon!
http://craftedmagazine.com
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