Newly hooked and ready to hang, now what?

**Mooncranker** · 02-20-2009, 06:26

Hello, just found this cool site thanks to Youtube, Shug, and Minibulldesign. I have been lurkin here for a couple of days, searchin for the hammock of my dreams, even though I didn't even know I needed one untill I saw a few vids on Youtube. So here is my small problem. I want them all, the BB, the HH, and all the others, and I havn't even got to the tarps yet. Where do I start? I can tell this is a good place to find the answers, so if you kind people would give me some input, I would thank you kindly. I found the Clark Jungle Hammock site, and they look good to me, real good, but the BB and the Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock look even better. My budget is so so, but really depends on how much I can slide by my better half

. I don't want to start out with just a hammock, then grab a tarp later, but I may have to. That's why the Clark models look so good to me. Anyway, here is a pre-thanks to any suggestions you may have. Nick

**Mrprez** · 02-20-2009, 07:29

Hi Mooncranker, welcome to HF! If you can sew, I would recommend making some gear first. Taprs are a breeze to make and you can also make a pretty decent hammock as well for a few dollars. Then, once you gain some experience and know what you want, you could then buy one of the commercially made hammocks. I've had Speer, HH and the Clark and never had a bad night in any of them, but they all do hang differently. I found the Clark to be somewhat closed in. I'm not much of a fan of the Speer bugnet because of all the velcro and I don't like the HH bottom entry. But, I am now using a top entry HH that has everything I want in a hammock. For a tarp, I use the Speer Winter tarp. For bottom insulation, I have the HHSS and a Speer PeaPod for really cold weather. Pretty soon, I will have a KAQ (they are going to be commercially available again very soon).

Here are some sites to check out:

http://www.tothewoods.net/
http://www.imrisk.com/

**Ramblinrev** · 02-20-2009, 07:33

If your better half camps you need to double your budget. She is not going to take kindly to being left on the ground whilst you sleep in the trees. Seen it over and over. Hammocks run the gamut of prices as you have no doubt figured out. In Indiana you are probably going to want bug net, attached or not. Tarps can be everything from a painters drop cloth (not recommended but doable) to custom made jobbers made from fancy technical fabrics. Many people go through a number of hammocks before they find the one of their dreams, even then I think many ofus would like to pick features from different hammocks and piece them together into one.
My hammock of choice is an HH mainly because it is ideally suited for my mobility issues. Some members here offer a service to do a zipper mod to the HH which allows the HH to function as a top ;oader.

Then of course there is always the DIY route and the Bridge hammocks. Bear Mt. Bridge is supposed to be a super piece of gear. (I have not tried on myself) but there refinments that have been made via the DIY route to make the bridge sleeker and trimmer.

I know I have only muddied the waters. But that's about the way it has to be unless you can try before you buy. Have fun exploring.

**Dutch** · 02-20-2009, 07:55

HHs are nice because they come with a tarp and varied sizes and can be picked up easily on ebay. Buy the BB if you want your second hammock first.
Any Speer or JRB product is worth buying. Welcome to the forums

**stretch** · 02-20-2009, 08:17

Hello and welcome. If you have any fabric stores in your area you can get a 12'x5' piece of fabric and make a test hammock in the time it takes to tie 2 sheet bends. Nylon and polyester fabrics are the best choices.
I use a claytor jungle hammock that I really like. It is double layered so you can use a cheap pad for insulation very easily. Has a zippered bug net and includes a tarp.
http://www.mosquitohammock.com/
The Warbonnet Black Bird is a favorite among many here and will most likely be my next hammock purchase.

**Cannibal** · 02-20-2009, 08:48

Of course I'm going to tell you to get a BB, but there is something to be said for being sneaky when on a mission to 'collect'. Your thought about buying a all-in-one system (hammock and tarp) such as the HH or Clarks is a pretty good one. That is an excellent way to start. Then, you let the better half try it and fall in lust with it. Then, you have a reason and a need to get another hammock! You'll end-up with more than 2, I can already tell.

Welcome to the forum.

**fin** · 02-20-2009, 08:52

First off, no matter what you say now, you will eventually have them all.

I have a lot of hammocks, but my goto hammocks are in this order:

Warbonnet Blackbird w/ccs tarp, custom OES tarp or Hennessey Hex tarp
JRB Bear Mountain Bridge, same tarps
Clark NA with Clark XL rain Fly

They each have different features that I love. Cost-wise, they are equivalent. If you factor in something like an OES tarp with a Blackbird, it is pretty close to the same price as the Clark, especially depending on model. The Clark NA is well designed, well put-together, solid materials - but it is the narrowest and most confining of my 3 goto hammocks. If you upgrade to the nx-200 for the extra room, the price jumps even more.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Clark - but they are not for everyone. If you buy one, test it immediately so you don't hit their return policy time limit as others have here. They are good people, I've never had an issue with them, and they have always been extra helpful when I've contacted them.

If you buy an HH, expect to eventually buy another hammock, or have the zipper mod done to it. As a matter of fact, I think Stormcrow has an HH for sale here on the site. HH's are the hammock gateway drug.

**sir White Wolf** · 02-20-2009, 09:23

go ahead and buy or make the first one so youll know how Great the BB is when ya get it.

**Mooncranker** · 02-20-2009, 11:13

Wow, you nice people don't mess around! I thank you all very much, and have decided to take all of the advice. I am going to make my first one. Actually, I have several nice tarps in my backpack, so that is not a big problem, it's just that they are not cool enough to be considered hammock tarps. And then I will order a Blackbird. It does look like a very nice one in all the pics and vids I have seen. But the Bear Bridge looks pretty nice also, so maybe over the summer I can sneak one of those in too. Again, thanks to you all, Nick

**Ramblinrev** · 02-20-2009, 11:18

A word to the wise from a DIY hack....

When first hanging your DIY hammock do not hang it higher than you are willing to fall. I'm saying you _will_ fall. But there is a chance of it particularly on your first DIY.