Good Morning, campers.
Looooong time lurker here - on and off for the last few years. Getting done with grad school, getting married, getting that 'better' job sure takes time away from getting new gear. I've had to settle with the great stuff I already have: Oh the humanity!
I can't say I'm a hanger yet, but I've been curious about it for a long time. As my ground-tolerating youth slips away--coming up on 40 soon--I find myself looking for a better night's sleep while on the trail. CCFs don't do it for me and even the Thermarests inflatables (1") are coming to not be enough. I do 'enjoy' the weight penalty and added comfort of an Exped DM-9 in the cold season but it's a bit much for the warmer months, of course. Otherwise, I toss and turn, trying to relieve hip or shoulder discomfort, most of the time.
I've gone about as light as I want to go, or can afford to for now. No cuben for me yet, but at 10-12# for a summer load, and a few more for the near-winter months (15-16#), I'm doing OK. My knees thank me. It's nice to get to camp after a long day and not be totally blown out and it's nice to have plenty of energy after a shorter hike, to go fish, day hike, etc...
I'm a tent backpacker with the wife; love our GoLite Shangri-La 3. But I like to use a tarp when solo (10x8.5), or SMD's Gatewood Cape if I'm in the mood.
I also love gear and tinkering, of course, so all this experimenting with rigging is right up my alley - something I do anyway with my tarps. I've some Amsteel, Dynaglide and strapping coming from Dutch which should be here anytime; plan to splice my own goodies as I continue to research what hammock on (in!) which to cut my teeth. (And figure out how to tell the wife this apartment-dweller wants to add yet more stuff to the crowded place!)
Excellent site here, folks. I appreciate the camaraderie and maturity.
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) and love to tinker. You've already got both of those, so you're off to a great start.
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