Most important part of Hammocking?

[Sethrotull]

Thanks for the replies. Got a couple inexpensive gathered hammocks to get me by. So I think the first real money will go to a WBSF tarp. Seems like a no brainier peace of gear. Will have to branch out from there. Still interested in people's opinions.

[Likeapuma]

If you already have other camping gear, a sleeping bag doubles as a quilt & a pad will work as an UQ. If you have a poncho liner hanging around, try that too (still trying to find a deal on one locally lol)

As others have recommended, see if there's a group hang in your area. It might be useful in decision making on future upgrades.

I only have a WL Big Daddy so I'm partial, but it's served me well & is large enough to be forgiving forgiving when improperly hung.

[darkbyrd]

So those that went hammock first. What did you do for a tarp and UQ till you got what you wanted?

I made-do with a blue pad and a poly blanket backyard-hanging and car camping (under a used WB edge, $85) until I made a IQ underquilt https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ad.php?t=23881 . And then later a larger 7.5 oz climashield underquilt in a similar fashion. It needs further adjustments though.

[climbing.kevin]

So those that went hammock first. What did you do for a tarp and UQ till you got what you wanted?

I used my thermarest prolite plus partially inflated as my pad instead of a UQ. For a a tarp, I've heard people making their own out of 2 shower curtains and taping them together and adding on tie outs. I personally dove right and and got a superfly from the very beginning.

[Stormstaff]

I started when it was warm and used an ENO Doublenest that I bought with a gift certificate and used a 10' x 10' BCUSA tarp and sleeping bag, no UQ needed.

Next I got a Mega Ogee tarp from Gargoyle, followed by a Jarbridge UQ from Arrowhead Equipment, followed by an Old Man Winter tarp from Wilderness Logics, then a Dream Hammocks Dangerbird, then a 0° Incubator & 20° Burrow from Hammock Gear followed by my most recent hammock, an 11'er that a forum member made for me.

For the most part, I don't think I'd have changed the order I got anything in personally but HYOH (hang your own hang)

[OutandBack]

I realize you are on a budget and can't outfit 3 right away but you will need to be very careful in selecting when and where you go.
If you daughter and GF are cold and not having a good time they will probably not want to go with you again.
Maybe try some backyard overnights so they can retreat to the house and you can re think your gear plan without turning them off on hammock camping.

With some creative thinking and tree sellection you could get 3 under a SF tarp. you and your daughter in bunkbed mode and your GF right next to you. Now that I think about it a cheaper 12x12 tarp(Kelty Noah or Gear Guide) might be better than the SF.

Best of luck to ya.

[mrjaw14]

I started out with a byer of maine hammock my parents got me as a gift. I used a blue tarp with it for a year, and got tired of what a pita it is to set that up, take it down. I recently bought a Superfly and really like it. I use a GI issue closed-cell foam pad. it's 24" wide.
I've learned a lot since I got into hammock camping and am about ready for a better hammock. Wally world has an equip hammock for $25, and my byer is about 45ish I think. I'd get a cheap hammock and mess with it and learn to hang it, then see what you need to improve and buy a nice hammock that fits your needs. Reason I say this is you might be closterfobic and might not want a hammock with built in bug net. you might be ok using a CCF pad and find it just slides around too much and want a double layer hammock to stick your pad in. You might hate the pad all together and rather save up for a single layer and uq/tq setup. You might try sleeping in a hammock and hate it entirely. For these reasons, I'd say get a cheap hammock, play with it using a poly tarp and a sleeping pad and sleeping bag and go from there.

[mountain_man_mike]

Consider being the coyote by watching for a post about "getting all geared up but it's not for me so I am going back to the ground". Sure, there will be a lot of recommendations for the hanger to stick with it, but inside each suggestion is a coyote waiting to pick through the carcass we know as gear so maybe some blunt honesty would reap a bounty of gear at a fetching price. Really though, that is (almost) completely tongue in cheek.

[Chard]

So those that went hammock first. What did you do for a tarp and UQ till you got what you wanted?

Having Started with a Hennessy Expedition, I used the stock tarp for a few nights, quickly switched to the full coverage of my retangular nylon camp tarp for a couple of trips until I finally built my 12' BlackCat DIY sil tarp.

Top/Bottom insulation went from 4-season sleeping bag/pads quickly to an 4-season sleeping bag/3.5 season DIY underquilt to DIY 3 season Topquit/3.5 season DIY underquilt.

[chapmage]

I started with the ENO one link system, which came with an ENO Singlenest, Bugnet, Rain fly, and Atlas Straps. I was using a CCF pad and MSS sleeping bag for insulation
I have since swapped out the singlenest with a Grand Trunk Double, and the CCF/MSS with Hammock Gear Burrow and Incubator.
I still use the suspension and tarp from the ENO set, and may eventually change those out, but they work well for me, so they are pretty low on the "need to upgrade" list.

My sons are using utility tarps from the local hardware store (10'x12' I think), CCF pads and sleeping bags, with the Grand Trunk Ultralight hammock. We're slowly working on upgrading their stuff too. They started hammock camping late in the season last year (October), but we have put anchor points in their rooms so they can hammock full time indoors.

As has already been mentioned, one of the best things to do would be to attend a group hang to see all the various equipment first hand.