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  1. #11
    Senior Member Chigger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Garner, NC
    Hammock
    HHDJ JUNGLE XL(2)
    Tarp
    RSBTR & Superfly
    Insulation
    TQ HG20* UQ HG20*
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    Dutch cinch buckle
    Posts
    596
    Quote Originally Posted by bobwhite View Post
    Exactly. Sure you can get a hammock for under $100. But to be comfortable year-round and confident in blowing rain, it is unlikely you will not spend more.

    My point was that the article would make the inexperienced person think they can be good to go on the cheap. Maybe, but it is a slippery slope. It's like me telling my wife a boat is a great idea at this price!
    My take on this. This is a hobby. We do it because we want to. If you are doing something for fun you might lose some of the benefits if you cut too many corners to save a few bucks.

  2. #12
    Senior Member Beckyinma's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Mass
    Hammock
    DIY 10x5 w/srl
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    DIY 10'x12' cat pu
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    DIY A90 Karo-Step
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    Whoopie sling
    Posts
    262
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    8
    $200 in plus turtledog stands and I have almost full gear for four people. It is affordable if you are willing to repurpose other gear or go heavier than ultralight.

  3. #13
    Member bobwhite's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    NC
    Hammock
    11' Argon gathered end
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    HG cuben w/ doors
    Insulation
    HG Phoenix/Burrow
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    Whoopie Slings
    Posts
    81
    I would like to clarify that I think this is a great article, and that I was not knocking anything it said. I was simply making light of how easy it is to spend a wad of money getting your hammock set up nicely.

    Owl made a good point. When I started purchasing all of my hammock gear, I already had extensive tent camping gear. So in my mind, all of this expense was in additional to that. However, if I calculate the cost of my tent, sleeping bag, bag liner, ground pad, etc, there would not be as much difference.

    Also, several people have made another good observation. I quoted affordability as the #1 reason...it was #10.

    More leaders and scouts in my troop are making the switch to hammocks. It's quite appealing. I haven't slept in a tent for nearly 2 years. I even fabricated a Turtledog stand to use when we camped at Cape Hatteras last weekend.

  4. #14
    Senior Member _jstevens2010_'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Charlotte NC
    Hammock
    DH NightHawk and Clark NX-250
    Tarp
    Clark Vertex
    Insulation
    UGQ 20 UQ and TQ
    Suspension
    Whoopie and Python
    Posts
    232
    It never ends. Lol

  5. #15
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Asheville, NC
    Hammock
    Yukon Outfitters dbl
    Tarp
    Yukon Outfitters
    Insulation
    20* bag / pad
    Suspension
    Cinch Buckle
    Posts
    76
    Never ends, that's true. I'm pretty well set up, certainly don't *need* anything else, well maybe a bug net..... In my case, a few years ago I replaced our heavy car camping tent for a lighter, 2 man, backpacking tent. REI Passage 2 on sale for $99, right about 5 lbs all in. It's been used about a dozen times and is a great tent. Over the past 18 months, however, I have spent a bit over $200 outfitting my son and I in hammocks, that together weigh the same as the $99 tent. We are using our existing pads and sleeping bags for insulation. So cheaper, not really, but the comfort level is well worth the money spent so far. We both agreed after our last trip that it's the best night sleep we've had on a camping trip.

  6. #16
    Senior Member Wanderlost's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Ashland, VA
    Hammock
    11' 1.2 Robic XL
    Tarp
    Misc DIY ones
    Insulation
    Downy Goodness
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    UHMWPE Straps
    Posts
    1,450
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    9
    Obviously, that affordability does not take into Dutch and his fortress of goodies.

    Thanks for pointing that one out. I'm trying to get a buddy of mine, local SM, to give hammocks a swing.
    73 de W4BKR

    Not all who wander are lost... - J.R.R. Tolkein
    ...Besides, if we get lost, we just pull in somewheres and ask directions - Captain Ron

    The ever striving gram weenie...always updated with the next trip

  7. #17
    Member bobwhite's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    NC
    Hammock
    11' Argon gathered end
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    HG cuben w/ doors
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    HG Phoenix/Burrow
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    Whoopie Slings
    Posts
    81
    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisP View Post
    So cheaper, not really, but the comfort level is well worth the money spent so far.
    That sums it up for me. Since switching to a hammock: back, hip and shoulder pain...gone. Spacial restrictions of a mummy bag...gone.

    I have spent...I mean invested...a lot of money on down quilts and a cuben tarp, but I made it fine with a ground pad and Hennessy tarp in the beginning. However, I couldn't backpack in cold weather with that setup. It was just too bulky and heavy.

  8. #18
    Senior Member DuctTape's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Rochester, NY
    Hammock
    Claytor
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    MacCat delux Spinn
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    CCF and Quilts
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    web and buckles
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    2,079
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    2
    Just for giggles, I did a few quick searches to compile a very light and cheap hammock setup for a newbie. This is similar to how I started, although the brands were slightly different. I used my starter setup for a few years and was very comfortable. Of course we can always spend more to get the "best" and/or to camp in more extreme conditions.

    Grand Trunk UltraLight Hammock
    http://www.amazon.com/Grand-Trunk-Ul.../dp/B001AIHB76
    cost: $20
    weight: 12 oz

    8x10 Blue poly tarp
    http://www.amazon.com/Multi-Purpose-.../dp/B005DMLAIQ
    cost: $10
    weight: 15.2 oz

    Marmot Trestle 30 Sleeping Bag
    http://www.rei.com/product/828305/ma...0-sleeping-bag
    cost: $99
    weight: 3lb 7oz

    Gossamer Gear wide ccf pad
    http://gossamergear.com/sleeping/thi...tion-pads.html
    cost: $39
    weight: 12.2 oz

    Total Cost: $168
    Total weight: 94.4 oz (5.9lbs)
    "There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us, And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go." -from "The Call of the Wild" by Robert Service
    My Trail log: http://ducttapeadk.blogspot.com/

  9. #19
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Oklahoma
    Posts
    139
    When it comes to camping gear, EBAY is my friend. I got a Hennessey Hammock and hex tarp, both used of course, for about $80.00, and use a couple of Thermarest pads for my bottom insulation and my sleeping bag zipped open for my top quilt. I have been comfortable at temps down to 10 degrees. This is something a Scout can do. They sell $20.00 dollar hammocks at the trading post of our council summer camp, and I tend to see more and more scouts using them for the week of summer camp. I think that it is this forum that encourages the huge amounts to be spent for gear, as people see what the next guy uses and a sort of lust rises in their hearts.
    / \ /+\
    | ||
    |-|| ___
    | ||
    | | \__|

  10. #20
    Senior Member DuctTape's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Rochester, NY
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    Quote Originally Posted by ag1024 View Post
    I think that it is this forum that encourages the huge amounts to be spent for gear, as people see what the next guy uses and a sort of lust rises in their hearts.
    I think Freud would call it "Gear Envy".
    "There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us, And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go." -from "The Call of the Wild" by Robert Service
    My Trail log: http://ducttapeadk.blogspot.com/

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