Advice for noob setup

[Hunglo]

Greetings, and a thanks for a great and informative site! Quick scoop, new backpacker here...with NO gear. Been real tempted to get some stuff this weekend due to some of the sales Im seeing, but time is running out. Heres what Im thinking

WBRR with Bugnet
Wilderness Logics Summer TQ and UQ
Tarp - Cloudburst - but other tarps would/could work?

That set up for $515 and 78 oz

I plan on warmer weather hiking late spring to early fall in MI so I probably won't see temps below 40 very often. The other question is..how big of a tarp do you need for such hikes? I see the Cloudburst is almost tailor made for the RR but wondered if any tarp with pullouts would work?

[Gideon]

Wow, just starting out and that's quite a list. first, I'll say a TQ and UQ are the way to go. Personally I recommend Hammock Gear.com. Their quality and customer service is second to none. You simply can't beat their products.

Now, about the hammock...The WBRR is a great hammock; I just laid in one a week ago, however, it's not for everyone and does present some problems for tarps. To close your end on your tarp you'll want/need a longer ridgeline on your tarp. Some guys who just got the WBRR are just now selling their standard tarps to get a 12' ridgeline because of the "V" shaped lines coming off of the hammock. I think you'll need a tarp with at least a 12' ridgeline to be able to cover the WBRR and it's suspension.

Also, as much as I liked the way it felt laying in the WBRR, I didn't like "sitting" in it. I enjoy sitting in my gathered end hammocks in the field; the WBRR didn't feel right in this regard.

I would ask some owners of the WBRR to chime in with their tarp experience before you pull the trigger.

Welcome to the forum!!

God Bless
Gideon

[Hunglo]

I lean toward a bridge due to my tendency to stomach sleep. I dont have to get everything now, as it will be 4-5 months before my first true overnight hiking experience, but the sales look so good right now.

One thing I figured was getting the double, I guess I thought it would be more durable, but I could easily get away with a single(5'11 175)

[SaabZombee]

Well the good thing about your gear choices is that, if it's not your thing, you can sell them for basically what you paid. But yeah, you're really diving in head first. Those are great gear options, but you might want to give gathered end hammocks a shot first. I'm a stomach sleeper, too, but I'm just fine when I'm in a hammock.

If you do decide to try a gathered end first, either make your own, or check out the BIAS Weight Weenie. For a tarp, I'm a huge fan of the WL Tadpole.