Noob from Birmingham AL

[PharmGeek]

Sooo - I stumbled onto this hammock camping idea in the last 2 days and the very notion of it after a bit of reading and YouTube videos has me intrigued.

In September I did a couple 9-11 mile day hikes in a row with friends in smokey mountains ....never done much hiking overall and only a bit of camping growing up - always hated sleeping in the ground although always had fun

Anyway - was looking for a couple hammocks for general use around my house or when using my RV and stumbled upon Hennessy review

At the same time I have been invited a couple times on overnight camp trips with my son (now just turned age 5) and have little to no camping gear.

I've also been itching to do more camping to prep for future longer backpacking trips with friends later on - need more experience first.

I'll probably end up trying a small tent and a hammock

I have 120 bucks worth of Amazon points burning a hole in my pocket and a canoe overnight camp trip in November coming up.

Got my eye on the blackbird now but not on Amazon - so Hennessy explorer Asym zip is enticing me - although I may sell a couple things and go for the blackbird

Also found this shug character on YouTube and spent 2 hours watching his noob vids last night - hilarious and informative

I am aged 32 - am mostly side or stomach sleeper but believe I could do ok in one of these hammocks - time will tell

Any advice for me appreciated and would love to meet fellow campers in the future

[Scraprider7]

Welcome from Minnesota! For what it's worth, I've always been a side or stomach sleeper but in a hammock I mostly sleep on my back. I occasionally like to curl up in a fetal position on my side, but in either case I'm always super comfortable. I sometimes even sleep on my back in a regular bed now!

Gotta love Shug too. We're all mighty proud of our fellow Minnesotan up here in The North.

Happy Hangin!

[sidneyhornblower]

Welcome to the forums from a guy from Georgia. I have a Hennessy expedition, which is smaller than the Explorer. I often side sleep in my Hennessy. I also have an 11 ft from Dutch which is very very comfortable.

Check out theultimatehang.com and see his hammock 101 section. Whatever you get, think of it as a system that includes hammock, rain cover, bug protection, and warmth. You can piece it together separately or go for an all in one thing like you're considering.

You'll not go wrong with the local community vendors here. They answer questions and give good advice.

[PharmGeek]

Thanks!

I often on my couch fall asleep on my back so I think it is not a stretch to fall asleep on my back in the hammock

I'm enjoying the mulling when I'm bored over these details lol

I've seen mention of this "Dutch" brand on this forum - I'll be looking

[PharmGeek]

I e bought this "ultimate hang" book - it's on it's way

Also - I'm still quite green on the camping continuum and any books or websites that go over many basics would be great

I hiked a bit in GSMNP and man I got it bad now - only day hikes - made me yearn for multi day trips - it will mostly have to wait till my small children grow up bigger

In the meantime I plan on getting more of the basics down and gathering the skills and gear