Alabama newbie looking to hang.

**MarcH** · 12-31-2016, 13:27

Hi I'm Marc from Dothan, Al. I'm new to the idea of hammock Camping. It seems like it would be a comfortable alternate alternative to tent camping. I've got a quite a bit of questions in really don't know where to start. I think I have a fairly reasonable budget of about $500 maybe a little more for every thing but I don't know. A lot of my questions are going to be what size, what manufacturer, what should I look for, and etc.
I'm a fairly large guy at 6-foot 225 pounds.

**soul embrace** · 12-31-2016, 14:41

Welcome from Decatur alabama.

You can't go wrong with any of the vendors you see listed in the vendor section. You will want a 11' hammock and I would start out with one from dutchware.com you can get a hammock and all the stuff you need to hang the hammock shipped for less than $100. I have a set of underquilt and topquilt from hammock gear and depending on which tempatufe range you want that will run you close to $500 for down. If you want cheaper you can go synthetic and arrowhead equipment sells some good synthetic quilts for a reasonable price. You will also need a tarp and you can get a kelty Noah tarp for pretty cheap until you can get a better and lighter tarp.

Yes hammocks are a lot more comfortable than a tent!

**SkraM** · 12-31-2016, 15:39

Welcome to the madness. I swapped my hammock for a tent and never looked back. I agree with the above “You can't go wrong with any of the vendors you see listed in the vendor section.”. Do a little research before buying gear will save a lot of trial, error, and money. Attend a local hiker hang may answer many questions and give you an opportunity see and try different hammocks and set ups. Or you can go the route of the many and buy, try and then buy some more. Owning multiple hammocks, quilts, and Dutch bling is part of the fun.

**sidneyhornblower** · 12-31-2016, 16:53

Hi Marc,

Best advice I can give is to take your time. You will get a lot of advice if you ask specific questions. I mean a LOT of advice, some of which is contradictory because all of us have our biases and favorites. If you can stand to wait, take your time before plunking down your money. To get up to speed quickly, I highly recommend that you start on the home page of hammock forums and look up near the top for the Hammock Forums Quick Tips link. Clicking on that gives you quite a few places to go. I'd recommend that you read the one labeled Stickies and then go read the stickies.

You should also go to a bookstore or Amazon and buy a copy of Derek Hansen's book "The Ultimate Hang" and visit his website of the same name. Finally, if you haven't discovered them already, Shug's how-to videos are good to watch. There's a link to them on the hammock forums home page, I think down near the bottom right part of the page.

I'll only offer some vague general advice. What you choose for gear depends on your style of camping. Are you more of a camper or are you a backpacker? Most backpackers camp, but not all campers backpack, so their gear is somewhat different. In general, you will need a hammock and some way to hang it. Once you decide on that base part of your gear, you can move on to weather protection, which generally means a tarp of some sort. Once you're out of the weather, figure out how you stay warm. The choices there are increasingly diverse and range from simple pads and a sleeping bag to specialty gear like under quilts and top quilts. Most of us started out adapting and using what we already owned and then added better stuff piecemeal as time went on, a process that never ends.

So.....the more specific your questions, the better answers you'll get. If you just ask, "What's a good hammock?" you'll get answers all over the map. If you post, "I'm considering whether to go with the Bear Mountain Bridge hammock or the Warbonnet Ridge Runner; which would you buy?" then you'll get detailed responses from people who own one or the other or even both, passionate answers from people who actually use and care about their gear.

Most of the vendors have their own forums devoted to their wares and there's good stuff to be learned by reading those, too. So welcome to the addiction!

**TrailSlug** · 12-31-2016, 16:57

Welcome from the opposite end of the state. Take you time but if you have a reasonable budget it gets easier. A good hammock, down top and bottom quilts that are rated near the temps you want to hang in and a good silpoly tarp and you are ready to go. Let us know if you have any specific questions.

**4fingers** · 12-31-2016, 17:35

Buy once, cry once

**TrailSlug** · 12-31-2016, 17:36

Originally Posted by 4fingers

Buy once, cry once

Yep!

**MarcH** · 12-31-2016, 17:44

I have just watched all 10 of shuggs videos. They were very helpful. They then added more questions.
I guess a little more information I'm looking to pick up backpacking. I also have very little gear I could use to piecemeal on. So basically I've got a clean slate to work with.