xxljoyce - definitely research suggestions posted here. Do you watch The Game of Thrones where there are all these "kingdoms" - that's sort of what it is like here (except we all, mostly, get along). You have the Gathered End (GE) kingdom and the Bridge Hammock (uses spreader bars) Kingdom. And you have the Ultralites (a.k.a. weightweenies) vs "In my day we added rocks to our packs to make the trip longer: etc.
For example, you will see that although, today, Cuben Fiber (CF) is the lightest option - there are definite Pros and Cons - in addition to high cost.
I have many tarps; even had two OES tarps (I guess I was one of the lucky ones) before I sold the Ultra model. I have the benefit of being able to buy something, try it out, learn from it, and sell it where the difference in sales price (I try to give a 30% discount) is the cost of education. I've also experienced weather where I actually needed a tarp. That is, most the time I try to plan my camping when the weather is good - so I have a tarp but usually don't need it. For example, the main use of a small asymmetrical diamond tarp I had was to keep the moonlight out of my eyes when I went out at full moon time. It was like a spotlight in my face. So minimum coverage was fine. But then I had experiences in high wind and blowing rain and that changed my option.
One thing I like to impart to "beginners" is, "You will make mistakes; have fun with it." It's like xc skiing. I tell people that when they first learn to xc ski - as long as they don't stick to perfectly groomed trails, etc. the first season they will fall in ways they will never do again - and (given soft snow instead of packed ice) it's fun. Once I ended up with my legs crossed under myself, with each ski pinning the other ski. I couldn't just "get up". My friends promised to drop by every few days and deliver food. Those were good times.
So with your hammock camping, maybe you will forget eating utensils. Maybe you will forget and leave your suspension on the tree (especially if someone interrupts you while you are putting things away). All these "mistakes" provide an opportunity to be inventive.
I know it sounds great to make the correct/best choice at each encounter - but what's the fun it in that
The most universal advice you will get is to practice at home as much as possible before you go out. Reading the forum posts, you'll see there are subtle adjustments you can make to the angle of suspension, foot end height, pillow under knee, etc. Sometimes just a little tweak makes all the difference.
Finally, on this post, I see a few more Women Only sub-treads opening up. Maybe you can find someone in your area who has gear you can try out - just set up with you so you can say, "Oh, this is what a Ridge Runner is like." etc.
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