Total Newbie who's on a budget and got sucked into Amazon Hammocks

[Billy Goat]

I started with a $20 8 footer from amazon with attached bug net and I thought it was glorious. It did squeeze my shoulders a bit and it was kind of heavy, but it was awesome. I have never slept that well in the woods. I've since moved on to a diy 11 footer, and wouldn't likely go back to the old one, but it works great and for a minimal investment, I introduced myself to the best camping experience I can find. Also had a UST Tube tarp and rigged my hammock up with harbor freight straps. The whole setup was just over $40. There's no shame in starting out that way, and no shame continuing that way as well, if you're comfortable in it.

Cheers,
the Goat

[brian60]

So, with this setup..would it survive? Can I do better for the price? Are any of these items garbage? Plan on getting CCF at walmart and putting a makeshift pad inside my bag.

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[rweb82]

So, with this setup..would it survive? Can I do better for the price? Are any of these items garbage? Plan on getting CCF at walmart and putting a makeshift pad inside my bag.

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You would definitely survive with that setup. Although the strap system may be a bit clunky as far as adjustability is concerned. I would almost recommend some daisy chain webbing for ease of use (if weight isn't much of an issue).

[brian60]

You would definitely survive with that setup. Although the strap system may be a bit clunky as far as adjustability is concerned. I would almost recommend some daisy chain webbing for ease of use (if weight isn't much of an issue).

I've heard and the guy I know locally who has 2 SBPs said he uses ratchet straps, so heck I imagine those are as adjustable as I want them to be and clearly cheap. Would that be a better option than these straps?

[rweb82]

I've heard and the guy I know locally who has 2 SBPs said he uses ratchet straps, so heck I imagine those are as adjustable as I want them to be and clearly cheap. Would that be a better option than these straps?

Ratchet straps will surely do the trick, and are easy to adjust- albeit very heavy. There really is no wrong answer; it just depends on your situation. For instance, if I was car camping, I'd have no issues using ratchet straps. However, most of my camping is by way of backpacking; so I would personally choose a lighter suspension. I went with 12ft Dutch straps, and just Becket hitch them to the continuous loops on my hammock. Easy to tie, easy to untie, infinite adjustability, and lightweight.

In full disclosure, I began with daisy chain webbing, which also worked well. I just wanted to decrease my carry weight, which is why I switched. I also started with the Skeeter Beeter Pro hammock, and slept pretty well in it. I chose to upgrade to a Dream Hammock because I'm over 6' tall, and wanted the extra length for increased comfort. The DH is also about 1/2 the weight of the Skeeter Beeter Pro- which is nice.

[brian60]

Ratchet straps will surely do the trick, and are easy to adjust- albeit very heavy. There really is no wrong answer; it just depends on your situation. For instance, if I was car camping, I'd have no issues using ratchet straps. However, most of my camping is by way of backpacking; so I would personally choose a lighter suspension. I went with 12ft Dutch straps, and just Becket hitch them to the continuous loops on my hammock. Easy to tie, easy to untie, infinite adjustability, and lightweight.

In full disclosure, I began with daisy chain webbing, which also worked well. I just wanted to decrease my carry weight, which is why I switched. I also started with the Skeeter Beeter Pro hammock, and slept pretty well in it. I chose to upgrade to a Dream Hammock because I'm over 6' tall, and wanted the extra length for increased comfort. The DH is also about 1/2 the weight of the Skeeter Beeter Pro- which is nice.

Well, starting out weight isn't top priority to me. That being said, I will be hiking with a backpack with said gear and camping from time to time (or so I plan). The way I wanna test it out is by hiking the 1000 steps here in central PA (Literally 1034 stone steps straight up the mountain) and camping out up top as I've heard people do in the past.

These look legit: https://www.amazon.com/ErgaLogik-Fri...QK3R6PWRM&th=1

[rweb82]

Well, starting out weight isn't top priority to me. That being said, I will be hiking with a backpack with said gear and camping from time to time (or so I plan). The way I wanna test it out is by hiking the 1000 steps here in central PA (Literally 1034 stone steps straight up the mountain) and camping out up top as I've heard people do in the past.

These look legit: https://www.amazon.com/ErgaLogik-Fri...QK3R6PWRM&th=1

Being able to field test your gear is definitely important. It's the only way to know what works for you and what doesn't. My whole goal when I got started was to spend as little $$ as possible without sacrificing functionality. In the end, go with the gear that will get you outdoors as soon as possible. IMO, there's no sense in losing 6 months of camping just to save for one piece of gear.

Also, those straps ought to work just fine.

[brian60]

Being able to field test your gear is definitely important. It's the only way to know what works for you and what doesn't. My whole goal when I got started was to spend as little $$ as possible without sacrificing functionality. In the end, go with the gear that will get you outdoors as soon as possible. IMO, there's no sense in losing 6 months of camping just to save for one piece of gear.

Also, those straps ought to work just fine.

You're exactly right I think. I've literally been going nuts I just want to try it out haha. I'm most likely going to order the setup in the picture above tonight, if I go Thursday to test out the hammocks my buddy has and for some reason (yeah right) don't like it or I take it out and test it outside and don't like it then I'll just sell it all for a slight discount and consider the money lost as a lesson learned. I am definitely thankful I found this forum though. One of the nicest forums I've been on for sure. The other forum I regular (Focus ST car related forum lol) isn't always as relaxed towards people who clearly don't know what they're talking about.

[rweb82]

You're exactly right I think. I've literally been going nuts I just want to try it out haha. I'm most likely going to order the setup in the picture above tonight, if I go Thursday to test out the hammocks my buddy has and for some reason (yeah right) don't like it or I take it out and test it outside and don't like it then I'll just sell it all for a slight discount and consider the money lost as a lesson learned. I am definitely thankful I found this forum though. One of the nicest forums I've been on for sure. The other forum I regular (Focus ST car related forum lol) isn't always as relaxed towards people who clearly don't know what they're talking about.

Well, if you're going nuts, then you're probably very close to being a hammock camper! In all seriousness though, check on Amazon to see if they have any offers. When I went to purchase my hammock, they were running a promo where if you signed up for their Visa card, you get a $70 Amazon gift card automatically credited to your account. The great thing about it was that I didn't even need to use the card for purchase. So I got my hammock for free.

[brian60]

Well, if you're going nuts, then you're probably very close to being a hammock camper! In all seriousness though, check on Amazon to see if they have any offers. When I went to purchase my hammock, they were running a promo where if you signed up for their Visa card, you get a $70 Amazon gift card automatically credited to your account. The great thing about it was that I didn't even need to use the card for purchase. So I got my hammock for free.

Unfortunately I already used that promo and have spent thousands with the visa card since then haha. I get 5% cash back on Amazon though so it's quite nice getting a free 5% taken off everything.