I'm new to hammocks, and have high hopes that a hammock will make it possible for me to start camping again. Tons of arthritis, knee surgery, and those extra pounds that each decade seems to add on have made the ground just too darn hard for these creaky old bones. I grew up camping and miss it terribly. I won't be backpacking unless I can get some of the weight off, but if this hammock thing works out, I may switch to an indoor hammock to finally, finally get a decent night's sleep again. I sleep with 7 (yes 7!) pillows almost in a hammock-style shape trying to get the day's accumulated fluid out of all those achy joints. If I sleep more than 3-4 hours at a time, it's a miracle. Pillows shift, pressure points, etc. A good night's sleep would be very beneficial to my weight loss struggle.
I picked up an ENO doublenest on sale locally and some daisy chain straps, and I'm trying to figure out how to reasonably use my old camping gear to set myself up for a successful night. I know my knots and am comfortable in the outdoors, just new to hanging. We have tarps, pads, sleeping bags, etc. and are on a tight budget. I have a 25-year old daughter and we are hoping to have some mother/daughter campouts. (Car camping only.) She loves this idea and bought herself a hammock first chance she got when I she heard what I was looking at.
My sleeping bag is a big synthetic-stuffed Coleman that is plenty warm, but is enormous and not very stuff-able. I'm thinking for a first time out I may try to rig it as some sort of DIY underquilt (because it does not tuck well), and then toss some extra twin comforters in the car as topquilts. My daughter has a 15 degree Marmot mummy bag that should make an excellent topquilt, but can't be used as a cocoon or underquilt since it doesn't unzip at the foot. She can probably just use a pad underneath since she's still young and flexible and can tweak things around easily when she's settled in her hammock. I have no clue what temperature range we should wait for in order to not freeze or sweat with the gear we currently have. Any guesses on that or suggestions on best sleeping-bag-to-UQ rigs would also be appreciated. Also, has anyone tried using a small cheapo Wallyworld tarp underneath as a weather protector in hard rain? We get some real gullywashers here in the South. And how about mason's line vs. paracord for a ridgeline?
This looks like a friendly place. Hope to learn a lot here.
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