Ground Dweller from Virginia

[Iron Dwarf]

Greetings everyone,

I'm completely new to the idea of hanging from trees and whatnot. I have an old friend from Michigan who is a long time member here who got my 16-year-old son interested in hammock camping. Now he is trying to suck me in too! The promise of a good nights sleep and fewer backaches has certainly tweaked my interest, too many roots and rocks in my past.

We live in central Virginia, in the Charlottesville area. It's about a twenty-minute drive for us to the Rockfish Gap region of the Appalachian Trail and Shenandoah National Park. I've done a fair amount of hiking, and tent camping, but like I said this swinging from trees thing is new to me.

I am ready to pull the trigger and purchase a hammock and some accessories, but I'm a little bewildered by the subtle options. Warbonnet looks cool, while my friend favours Dutchware, and his own made gear. My son was talking about a 'dream hammock'. There are two many options and I have too little money!

My son and I are hoping to attend the 'hang' at Prince William Forest in November. But I really hate to wait until then to make a decision on what to buy. I'd really like to get something and start 'getting used to it' in the mean time. Is there anybody in this area that would enjoy a chance for a cup of coffee and some discussion about hammocking? Are there any local groups that I should know of?

I really appreciate the community here on the forums, it seems like a great bunch of folks.

Love to hear back from some of ya'll.

Michael from Virginia...

[Yojimbo]

Welcome from NoVa. First, I really hope to get see you at the NOVA Hang in November. You’ll be able to see a variety of setups.
As far as Dutchware or Dream Hammock, you can’t go wrong either way. I have both.

I’m originally from Waynesboro. Love the mountains down there. As far as local groups, there is the Old Dominion Hangers with several folks from central VA. Hopefully one of them chimes in.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[soul embrace]

welcome to the forums.

why don't you either buy a netless hammock from dutch or one of a tree runner from simply light designs or one of hammock gear netless hammocks (they are on sale right now for $29.99). they all are fairly cheap and use that until the hang so you can try out the hammocks there and see what you really want before you spend the cask on a more expensive hammock

[Tyroler Holzhacker]

Also, some folks in the Old Dominion hangers are skilled DIYers and you may get some good deals from them..Wanderlost is quite a skilled DIYer.

[michigandave]

Welcome Michael! It was great meeting and hanging out with you and your son at Green Timbers last month. The Danish and coffee you guys brought was awesone! Utilize the resources on the forums and feel free to reach out with your questions. Enjoy your first group hang and come back to Michigan soon!

[Iron Dwarf]

Thanks, Dave, I hope to learn a lot at the NOVA event. Given the heat wave we are currently facing, I may be back in Michigan sooner than later!