What is your motivation for being a Hammocker?

[Tikker]

I wanted to be cool like Shug


not even kidding.


and it works. Love getting out solo in my Draumr, and that is absolutely not something I ever would have considered. never crossed my mind that people went out by themselves

[dkurfiss]

Due to some physical limitations I needed to come up with a way to sleep that did not involve the ground or heavy lifting. Started surfing the web and discovered Shug. Like some others have already said, if I had not found the hammock, camping would have gone out the window years ago.

[TominMN]

While it wasn't a motivating factor when I started hanging, I now find that when I am not sleeping in a hammock, sleeping on the ground now aggravates injuries that both of my shoulders have sustained. I can't sleep on my back all night long whether on the ground or in a hammock. At least in a hammock it isn't painful to spend part of the night laying on one side or the other (or even both some nights.) I'm going to need a thicker pad if ground sleeping is the only option I have, for whatever reason.

Also, my camping companions can benefit from having my snoring be suitably far enough away! At least almost far enough away...

[kevperro]

I'm not going to vote because I'm too new and have yet to sleep in a hammock.

But.... I took the plunge and bought gear because I'm a long-term backpacker and I'm willing to try anything once! Shug's videos were a kick too once I had enough interest to start peicing together the puzzle.

I will say I have no problem sleeping on the ground. I love being in the mountains and sleeping on the ground doesn't bother me one bit. I sleep great in tents on my 20+ year old self-inflating 3/4 length Thermarest.

I do have to admit that I don't bend as easy. Getting in/out of the tent is becoming a more embarrassing event. Luckily nobody is around to see me most of the time.

[slugbait]

Advancing age- I was 51 when I discovered hammock camping. Now I'm 67 and still at it.

[BillyBob58]

I really can't vote, all though several of the choices apply to me in general. But none of them have any thing to do with why I started hammock camping, rather than continuing to use either tents or tarps with ground sleeping, 12 years ago.

For me, the #1 (by a large amount) reason why I decided to buy a Hennessy hammock and Super Shelter to give it a try on my traditional Sept 06 week long Rocky Mountain trip/Wind River trip, was promised comfort. According to my friend, who it turns out did not know a huge amount about hammock camping his self- and especially about staying warm in a hammock- the comfort improvement would be worth the change. Secondarily was a promise of less weight, but I don't think that turned out to be really true, because he was not considering the need of insulating the bottom of the hammock. But I don't think I was thinking "less weight" by the time I actually left on the trip, because I had already come to realize I either still needed to take a pad, or get some sort of under insulation method. Since I still took some minimal amount of pads for insurance(I would have taken even heavier pads if I had been planning to sleep on the rocky ground)- and because I didn't know what I was doing- and thank goodness I did take them- I probably actually took a little more weight than if I had been planning on sleeping on the ground.

But a promise of more comfort was the dominant motivation for leaving my long perfected system for being safe, warm, dry and not terribly uncomfortable on the ground. And once I worked out the learning curve, and had a couple of the best nights sleep I ever had on that trip- I never really looked back.

Later, other benefits like being able to camp in sheltered spots on uneven ground- places not really available to ground dwellers- and not having to share a small tent with a snoring, stinking hiking bro, and other benefits, became apparent. In fact, one of tose benefits became very apparent on my second night ( but my first warm night in a hammock, 1st night was bad), as I lay there so warm and comfy listening to the distant snores of my buds, from their tent 10 or 20 steps away(thank goodness). But at first it was the promise of more comfort for my aging body and nothing else.

And after the first night, the promised comfort was there. And proof of that comfort for me is: how often do older adults voluntarily- unless camping with the grand kids - set up a pad on the ground- in a tent- in the backyard and lounge for a couple of hours? But I have gladly spent untold hours in a hammock in my back yard both testing and napping.

[Terrapin]

Because I'm too fat, too out of shape, and too dang old to go crawling into a tent anymore! (and to be honest, I'm another disciple of the Lord of Lolligag, watching Shug's vids made me want to get out there again)

[RichardDavies]

I enjoy the natural beauty, the solitude, and I like the self-reliance aspect. It's 100% authentic. Nature reconnects us with who we really are and allows us to escape the fake facades of our "normal" everyday lives.

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[Miquel Westano]

I still like to camp, but at 63 I am no longer comfortable on the ground. Between the rocks, sticks, uneven lies and needing just the right slope to avoid getting up with a headache, I would have long since quit if I hadn't found hammocking. Now I sleep soundly, with no headache or stiff back the next morning.

[ofuros]

The challenge...My hammock allows me to keep heading out into the wilderness for my weekly/fortnightly dose of happiness & adventure, with a very average back.
The material stretches/ supports & hugs the curves of my spine. Plus hanging at knee height gives me a headstart for getting up in the morning, all i have to do is roll my aching body out of the sack & touch the earth with my toes...easy peasy.

Nature...Love the wildlife encounters, wild weather, breathtaking sights..