Hello from Solebury PA

[supertaco]

I'm still a caveman, sleeping in tents. However, my son is a hanger and I usually just sleep underneath on the ground. I've always been intimidated by hammocks, but have spent nights on the side of El Cap in a hammock didn't help my impression of these things. Portaledges are much better! But backpacking with a portaledge isn't really feasible Anyway, considering moving into 1st class with a hammock setup. Stay tuned. From my younger days....

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[Pennsy Camp and Canoe]

Hello and Welcome from the frozen North Coast of PA. There is no way I would sleep on the side of a cliff!

[PlusOne]

Welcome from South Jersey. If you like a portaledge, you may consider a bridge hammock like the Ridgerunner from Warbonnet, the Bear Mountain Bridge from Jacks R Better, or one from Just Bill at Town's End gear.
If you make your way to a group hang, you may be able to test one out and not just look at them online. Welcome to the forums!

[sidneyhornblower]

All I'll say is that you've already hung much higher than I'll ever dare to go. I can't imagine a climber being intimidated by hammocks. Having watched a couple of climbing movies recently, it seems like hammocking would be child's play compared to climbing: much LESS equipment for starters. And as PlusOne already said, coming from a porta-ledge, a bridge hammock would probably feel familiar.
Welcome to the forums and cheers.

[n8jones418]

Welcome! You’ll definitely find a lot of good information here on the forums about how to do it right. My only advice would be to try and check out the different vendors and options before jumping in too quickly. Most folks here (myslef included) end up going through a few rounds of purchasing before settling in on the right hammock for them...

Check out the For Sale forum to see what people are selling, and you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the “mistakes” are...

[DGrav]

Howdy neighbor! From just down the road in Hulmeville.

[reznix]

Hello and Welcome from Allentown! It is much more comfortable in a hammock than under one.

[supertaco]

Thanks guys.

Hammock intimidation: Wall climbing with single point hammocks without spreader bars is comfortable for about the time it takes to doze off, then screaming shoulder pain. With spreader bars, I can last about another 30 minutes.

When I was in boy scouts in the 70's we used to camp in those $5 hammocks made with fishing net. Secured the top together with shower curtain hangers that made sure we couldn't really fall out and made for nice stable feeding platforms for the mosquitos. No one had bug net, of course. However, I remember being fairly comfortable, notwithstanding the bug bite welts.

I get the sense that `to each, their own` regarding hammock setups. I'm probably going to throw the switch before I go backpacking this spring. Based on pure numbers of available used gear, which is light, I suspect I could try and sell for a reasonable amount if I want to try a different setup. Ebay has very little and the sale page on this forum is thin (a seller's market).

Thanks again. I need to research more about this. BTW, my son has a Hennessy ultralight (?) setup. I should probably take that out and set it up and try that out first.

[Laugh]

Welcome to HF toco. im In PA as well right in the middle of the state actually. It seams there are a lot more of us here then i would have thought. I hope you enjoy the forums and try out a bridge hammock they really are super awesome