Hey Everyone, just thought I'd say hi.
I started looking into hammock camping while planning a hiking trip this past Spring that I ended up having to cancel because my dog needed surgery instead. He's doing fine now, but it was rough on him and took up a huge chunk of my time helping him recover. Anyway, I never did end up making it out there and before I knew it the weather had turned too hot for my liking, so now I'm trying to put together some gear for a trip this Fall.
I've been reading as many posts, forums, blogs and watching as many YouTube videos as I can to figure out what I should get and I figured I'd take a second to thank all of y'all out there who have spent so much time and effort putting all this great info up for newbies like myself! It's helping a TON!
I currently have an old ENO double nest that was a Christmas present probably 10 years ago and only used for the occasional yard lounging. After learning a ton on here about structural ridgelines and diagonal lays, I ordered a structural ridgeline sized for the ENO from Dutch along with a set of whoopie slings to try to get it setup properly. I also nabbed a pair of webbed straps and carabiners from Hammock Gear during their Spring Sale and now I can hang the old ENO from any trees in my backyard and get a nice comfortable lay...far better than the original banana lay I was used to.
So now I'm trying to get some money together to get a Dutchware Chameleon hammock, looking at a single layer wide 1.6 hexon with a bugnet and probably a Hammock Gear Journey Winter Tarp as my actual camping setup. I really like the adaptability of the whoopie slings I got from Dutch a few months ago (even though one was missing a bead when I got it, I don't think I'll pull it through on accident), so I think those combined with the straps and carabiners I already have from Hammock Gear would round out my hammock suspension. Still gotta figure out something for the tarp though. I'll probably get some of their discounted reflective guyline and rig something up, maybe with some Dutch stuff. I think I'd like the privacy/versatility of the winter tarp with doors though, far better than a more open tarp setup.
I haven't settled on an underquilt yet or not. I am a hot sleeper and routinely sleep with the windows wide open or at least cracked even in the depths of Winter, so I wonder if a basic pad would work. Not sure on a top quilt or partially zipped sleeping bag either on top. Still doing my research on both of those.
Anyway, if anyone has any tips or suggestions, please feel free to let me know. I'm still in the planning/learning phase (does it ever end?), so it's all appreciated!
-Argent
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