New and requesting some help please

[FLTurtle]

I live in upstate NY and am an avid fisherman and would like to start doing more overnight trips and I've never had a good experience sleeping on the ground so this seems right for me. I am trying to put together a 3 season system that'll see me through the occasional night down as low as the mid to low 30s in the late fall. I have decided on a Warbonnet Eldorado, Superfly, and a 20° Yeti I'm fairly certain. I have been buying the best that my budget will allow, a bit more in fact but I could not find any comparable items any cheaper elsewhere so I figure I'm best off just doing the essentials right and going from there. I am not certain what to use as guyline though, what do y'all use? Warbonnet has 1.75mm dyneema but it's $20 for 100', am I best off just getting a spool of this or are there bettter options for comparable or cheaper cost?

Keep in mind the Yeti is a directional lay (head left/feet right, but you can customize the order and change it) UQ, so know which way you prefer. However, if you find that you prefer the opposite lay, you won't have a problem unloading it in the for sale area.

My first hammock is a DW Half Zipped and it's head left/feet right that I use with a HG Phoenix. I picked up an Eldorado as a 2nd hammock (since you can flip the bugnet to change the direction) and tried it with the Phoenix. I don't think any of the WB hammocks have external pack hooks (Eldorado does not) to hang other UQs from since the WB UQ's attach at the whipped ends. I find that the shock cord UQs will work, however they tend to come off your shoulder easier. I have bought some grosgrain and pack hooks to sew on...just been lazy and not done it yet.

I found I prefer head right/feet left...but I also like the material of the Half Zipped better. Just the right amount of stretch.

[Rusty Shackelford]

Keep in mind the Yeti is a directional lay (head left/feet right, but you can customize the order and change it) UQ, so know which way you prefer. However, if you find that you prefer the opposite lay, you won't have a problem unloading it in the for sale area.

My first hammock is a DW Half Zipped and it's head left/feet right that I use with a HG Phoenix. I picked up an Eldorado as a 2nd hammock (since you can flip the bugnet to change the direction) and tried it with the Phoenix. I don't think any of the WB hammocks have external pack hooks (Eldorado does not) to hang other UQs from since the WB UQ's attach at the whipped ends. I find that the shock cord UQs will work, however they tend to come off your shoulder easier. I have bought some grosgrain and pack hooks to sew on...just been lazy and not done it yet.

I found I prefer head right/feet left...but I also like the material of the Half Zipped better. Just the right amount of stretch.

So I take it I should hold off on the Yeti until I know my lay direction? I really hate to pay shipping twice but I suppose it's better than having things backwards after spending so much on everything.

[FLTurtle]

IMO no. I didn't. I jumped right in, not knowing what I didn't know. A few years of hammock camping and I've pretty much found what I liked. Even though I prefer head right/feet left, I'm ok with the opposite. So long as the hammock is set up properly (no calf ridge), I sleep pretty good. My last trip out in June, I brought the DW and my son borrowed the WB. I slept great. If you're deadset on WB all the way, then go for it. If you find that it doesn't work for you, you'll have no problems recouping most of your money selling it on the forums. WB gets a lotta love here.

I mean, it would've been nice to get the gear right at the beginning...but I did get pretty close. My biggest discovery is that I'm an active sleeper and move about a lot. I think my next buy/try will be a symmetrical hammock. I'll be able to flop around all night!

[bearito]

Most people prefer head left/feet right, but symmetrical is also an option. I agree with what FLTurtle said, you can get comfortable with/adjust to either. I started off head right/feet left but I changed after a few nights because I've had multiple shoulder surgeries and found head right/feet left put more of a squeeze on my right arm. I got used to it pretty quick and if it weren't for my surgeries the only reason for a preference would probably be force of habit.

Maybe I'm paranoid but I get the feeling your real name isn't Rusty Shackelford...

[cougarmeat]

The head left, feet right might be because it puts the head closer to the zipper opening on the bug net. So you are not reaching across the hammock for the zipper. Also, you can quickly stick your head out if you want to look around. In other words, it has more to do with logistics rather than some innate bonding with magnetic polarization. Like if you laid down on your living room floor, would you know if your head was right and feet were left - there is no reference point (like the zipper opening on a hammock) to determine.

That doesn’t mean you won’t have prefences. When I started, I didn’t know about Hammock Forums. Maybe that was sort of a blessing. All I knew was I enjoyed spending the night outside and it was such a treat not to sleep on the ground. That’s all I needed to be happy. Now I know a little more - maybe a few tweaks here and there; maybe a little - just a little - faster setup. But the basic joy of being under the stars and not dealing with ground issues is so much more a component that my foot end being six inches or eight inches higher - or even, heaven forbid, level, with the head end.

So have fun with it, you can chase that hammock rabbit down the hole as far as you like.

[cmoulder]

So I take it I should hold off on the Yeti until I know my lay direction? I really hate to pay shipping twice but I suppose it's better than having things backwards after spending so much on everything.

When I started out hammocking I was lent some good gear (BIAS weight weenie micro symmetrical) by a friend of mine and was able to try both directions, but immediately and strongly preferred head right/feet left.

Even so, when I purchased my first hammock I started with a Chameleon asym, but it is convertible between right and left lay simply by flipping the bug net or winter cover. After a few nights spent in it, while trying both directions, I became even more convinced that I am a committed left lay, i.e. head right/feet left. Some people switch back and forth, even during the course of one night as mentioned by others, but I do not. Also, at home in a regular bed I am a stomach and sometimes side sleeper, but in a hammock I have slept perfectly fine for 12 hours and more on my back. I now have dedicated left lay DH Dariens and those really are the groove for me.

Bottom line, you really won't know for sure until you've spent some time in a good hammock. Even as a side or stomach sleeper at home, that preference might well not transfer to hammocks.