Thanks to everyone who posts on these forums - there's so much great info for people like me who are fairly new to hammocks. Plus it's good to feel part of a wider community. It's funny to see some of the youtube hammock gurus (like Shug) on this forum

How I got started... I bought a cheap chinese hammock a year or so ago, partly to lie out on my balcony - and partly to try camping with it. I liked the camping but it was too short for me so after some research I bought a WBBB. I learnt the hard way about shipping costs and import duties! But I love the hammock and find it so comfortable.

I've been camping out regularly and am carrying on now through the winter - I keep having to buy more gear to cope with the cold and humid nights.

My favourite hang so far was when I kayaked a tidal river and then hung out in woods on a steep bank and didn't have to use a tarp. The connection with nature was so fantastic I'm looking forward to doing more kayak trips and making them multiday.20200917_hammock-camp-kayak-river-dart.jpg[AIMG][/AIMG]20200917_river-dart-nr-sharpham-kayaking.jpg

On this forum I have been learning about through hiking and am envious of the enormous woods you have in USA. I'd like to try and do a local 10-ish day hike (long for me!) with my hammock and have been reading about having ground options (thanks Chop and Sweetpea) in case I can't hang.

To my surprise, I'm also thinking about making some of my own light weight gear (dyneema hex tarp, quilts) - although it'll be a long learning curve I will be keeping an eye out in the "for sale" section too - though I don't know if sellers would be prepared to ship items to me in the UK?