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  1. #1
    New Member eamonnconnor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Pine Barrens, NJ
    Hammock
    Dutchware Netless
    Tarp
    HG DCF W Palace
    Insulation
    Quilt + Underquilt
    Suspension
    Spider Web+ C Loop
    Posts
    25

    Long-time lurker, first time poster (Hello from the NJ Pine Barrens)

    Hi HF community - I'm a long-time lurker, but I've been having fun upgrading my hammock setup this year and it got me energized enough to finally make some posts :-)

    I got my start with hammock camping back in 2017 after finally having enough of sleepless nights on the old inflatable pad. I'm a terrible tosser and turner, and on average I would probably wake up freezing and completely off my pad 5-6 times per night. That together with the back pain and just overall poor sleep quality I was getting on the ground had me desperate for another way. I settled on a Warbonnet BB XLC with a Superfly tarp, and it has served me well for the last 3-4 years. Warbonnet's stuff is totally bulletproof and looks as good as the day I bought it, so if weight is not a concern I definitely recommend it without hesitation. I have a pair of Enlightened Equipment top quilts - a 0 deg. that I use for anything with nighttime temps below 50 and a 30 deg. for anything over that (I'm a VERY cold sleeper), and for my underquilts I have a 0 deg Warbonnet Wooki and an Enlightened Equipment 30 deg. short.

    I started the process of lightening up my hammock setup last year with a Hammock Gear DCF Winter Palace (I use this all year round - I have had the experience of a tent failing and being soaking wet and cold all night, and that is something I NEVER want to replicate ever again), and this year I transitioned to a Dutchware netless in Hexon 1.2 (continuous loop susp. with SpiderWeb straps + Becket hitch) and a bottom entry bugnet. Not only is this about half the weight of my BB XLC, but I have found the separate bugnet to be a total revelation. It's just so much easier to adjust the underquilt in the middle of the night this way (again, I'm a terrible tosser and turner, even in a hammock) and I don't have to worry about staking the sides of the hammock out to keep the netting out of my face. I honestly thought that this was just a temporary solution while I wait for my Cloud 71 Poltergeist to show up from TrailHeadz...but I honestly don't even know how much I'm going to use that, I like the netless setup so much. Always good to have gear options though, and even better to have an extra setup in case I can actually manage to convince a friend to hit the trail with me...

    Anyway, love the forum, it has helped me as a lurker with research countless times. I bet I saw a few of you out on the Black Forest Trail over 4th of July weekned (I had the Hemlock Mtn. campsite to myself and got to watch the Slate Run fireworks), there were quite a few hangers out there! I only know that because some of you need to start waking up and hitting the trail a little earlier ;-) Looking forward to more conversations to come, and maybe meeting up at one of the group hangs this fall/next year. Cheers!

    EDIT - I guess I should have mentioned where I hike. Almost all of my trail miles are solo hikes in Pennsylvania (have all of the major loops multiple times each and probably about half of the linear trails, working on picking off a few of those each year), although I have done the BATONA here in NJ a few times in the winter. My only out of the area trip so far was a solo trip to the Ozark Highlands Trail in Arkansas - which was totally beautiful and VERY challenging. Wound up bailing about 140 miles in due to an old knee injury flaring up that had me feeling very nervous about some high-water river crossings that I was going to have to tackle (again, solo). I will be back to finish that one though...mark my words ;-)
    Last edited by eamonnconnor; 07-12-2021 at 11:21.

  2. #2
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Jersey Shore, NJ
    Hammock
    Dutch PolyD
    Tarp
    HG Winter Palace
    Insulation
    HG 0, 20, 40
    Suspension
    Dutch Whoopie Hook
    Posts
    14,716
    Images
    3
    Welcome from the Jersey Shore.
    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson

  3. #3
    New Member Swedish Charlie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Stockholm Sweden
    Hammock
    Haven tent (soon)
    Tarp
    Hilleberg UL10
    Insulation
    Pad (soon)
    Suspension
    Strap and carabine
    Posts
    15
    Images
    10
    Hey there fellow former lurker!

    I’ve not been very active for years, to shy I guess… but will try to improve.

    Your story of having your gear fail you, man that really does suck and it’s understandable how you’ll keep those memories close by.

    Hope your knee gets better so we can get that full report on the Ozark trail!

    Take care and have a good summer. Cheers.

  4. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Bozeman, MT
    Hammock
    DIY Hammock and WBBB XLC 1.1 Dbl
    Tarp
    WB Superfly
    Insulation
    HG Burrow/Incubat.
    Suspension
    BacktoStraps/Dutch
    Posts
    51
    Welcome! Years of hanging and there is always something new to learn or new gear to try. Enjoy!

  5. #5
    New Member eamonnconnor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Pine Barrens, NJ
    Hammock
    Dutchware Netless
    Tarp
    HG DCF W Palace
    Insulation
    Quilt + Underquilt
    Suspension
    Spider Web+ C Loop
    Posts
    25
    Quote Originally Posted by Swedish Charlie View Post
    Hope your knee gets better so we can get that full report on the Ozark trail!
    Happy to report that the knee is all better now, I just need to keep it limber and do plenty of strength training for the muscles around it to keep it that way. No more couch potato to 25 mile day transitions like I could do in my younger years. I'll definitely be posting that Ozark trip review one of these days, but it'll probably have to wait until the kids are a bit older...I don't anticipate the wife being too thrilled with me ducking out for 2 weeks with two under two running around the house...

    Thanks for the welcome back from all!

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