First and foremost I hope this message finds you well on your journey. As a relative noob myself, i felt i could share some insight to help you avoid any potential monetary pitfalls as you head down the rabbit hole which is hammock camping. I am a firm believer in the, buy once, cry once philosophy but that doesnt mean you have to spend thousands to get a solid setup. (Which unfortunately I have already done in order to learn this) First, staying under a modest budget requires skills and education. If you can sew, you can save money. If you know a ton of knots you can save money. If you have a working knowledge of physics and structural engineering, you can save money. The point is the more you know and are capable of applying with your hands, the more creative solutions you can figure out to get the job done as cheaply as possible. I made my first sleep system with an ENO double nest. I made my underquilt from a miltary poncho liner and some bungee cord. I learned how to splice amsteel cordage and made my structural ridgeline. I made the bug net out of no seeum netting remnants i picked up for a few bucks and sewed together . It is warm down to about 35°F and got me in the game for under $150 USD. I just use a sleeping bag for a topquilt. I used a 12' x 12' poly tarp i bought at a hardware store for around $20 USD. Not pretty, but functional. Now, two years later, i have all semi custom stuff from Simply Light Designs, with a few mods of my own. I am always available for ideas or advice. Now for the free standing setup, that is tricky. I have successfully done this a couple of times and after some serious redneck engineering I was able to create a semi portable system out of chainlink fence top rail posts. Definitely, not ideal for bike packing unless you have a trailer. As stated in previous posts on your thread, solid ground anchors are imperative and a working knowledge of knots is mandatory for securely and safely constructing this. Also the setup is not in any way lightweight. Let me know if you would like plans and i can send you some pictures/ideas. I amy get a bunch of crap for saying this, but OneTigris has suprised me with the quality of their hammock offerings and after spending a few nights at -15° F in a Rockdomus hot tent this winter with a small wood bur ing stove, i have to say i was impressed by the quality. I would look into them for a first camping hammock on a budget. Simply Light Designs, Dutchware, Superior, and Haven are all excellent systems, if you have the money. Dutch and Shug(Youtube) are amazing sources of free knowledge! And finally: BEWARE the Amazon knockoffs. They are trash. Hope this helps and best of Luck!! And if any Veteran Hangers out there read this: Be gentle I am relatively new too, and only wish to help a fellow camper and to share experience and knowledge
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