Hi,
I am a university student from the Czech Republic and I wanted to share my experience of getting to hammocking and hammockcamping.
Since I am from Central Europe, we dont really have such diverse market for hammocking and cottage vendors in general (for hiking gear) aren't as regular.
Why did I actually choose the hammock for camping? Well, that is a pretty interesting story. Here in Czechia hammocks actually have a huge legal advantage over tents. We legally have public access to woods and meadows. That means you can just walk all over privately owned woods, pick berries and mushrooms and so on. That gives us a huge freedom, so hiking is really popular and normal. It is technically illegal to "camp" in the woods without permission of the owner, though camping is defined by staying for more nights or having a footprint or making a fire. As long as you dont do any of those 3 things, it is considered just "spending a night" and therefore legal without permission of the forest's owner. As you can see, hammock is superior, as other options would be just a tarp or a bivy bag.
I started with a Ticket To The Moon hammock that is super wide, but only 10 feet long. It is very nice for day use due to its dimensions and 200 kg weight limit. I actually managed to have a nice 10 hour sleep with my girlfriend in it after a tiring hike. It was pretty comfy, but we are really used to basically sleep on top of each other, so definitely not for everyone. In general it is not ideal for hammockcamping though (too wide, no bugnet, heavy). I already ordered a Trailheadz Banshee UL from the US, since I am in the proces of gearing up for upcoming hiking season.
I really like the minimal approach of ultralight campers, but everything has its limits. I tend to save weight where I can without sacrificing comfort and fun. Anyway... since I am trying to get my gear together, here is my lighterpack that is definitely not final. Feel free to comment on the gear chosen, ask questions and make recommendations.
I am really looking forward to my new hammock, keeping you guys updated and making a small writeup about it and my adventures.
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