What made you a "hanger"?

[dwighop]

Slept like crap on the ground in a tent and never tried another pad. That and packing up wet sucked.

[johan]

it was kind of a perfect storm for me.. I was ready for a change and had always been very curious. When I got back into camping, back some years, I went through a couple tents and ended up sticking with a dyneema pyramid for the waterproof, weight and interior room. it's a great tent and I still have it, but the center pole is always a mild annoyance despite which insert, zero privacy and shade to hang out. re-gearing for hammock camping seemed like starting over and a lot of fidgeting with crap, so I just admired from afar and continued to sleep on the ground and casually look at hang setups. after my last trip with my dad (severe chigger incident) , I pulled the trigger. I had pieced almost everything together in my subconscious over time so it was an easy and fun process once I gave myself the greenlight lol. I couldn't be happier and have never slept through the night before and don't toss and turn anymore. all I really bought extra was the Zip on underquilt which eliminated the adjustments that I didn't want to have to play with and got a bigger tarp.

[Zingger]

Being able to setup in areas where a tent would not work was my original motivation for exploring hammocking. On a group trip on of the crew used a hammock which got me interested. After switching over and realizing the other benefits I wonder why it wasn't something I tried sooner. My back feels better, not having to crawl around on the ground, staying drier (see not having to crawl around on the ground). Being able to see your surroundings and the ease of getting in and out is another perk that comes to mind. I am still a beginner but really enjoy the process of tweaking the gear and learning more by trying different things. Not having to clean off the bottom of the tent / footprint after a wet night and set everything up after a trip is a bonus.

[Hammock Mountain]

Why do I hang? Comfort… you can’t feel the lumpy ground when you are suspended between two trees.

[poppadoc29]

Started because site selection was easier. Stayed because there's always something new to learn and tinker. Most importantly... I feel actually rested for the next day on trail.

[peeeeetey]

Watching Shug and Hickery for sure! Been hanging since 2016 and it just keeps getting better. Made a lot of stuff and bought a lot of stuff and I think that we are are where we want to be. We sleep together in a Dutchware double Chamelion setup in a hot tent for the cooler months and a large open tarp otherwise in other hammocks. Works great for us. Not ultralight by any means but we have hung double a few times backpacking.

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[mistone]

Yep shug was responsible for this. Made me a hammock hanger

[MikeCD]

My nephews got into hammock camping, and started camping every other weekend at their family property. The land is covered in rocks and small, thorny ground cover. A hammock is SO MUCH better!

Now I am getting to indulge my obsessive tendencies by watching every video Shug has released, while learning to splice Dyneema cord (I've made several soft-shackles and continuous loops - going to start on whoopie slings once I get some 7/64" derlivered).

[Niethnorian]

Way back in my military days, when I went to the field, I would string up my mesh hammock inside the (heated) tent and use a poncho liner as insolation. It kept me off the cold ground (no cots allowed) in the winter and I always had my space away from the rest of the Soldiers in the tent. Fast forward to 2019, wanting to get back to hammock camping, I slowly moved from my back yard with Amazon gear to wild camping with my current gear. In Germany wild camping with a hammock is a bit fuzzy on the legal side (less legal than it is legal), so I tend to start out at dusk and set up in the dark. More often, I hang in the winter because I enjoy the challenge of keeping warm, and if I make any mistakes, it is immediately apparent, a.k.a. I learn how to correctly set up my under quilt very quickly in the winter opposed to the summer. I also first learned how to setup without any hardware - all knots - before I invested in hardware to make sure I had a fallback plan in case any hardware was lost or broke. So, ya, I really geek out on both the bush craft side as well as the tech side of hammock camping.

[Daaxt]

With my bad back, I get a much better sleep in a hammock. I even replaced my home bed with a hammock. I use my ENO Nomad in hotels and when I visit relatives.