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  1. #1
    New Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Jackson Heights, NY
    Hammock
    Byer of Maine Traveller Lite
    Tarp
    Gear Guide 11'x11'
    Suspension
    1' DIY/Amstl Loops
    Posts
    26

    Backpacker for decades, just bought a hammock

    I bought some boots that didn't fit. I sent them back and bought with some of the cash on account a Byer of Maine Traveller [sic] Lite for $15. I've been doing the backpacking thing for a while and have been reading of this dark art of... hammock camping. Fifteen bucks? Why not?

    It's not an ENO Double Backflip Eagle in the Pike Position with the optional Geo-Spatial Centering Gyro (tm). It looks like a reasonably long and wide length of nylon to relax/sleep in.

    I have a tarp. It's big; 11' x 11'. But it's designed for hammocking, and it's pretty light at 26.6g. Hey, I'm used to carrying a 50L, 30 pound pack with a 4.75 lb tent over +/- 1000' elevation in three miles. Dropping this kind of weight sounds great.

    I'm here to look for advice and, ultimately, share experience. I've been backpacking long enough, and have done a little research to separate the chaff from the wheat, though the chaff can be pretty funny.

    I'd like to start my hammocking adventures this fall. I'll do a shakedown in the next few weeks (I'm in the NE) and hope to really get a better feel this winter. My fiance balks at temps below freezing. I relish them.

    I have a good down bag (GoLite Adrenaline 0*) and a decent pad (BA Insulated Air Core) as well as an old synth sleeping bag I could salvage for an underquilt. There are plenty of hardwoods where I go, but from what I've read about ropes, why not use straps? I've got old climbing gear. It'll serve.

    My primary goal is to be a budget backpacker. My very first overnight Catskills' winter experience had me in a windbreaker, a fleece jacket, a long-sleeve base layer and a Peruvian hat I got from a street vendor the day before.

    I was warm and really happy, as long as I was walking around.

    I've got some good gear, now. I know what to do with it. Though I'd like some help with this hammocking thing.
    Last edited by bigsilk; 09-24-2013 at 20:58.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Red Cinema's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Hammock
    WBBB 1.1
    Tarp
    Dutchware 9.5" DCF
    Insulation
    Wookie 20 or 0
    Suspension
    Straps :)
    Posts
    286
    more power to you!
    //
    “Stories set in the Culture in which Things Went Wrong tended to start with humans losing or forgetting or deliberately leaving behind their terminal. It was a conventional opening, the equivalent of straying off the path in the wild woods in one age, or a car breaking down at night on a lonely road in another.”
    ― Iain M. Banks, The Player of Games

  3. #3
    Senior Member Lost_Biker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Indiana
    Hammock
    DIY Digi Camo DL
    Tarp
    Maxi Tarp
    Insulation
    Underquilts Lewis
    Suspension
    Rings and Straps
    Posts
    1,556
    Images
    48
    Welcome to the forums from Indiana. With you climbing gear as suspension for your hammock, you'll have some stretch if its made from nylon. Poly straps will do you better as they have minimal stretch, especially when wet.
    I got in a fight one time with a really big guy, and he said, "I'm going to mop the floor with your face." I said, "You'll be sorry." He said, "Oh, yeah? Why?" I said, "Well, you won't be able to get into the corners very well."


    Underquilts.com

  4. #4
    Senior Member woodtwigg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Rome, GA; NWGA
    Posts
    109
    Glad you're making the transition! This is a fun place to learn!

  5. #5
    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. It's always good to visit a group hang if possible to see the hammock rigs of others, share ideas, etc. There are a couple in near proximity in the not too distant future:

    https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ad.php?t=80183

    https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ad.php?t=79992

    Check the trip planning section for more impromptu hangs/hikes.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Cali's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Modoc, SC
    Hammock
    Switchback/Speer/T-Bird/WBBB/Lt Owl
    Tarp
    SF/CF/Cldburst/Oge
    Insulation
    Incub/Buro/Snugfit
    Suspension
    Cinch Straps
    Posts
    3,567
    Welcome aloft from SC. I second SilvrSurfr in going to a local group hang. You get to see all sorts of hammocks and hammock gear. Folks will let you try out their gear if your nice and you respect their stuff. You will also have a lot of fun while learning more than you thought you ever could about hammocks. This is a great time to try before you buy. Highly recommended since most new folks don't know enough about hammock camping to know what to buy and what to avoid. Pick the brains of the folks at the local hang. We don't mind.
    "No whining in the woods"

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