Camping Help

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(02-02-2015 08:52 PM)Lapchik Wrote:  What is a decent, cheap hammock to start with?

Well, the cheapest is what I use indoors.. It's a $12 tablecloth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVyX0McICr0

The only issue is that this won't protect you from bugs. My camping hammock is a Grand Trunk Skeeter Beater Pro. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56qcozvOvfY

And of course you're going to need a tarp, which will be $100 or less.. You can get away without a tarp in certain situations like camping inside woods where there's less of a chance of heavy dew and if there's no rain..



And last but not least is insulation under you.. Some use a camping pad under them.. They're cheap and insulate well.. I just don't like sleeping on them, and trying to get them to position under me, so I use an underquilt. I have a few, a couple I've made out of military poncho liners and a couple I purchased. The photo above shows a purchased quilt from Arrowhead Equipment.. It wasn't cheap, but it's amazingly warm and packs down small. http://www.arrowhead-equipment.com/store...Quilt.html

Poncho liners are good down to 50 or so and are easy to make, either sewn or no sew styles. I sewed my own, making several modifications.



Yeah, I bought a sewing machine.. I've not only been making camping gear, but stuff sacks, for motorcycling gear and fixing gear that I would have had to throw away or depend on someone else to take time to fix for me. I've had a lot of fun with it this winter.

I've been camping on a bike since I got my first, back in the early 80's and I really liked tent camping with a good, thick, twin size air mattress, but unless the ground was level I would slide to the low side, waking up. With a hammock I'm always level, and comfortably supported completely from head to toe. At this time last year I had never slept in a hammock and a year later I slept in a tent only one night, and that was because I hadn't learned my lesson about under insulation and froze my butt (literally) at a May rally.

The thing I like about camping is because the gear doesn't get any wear. The tarp is strung above you, the underquilt is hung under you. The only thing that gets wear is the hammock itself, and as long as you keep sharp things out of your pockets the hammock should last for years.

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I forgot to mention one thing..
Hammock camping is pretty much an individual thing.. There's hammocks that hold two, but I don't know anyone who sleeps with two in a hammock.. Do some searches on Youtube and you'll find a few videos where couples hang in their own, next to each other, but sleeping together in one hammock is pretty much just an exercise in discomfort.

Since you're recently engaged I thought I'd mention this.. In a tent, going from a twin to a full size air mattress costs an extra $10 and another sleeping bag.