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    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      2). Finances. Hammocking seems very expensive...bottom quilts, top quilts, pad, tarp, straps and hardware. I don’t trust my silly DIY stuff for keeping me warm and estimate $1000 for a good set-up.
      I agree, to an extent ... namely, I bristle at the notion that one must spend a lot on hammocking to even find out if it's for you. One might spend $125 on a basic hammock setup (netted hammock, tree straps, tarp - repurpose sleeping bag and pad for hammock) and if you don't like it, you get told, "well, it didn't work for you because of your cheap gear. You should buy a $200 hammock instead, change your suspension, cut weight with whoopie slings and a $150 silnylon or $300 DCF tarp. Getting rid of your pad will help comfort ... here, buy a $300 underquilt and a $300 top quilt ..."

      To make an obvious point, no one needs to spend that kind of money to know whether they like tent camping.

      Now, if you can borrow all that stuff to test it out - great! And if you end up liking it and can afford to purchase your own such kit, cool! But what I don't like hearing is, "Well, you can't really know if you like hammock camping unless you have tried a $1000 setup." That may be true for all I know (I doubt it). But I'm not going to shell out that kind of dough just to find out.
    • Time Zone wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      All I have is an ocean kayak and a canoe. The canoe is my favorite.
      I know it's a real thing, but "ocean kayak" sort of sounds like it's in the same category as "Everest summit fanny pack" :D
      it never much caught on in the US, but other countries ocean kayaks were huge. I remember going to the beach at east london, south Africa back in the 80's. the place was a mad house, much like a college football game, with tv crews, barbeque, and girls. I asked what's going on, a guy told me it's the annual East London/Durban ocean kayak race. I wasn't much interested in the kayaks, but a cold beer, a plate of ribs and everywhere I looked some of the hottest bikinied babes i'd ever seen. priceless!!
    • Ha ha, I had to do a double take when you mentioned cold beer and ribs. I thought, "London? Cold beer? Ribs? London England?" and then I saw you wrote "East London, South Africa".

      The movie Everest was showing on FXM tonight. That movie, and more so, Into Thin Air by Krakauer, always remind me why the highest mountain isn't a desirable goal (for me). But in watching the movie, I did look for fanny packs. I didn't see any. :D