cougarmeat
Paddler
CPS, While you are waiting, look at www.hammockforums.net
You can use a lot of your current gear to get started - you have the tarp you used for ground camping - good if it is 10 - 11 ft. (a little less than 4 meters) long.
You loose heat in the hammock by air convection flowing under it. So people use their camp pad inside the hammock or inside a sleeve - an extra layer of fabric under the hammock to hold a pad. They can use their sleeping bag as a top quilt by unzipping it, leaving about lower 1 meter zipped for a "foot box", and using it as a quilt. Note that the area of a sleeping bag that is under you doesn't add to warmth because the insulation there is compressed.
When you are sold on a hammock, a next step would be to replace any "pad" solution with an under quilt - like the bottom half of a sleeping bag - that is suspended under the hammock body.
You can get a hammock with a full built-in (unzippable) bug net or a completely separate net or just a net that covers your head to mid torso - because the rest of your body is inside the quilt.
Instead if "getting flat" by stringing the hammock up tight, the correct way, and easiest on the gear, is to hang it so it has about a 30 degree angle (or 60 degrees depending upon which part of the triangle you measure) from the tree. That creates a sag so when you get in, you rotate a little off center with your feet near one side and your head/shoulders near the other. Or, you could use a Bridge Hammock - that's a hammock that uses a spreader bar at each end and has its own characteristics.
Something to keep in mind is you don't have to mimic your home/bed situation. The nature of the mattress is such that it can create pressure points during the night (hips, shoulders) so a person is inspired to move around. The hammock gentle supports all your body so there is less need to fidget.
That said, the first (or second) night in something new - or someplace new - is often sightly unsettling for some people (me included). With a hammock, the muscles need to learn they can relax more - it might take a night or two.
When I first started, I set up a tent near the hammock so I could bail out if I needed to. The first night wasn't the most comfortable I've had, but it was different. The next night I thought I'd use the tent, but as I walked towards it, my "body" said, "Nooooo" and I continue to the hammock. I can't remember the last time I've slept on the ground.
There can be challenges - I used to think, "How hard can it be - there are trees everywhere." But they need to be the right distance apart (4 - 5 meters) and they can't have anything (additional tree/bushes) between them that would interfere with the tarp. I finally invested in a TensaOutdoors Solo pole that acts as one of the "trees". That way I need only one other natural support and it greatly opened up my ability - for better or worse - to camp closer to my tented companions (who are seeking open spaces).
See my Trip Report: Around Orcas in Eight Days, September 10 2022.
You can use a lot of your current gear to get started - you have the tarp you used for ground camping - good if it is 10 - 11 ft. (a little less than 4 meters) long.
You loose heat in the hammock by air convection flowing under it. So people use their camp pad inside the hammock or inside a sleeve - an extra layer of fabric under the hammock to hold a pad. They can use their sleeping bag as a top quilt by unzipping it, leaving about lower 1 meter zipped for a "foot box", and using it as a quilt. Note that the area of a sleeping bag that is under you doesn't add to warmth because the insulation there is compressed.
When you are sold on a hammock, a next step would be to replace any "pad" solution with an under quilt - like the bottom half of a sleeping bag - that is suspended under the hammock body.
You can get a hammock with a full built-in (unzippable) bug net or a completely separate net or just a net that covers your head to mid torso - because the rest of your body is inside the quilt.
Instead if "getting flat" by stringing the hammock up tight, the correct way, and easiest on the gear, is to hang it so it has about a 30 degree angle (or 60 degrees depending upon which part of the triangle you measure) from the tree. That creates a sag so when you get in, you rotate a little off center with your feet near one side and your head/shoulders near the other. Or, you could use a Bridge Hammock - that's a hammock that uses a spreader bar at each end and has its own characteristics.
Something to keep in mind is you don't have to mimic your home/bed situation. The nature of the mattress is such that it can create pressure points during the night (hips, shoulders) so a person is inspired to move around. The hammock gentle supports all your body so there is less need to fidget.
That said, the first (or second) night in something new - or someplace new - is often sightly unsettling for some people (me included). With a hammock, the muscles need to learn they can relax more - it might take a night or two.
When I first started, I set up a tent near the hammock so I could bail out if I needed to. The first night wasn't the most comfortable I've had, but it was different. The next night I thought I'd use the tent, but as I walked towards it, my "body" said, "Nooooo" and I continue to the hammock. I can't remember the last time I've slept on the ground.
There can be challenges - I used to think, "How hard can it be - there are trees everywhere." But they need to be the right distance apart (4 - 5 meters) and they can't have anything (additional tree/bushes) between them that would interfere with the tarp. I finally invested in a TensaOutdoors Solo pole that acts as one of the "trees". That way I need only one other natural support and it greatly opened up my ability - for better or worse - to camp closer to my tented companions (who are seeking open spaces).
See my Trip Report: Around Orcas in Eight Days, September 10 2022.