Tent vs hammok vs lean-to

[Speakeasy TN]

My '11 attempt was a pretty even split between tent and shelter nights. This Spring I am going to switch to a hammock with a neoair pad. It gives me the maximum flexibility. I can go to ground with the pad and top quilt if I have to, but lack of sleep took a toll and I'm much more comfortable.

As for the dog, if you must, under the hammock will be dry and comfy.

[Connie]

It is easier to setup, take-down and carry a tarp in a mesh pocket outside the backpack, if your backpack is setup like that. If not, there is an add-on mesh pocket I haven't tried. Maybe someone else knows about that.

I use a tarp. I use a headnet, and have gloves and stretch gaiters if biting insects are out. I select campsites away from the places biting insects like. My bivy selection always has built-in bug netting.

If you camp where biting insects like, you may want a half-tipi bug net to set up under the tarp.

It is easier to camp away from water, not in low-lying ground, not on grass, and, choose a windswept ridge, or, at least where air movement is present. Biting insects prefer stagnant air, and, no air movement. Biting insects also like a certain time, for example, in the evening. Before and after, they are not active. Except horse flys. They have preferred hours they are active, but longer hours.

[overthinker]

I've been hammock camping for most of the summer, but I just bought a Moment DW TarpTent for my thru for three main reasons.

1) Hammocks = fiddle factor. You spend a lot of time adjusting, rigging, tightening, etc. to get the hammock and tarp just right. At the end of a long day hiking, I'd rather just set up a simple tent. I did a few punishingly long days this summer and, while I can deal with the fiddling for a couple of days, I can only imagine I'd get really tired of it after a week or so.

2) Site availability. Camping since pretty much always has involved tents, and campsites are therefore designed for tents. This ends up in the same place as number 1: I can deal with the trouble that can come with finding a hammock site a couple of nights in a row, but I doubt I'd want to do it for weeks on end.

3) Shelters, hostels, garages, AMC huts. I use an underquilt in my hammock, which makes sleeping anywhere but my hammock an uncomfortable proposition. I know there will be days where a shelter will be a welcome sight, or I'll snag a spot on some floor somewhere. So, to make sure I can take advantage of those opportunities, I'm taking a tent and a pad.

I definitely appreciate how easy it is to stay dry with a tarp set up, being able to put it up first and take it down last. However, with the model TarpTent I bought, I can set up the fly, step inside with the interior, zip the fly up and then attach the interior. Or I can leave it all attached if it isn't a torrential downpour.

Anyway, that was my decision process.

[chiefduffy]

For me, the comfort factor outweighs all other considerations. In my hammock, I sleep deeply, wrapped in warm down, extremely comfortable all night long, and wake up refreshed and recharged. On the ground or in a shelter, not so much. YMMV.

[LogHiking]

I've been hammock camping for most of the summer, but I just bought a Moment DW TarpTent for my thru for three main reasons.

1) Hammocks = fiddle factor. You spend a lot of time adjusting, rigging, tightening, etc. to get the hammock and tarp just right. At the end of a long day hiking, I'd rather just set up a simple tent. I did a few punishingly long days this summer and, while I can deal with the fiddling for a couple of days, I can only imagine I'd get really tired of it after a week or so.

2) Site availability. Camping since pretty much always has involved tents, and campsites are therefore designed for tents. This ends up in the same place as number 1: I can deal with the trouble that can come with finding a hammock site a couple of nights in a row, but I doubt I'd want to do it for weeks on end.

3) Shelters, hostels, garages, AMC huts. I use an underquilt in my hammock, which makes sleeping anywhere but my hammock an uncomfortable proposition. I know there will be days where a shelter will be a welcome sight, or I'll snag a spot on some floor somewhere. So, to make sure I can take advantage of those opportunities, I'm taking a tent and a pad.

I definitely appreciate how easy it is to stay dry with a tarp set up, being able to put it up first and take it down last. However, with the model TarpTent I bought, I can set up the fly, step inside with the interior, zip the fly up and then attach the interior. Or I can leave it all attached if it isn't a torrential downpour.

Anyway, that was my decision process.

I agree with this. I hammock camped for the past year. The hammock is more comfy than anything else for me, but the fiddle factor and amount of gear required to stay warm in various conditions began to be too much for me. I would vote tarp and bivy for maximum versatility and weight savings. I have an MLD Grace duo tarp at 16 oz and a borah gear bivy at 7.2 ounces. After guy line and everything it weighs 25 exactly. Bug protection, ground protection, and weather protection all covered in a pound and a half set up and you can use whatever piece you need for that day. Also without training your dog (and you) for it, planning on the dog sleeping in the hammock for the trip will likely cause more trouble than the comfort from the hammock is worth. It can be done, but there is a steep learning curve.

[Deacon]

I've been hammock camping for most of the summer, but I just bought a Moment DW TarpTent for my thru for three main reasons.

1) Hammocks = fiddle factor. You spend a lot of time adjusting, rigging, tightening, etc. to get the hammock and tarp just right. At the end of a long day hiking, I'd rather just set up a simple tent. I did a few punishingly long days this summer and, while I can deal with the fiddling for a couple of days, I can only imagine I'd get really tired of it after a week or so.

2) Site availability. Camping since pretty much always has involved tents, and campsites are therefore designed for tents. This ends up in the same place as number 1: I can deal with the trouble that can come with finding a hammock site a couple of nights in a row, but I doubt I'd want to do it for weeks on end.

3) Shelters, hostels, garages, AMC huts. I use an underquilt in my hammock, which makes sleeping anywhere but my hammock an uncomfortable proposition. I know there will be days where a shelter will be a welcome sight, or I'll snag a spot on some floor somewhere. So, to make sure I can take advantage of those opportunities, I'm taking a tent and a pad.

I definitely appreciate how easy it is to stay dry with a tarp set up, being able to put it up first and take it down last. However, with the model TarpTent I bought, I can set up the fly, step inside with the interior, zip the fly up and then attach the interior. Or I can leave it all attached if it isn't a torrential downpour.

Anyway, that was my decision process.

And to all this I will add:
4) a place to spread out your gear. This past summer I went with a lightheart Solong 6, and I absolutely loved it. The three years before that, I hammocked, but didn't like having my gear strewn about before the hammock setup was complete. In my tent that's not a problem.

I sprawl when sleeping, which I can't do in a hammock. I guess I should change my avatar.

[shaughnessey34]

I ended up getting a 2.8 pound 2 person tent and getting a decent pad. I did the Grafton notch loop here in Maine and stayed 3 overnights was very comfortable on dirt and platform. Managed to stay nice and dry in 2 days of rain my dog was happy too.

[1234]

Most people start staying in shelters, which when it is cold out are clean and comfortable. As it warms they can get nasty. Those with tarps end up staying under the shelters if they are full. ?? drier?? water flows right under a tarp and it rains hard all the time and it gets so foggy that just standing you get wet. Even tents get wet after a 3 day rain, I do not care what kind or who makes it. The hammock folks hang in the trees with the thunder and swinging, water runs down the string and they still get wet. Or should I say some do. NO one can say what will work for you. Those with the budget head for lodging every night and that works. I think those with the most experiance use a light 2 man tent so they can access all there gear.

[fastfoxengineering]

I started off using hammocks and my go to shelter is still my hammock. However, I have slept in plenty of tents and will be using a lightweight two person tent on my thru. I have slept in plenty of shelters and plan to avoid sleeping in most of them on the AT.

Hammock - I find it very comfortable and cozy. However, there IS a fiddle factor. You CAN get wet. And after a while they can feel confining. Furthermore, I don't like using sleeping pads for insulation and don't want to carry a pad and underquilt on the AT.

Shelters - There are good ones and bad ones. You should always carry some kind of backup shelter with you. Shelters are something you should experience.

Tent - An ultralight two person tent sounds like the perfect shelter for an AT thru hike....with a really good bathtub floor and ventilation

[LogHiking]

I ended up getting a 2.8 pound 2 person tent and getting a decent pad. I did the Grafton notch loop here in Maine and stayed 3 overnights was very comfortable on dirt and platform. Managed to stay nice and dry in 2 days of rain my dog was happy too.

Which tent did you end up going with? 2.8 lbs is not too shabby weight wise.

[Connie]

fastfoxengineering,

Tent - An ultralight two person tent sounds like the perfect shelter for an AT thru hike....with a really good bathtub floor and ventilation

Six Moon Designs has the Deschutes tarp 13 oz. and Serenity NetTent 11 oz., fit for each other, you might like.

[daddytwosticks]

fastfoxengineering,

Six Moon Designs has the Deschutes tarp 13 oz. and Serenity NetTent 11 oz., fit for each other, you might like.

Anybody have any reviews/info on the cuben version of this setup? Looks pretty nice, but have found little information from users.

[shaughnessey34]

Which tent did you end up going with? 2.8 lbs is not too shabby weight wise.

The North Face Mica FL 2 Tent pricey but a good tent

[Spirit Walker]

Not meant to hurt your feelings but, a 4 pound tent is a car camping tent, not a backpacking tent.

Not if you have a dog. When you have a dog, you will mostly not be welcome to use the shelters, especially when it's wet. People don't want wet dogs lying on their down bags or shaking all over or getting muddy feet on their gear. So you need space for the two of you. If your dog is big, that means a two person tent, which is about 3-4 lbs. Tarptents are large enough and lightweight.

[gunner76]

there IS a fiddle factor.

Its only as complicated as you let it be. My is very easy and fast to set up. I have seen people take an hour to set up their tents.

You CAN get wet.

You can get wet sleeping in tent. I was at a group hang where the only person to get wet during a major rainstorm was the one person sleeping in a tent. I have never gotten wet while sleeping in my hammock.

And after a while they can feel confining

.

I will argue that point. The folks I know who find a hammock confining are claustrophobic. If you set your tarp up in porch mode you have a great view of what is around you and this can be used in a rain storm ( just leave one end of the tarp down so the water will run off )

[Tipi Walter]

Not if you have a dog. When you have a dog, you will mostly not be welcome to use the shelters, especially when it's wet. People don't want wet dogs lying on their down bags or shaking all over or getting muddy feet on their gear. So you need space for the two of you. If your dog is big, that means a two person tent, which is about 3-4 lbs. Tarptents are large enough and lightweight.

My dog hated the rat-box shelters and intensely disliked the people who used them. Me? I'm not as opinionated as my dog but figure if you're out in the woods for a backpacking trip and need the man-made cleverness and the engineered blight of shelters to get thru a trip, well, you might as well stay at home and sleep in the car port.


Here is Shunka passing final judgment on AT shelters and the people who use them. "Let's move on, Walt" he says. "Haven't we had a bellyful of chortling, grab-ass humans?"

[msupple]

[/COLOR]

Its only as complicated as you let it be. My is very easy and fast to set up. I have seen people take an hour to set up their tents.



You can get wet sleeping in tent. I was at a group hang where the only person to get wet during a major rainstorm was the one person sleeping in a tent. I have never gotten wet while sleeping in my hammock.

.

I will argue that point. The folks I know who find a hammock confining are claustrophobic. If you set your tarp up in porch mode you have a great view of what is around you and this can be used in a rain storm ( just leave one end of the tarp down so the water will run off )

I couldn't agree more. I'm amazed at the (IMHO) misleading information about hammock hanging I just read. I find hammocks way easier (less fiddling) than most tents, especially in the rain. Just trying to find a flat dry spot for a tent would be way more fiddling than I care to consider. With hammocks the possibilities are endless. I never got wet during my AT hike. I'd much rather be in a hammock for an extended length of time given that I can both lie in it or sit in it like a recliner with the tarp in porch mode. I never had a problem finding a place to hang. As they like to say...YMMV.

Cat in the Hat

[LogHiking]

I couldn't agree more. I'm amazed at the (IMHO) misleading information about hammock hanging I just read. I find hammocks way easier (less fiddling) than most tents, especially in the rain. Just trying to find a flat dry spot for a tent would be way more fiddling than I care to consider. With hammocks the possibilities are endless. I never got wet during my AT hike. I'd much rather be in a hammock for an extended length of time given that I can both lie in it or sit in it like a recliner with the tarp in porch mode. I never had a problem finding a place to hang. As they like to say...YMMV.

Cat in the Hat

I have hard time calling personal experience misleading. It is simply a matter of different people preferring different things. I have slept in the woods for a lot of nights in ground and hammock set ups. For the purpose of this discussion (starting his thru in April, does not have any hanging gear, assuming based on that he doesn't have an immense amount of experience hanging, is bringing his dog) I think people mentioning hanging possibly not being ideal is excellent info worth considering for the OP.

There are fanatical people on the ground and hanging side of the debate. I think everyone else is best served not listening to either of them.

[Slo-go'en]

All I can say is in Maine, it is rare to see a thru-hiker with a) a hammock or b) a dog. Though I suspect a few more hammocks make it then dogs do.

[johnnybgood]

Hammocks generally become "grounded " by the time they reach the White Mountains of NH . While hiking below treeline I definitely see the appeal of peeling off the trail on a whim, tying off to 2 trees w/o needing a flat slab of mother earth underneath.
Example A ; Suddenly a heavy downpour with gusty winds, ...Shazzamm !! rainfly goes up in a minute --you're suddenly covered -- either wait it out , or set up for the night.