Is there any advantage beyond a good night's sleep?

[jesse]

Oh, yes you can.

*can't believe this is actually her first post*

Nominated for best post of 2011.

[jhunt87]

Nominated for best post of 2011.

+1 Agreed.

[Tinker]

Advantages besides sleep:
1) No crawling on ground trying to avoid condensation on vestibule ceiling.
2) No mud on knees from crawling on ground " ".
3) No mud on tent floor (no tent, no floor ). No need to rinse off (or dry and try to brush mud off).

The only things that get muddy and dirty on a regular basis with a hammock setup are the stakes and a few inches of the tarp guy lines.
The downsides are that you need to put your boots in a plastic bag to keep the rain from hitting them, and there's really no way to move around much like you can in a tent if you're stuck inside on a rainy day.

[lustreking]

I haven't slept in my hammock yet, as I'm still putting it together. I originally thought that hammocks were both heavy and expensive, but if you're into making stuff yourself, the hammock can be very inexpensive, and still lightweight.

I haven't made my underquilt yet, but the materials should hopefully arrive tonight, so I'm estimating the weight of the uq, but my hammock, suspension, bug net, tarp, "Bishop" stuff sack, ridgeline organizer, and uq should weigh about 40 oz, and cost me less than $120. If I spent a little more on the tarp, I could easily drop a couple more ounces off of that. However, I was trying to do this as inexpensively as possible, so I made a 10x7 poly coated nylon tarp instead of silnylon, but it only cost around $20, and took 20 minutes to make. The tarp, in snake skins, with a continuous ridge line and guylines, at 17.5 oz, is the heaviest single item. Knowing I made all this stuff myself takes off a mental 6 oz or so.

For now, I'm just going to use my current sleeping bag as a top quilt, but I do have a bunch of down, nylon, and noseeum, so I'll eventually make my own top quilt.

[JaxHiker]

Comfort is certainly a big thing for me. I rarely get a good nights' rest in a tent but sleep like a baby in my hammock. The flexibility of being able to stop anywhere is huge. Last year I hiked for hours in the rain and got sick of it. I decided I didn't want to keep hiking to the shelter so I just stopped, threw the tarp/hammock up, and chilled out. If you have a top-entry hammock you can use it as a chair. This is nice when fixing meals or just relaxing. Feel like taking a nap along the way? It takes me 5 min or less to put my hammock up. So there's another reason...speed. I find it's much quicker to put a hammock up.

If it starts raining and you have a tent you have to put the tent up before you put the fly up so you're getting wet the whole time. I can quickly put my tarp up and then put the hammock up under its protection. With some tents having so much mesh I can see the inside getting soaked while you're trying to put it up.

Sure you have to take insulation into consideration but it's not that much different than what you'd use for a tent.

On my last AT hike there were about a dozen of us at one shelter. Many were in hammocks. The next morning all of the tent guys, er, ground dwellers, were complaining about how crappy they slept and all the hangers were saying how well.

[Deadeye]

+1 on the thought that you can make a lighter hammock setup. My own simply replaces my 2 pound tent with a 3 pound hammock/tarp (I still use a pad, not an underquilt, and any unzipped sleeping bag is a fine quilt), but I digress:

a wonderful thing about a hammock/tarp setup is that you can stand up! Stand up to change, pee, talk, watch the rain, whatever. No floor to worry about, don't have to take off your shoes while contorting. Sit on a rock or a bear canister, under a 10x10 tarp, and it's the size of my bedroom!

[TheYoungOne]

+1 on the thought that you can make a lighter hammock setup. My own simply replaces my 2 pound tent with a 3 pound hammock/tarp (I still use a pad, not an underquilt, and any unzipped sleeping bag is a fine quilt), but I digress:

a wonderful thing about a hammock/tarp setup is that you can stand up! Stand up to change, pee, talk, watch the rain, whatever. No floor to worry about, don't have to take off your shoes while contorting. Sit on a rock or a bear canister, under a 10x10 tarp, and it's the size of my bedroom!

Store bought hammock set ups are just heavy, especially when you add on underquilts, winter tarps and the like. I guess you can save a few ounces making it yourself.

What I do like about hammock is that "front porch" setup. Not only is it cool to have all that room to move around in the rain, and not be trapped in the confines of your tent, but you also can have an almost 360 view if you choose. With the rainfly on my tent, I get a little paranoid not being able to see what is making that noise outside.

[hike500]

you can't have sex in a hammock... and now I bow out gracefully.

They do by themselves all the time in the southeast? I'm confused now?

[Oms]

If you look at your set-up it's pretty light. There are some folks who get pretty light with a hammock set-up as well. In both cases some comforts are reduced like size of space or maybe a little chilly on cold nights. We have all seen the effects of getting lighter. At some point it is a personal decision. Nothing out there is perfect for every condition or terrain. Really you have to look at what season and where you will be hiking, in other words, picking the right tool for the job. That being said, here are my views on hammocks vs tents.

Pros for hammocks:
Better in the rain
-getting in and out of a tent with rain gear on soaks everything inside the tent.
-easier to set up because the tarp goes up first.
-no worries about run-off
-muddy shoes stay below hammock
-can make a night call without putting on rain gear
-raising tarp in the morning with lots of space to cook under
-ridgeline to dry clothes
-packing in morning easy under the tarp
-wet tarp is the last to take down and stays outside of pack
-less condensation

Much cooler in warmer weather due to convective cooling
-can set up tarp to catch a breeze

Much more comfortable for me

Depending on location, easier to find a place to set up

No one can sleep with me (hate tentmates)

Makes a great place to relax at lunch

Elevates your feet after a long day of hiking

Cons for hammocks:
More of a fiddle factor

Colder in the Winter, more insulation required

If at a designated campsite it may be a problem with site selection. This mostly pertains to campgrounds.

Pros for tents:
Faster to set up (I have a single wall, silnylon tent, super easy)

Warmer in the Winter

Shared weight (if you don't mind a tentmate)

Depending on type of tent, less stakes

Cons for tents:
Mostly the things mentioned above

Either way, these are only my opinions. I'm sure others can set up faster with less confusion, are warm sleepers, carry bigger or smaller tarps, etc. Bottom line HYOH

[Oms]

Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that I am a card carrying member of hammockforums.net

[Captn]

To quote another hanger .... Why would I want to sleep on the ground ... I pee on the ground.

[Captn]

To quote another hanger .... Why would I want to sleep on the ground ... I pee on the ground.

Why would I want to sleep in a shelter ... Mice poo in the shelters ..


So, if you want to sleep in the pee and the poo, don't carry a hammock.

[Bearpaw]

I'm willing to carry a pound and a half more weight for the comfort of my hammock, much better moisture control, an awesome chair/recliner, ease of setup/takedown in the rain, a handy clothesline, having all my gear off the ground, better views, etc, etc, etc.

I still have tents. There are a few places where they work better. But 90% of my hikes, I gladly hang.

[10-K]

I have an awesome hammock setup and I've used it twice.

What keeps me in a tent is that I like to roll over without getting out of my bag, fix breakfast and eat and roll back over and snooze for a bit before getting up.

The Neoair pretty much took care of any comfort issues I had with sleeping in a tent.

[dla]

I want to thank all of you for the information and laughs. You made this a good thread.

I finally broke down and bought a hammock and tarp. I promise not to call anybody "ground dweller" or tell them to "evolve". But I'll give hanging a try this year.

[Oms]

I want to thank all of you for the information and laughs. You made this a good thread.

I finally broke down and bought a hammock and tarp. I promise not to call anybody "ground dweller" or tell them to "evolve". But I'll give hanging a try this year.

So what did you end up getting? Take your time and be patient. It takes some fiddling to get comfortable. Hang your feet up higher or you will end up with them in the air in the morning. Take a look over at HF for a group hang. Lots can be learned from even one get together with other folks. So many ideas and styles. If it doesn't work out things sell pretty well over there.

[dla]

So what did you end up getting? Take your time and be patient. It takes some fiddling to get comfortable. Hang your feet up higher or you will end up with them in the air in the morning. Take a look over at HF for a group hang. Lots can be learned from even one get together with other folks. So many ideas and styles. If it doesn't work out things sell pretty well over there.

WBBB D1.7 w/adjustable straps, Bigmambajamba w/pullouts, GG thinlight 1/4"x39"x59" pad. I already have 3 season Black Mamba top quilt.

I plan on using the evazote pad between the layers and maybe a short piece of something else (reflectix, etc.) in the footbox.

[BradMT]

Hammocks, IMO, are better in the Eastern Woods than here in the West.

In the 1970's I made it a practice to hammock on the AT... I liked it back then and I don't doubt I'd like it now. It just isn't practical to rely on out here.

[Monkeywrench]

you can't have sex in a hammock... and now I bow out gracefully.

You can... but not gracefully.

[Zeno Marx]

I'm a side or stomach sleeper, usually on my side. Hammocks are not comfortable at all. I never go into a needed, deep sleep in a hammock. They're great for naps, but not for a full night's rest.