Hammock vs Tent

[Franco]

It wasn't my intention to imply that there is something wrong with hammocks, I was just listing some reasons why they do not work for me.
If I wanted to get on with them I could just change my style and hiking locations , not that it is something I am about to do.
Anyway here is a pic of a new hammock from Exped :


http://www.thegearcaster.com/the_gea...o-hammock.html
enjoy.
Franco

[Kaptain Kangaroo]

It's personal choice, whatever works for your hiking style & hiking locations.......

For me it's tents.... tried a hammock (Hennessy) , but I'm a light sleeper who tosses & turns all night. Found the hammock gave me really disturbed sleep.

See if you can borrow one & give it a go....but do some reading on correct set-up so you give it a fair chance.

[Spider]

In my experience, here are the pros and cons of hammocking:

Hammock:
Pros: comfort, number of spots available to hammock (when there are lots of trees), weight (usually lighter than most tents), cost (usually cheaper)

Cons: number of spots available (when there aren't many trees, it all depends on where you're planning to hike), cannot keep your pack inside with you at night so you need to figure out what to do with it

[Dblcorona]

Interesting.
I think you can make a huge list of places where tents work better and a huge list of where hammocks work better. But that doesn't really help after a point.

I use both. Depends on the situation. But I can say that I am more comfortable in my hammock.

In areas that you can use either and with temps down to around say 20degrees F I would say it's a wash in terms of weight. I would go with the hammock for the comfort factor. Really the only thing that would change is tent and pad/hammock-tarp-underquilt. Top quilt would stay the same.

But there is a learning curve with the hammock. And it did take around 3 nights for me to get used to it.

Good luck

[tammons]

I dont know what the debate is all about since you can build a hammock for about $20 with walmart ripstop.
I have a ground setup and a hammock setup like most hammock hikers I suspect besides there are some places you cant use a hammock.
A really good SUL suspension can cost as little as $20 if you MYOG.
You probably already have a tarp of some sort, but that can be anything from a campmor extended poncho tarp with a short hammock to a
standard $100 silnylon 8x10. A 10x12 can be set up like a tent down to the ground and is a castle in porch mode.

A bugnet can be cheap. I found $1.50 per yard real 1 oz nylon green bug netting at walmart. You can do a drape job or an enclosed setup or just buy a net. If you want SUL thruhiker sells the .6 oz stuff.

Use your current bag like a quilt or quilt.

For bottom insulation just build a double layer (or two hammocks) with a pocket and use a perforated blue pad with shoulders or a garlington taco is cheap and light.

You can also build a Climasheild apex UQ for really cheap and its simple to build. Just a square with channels on 4 sides.

With your tarp above you could add a net tent and be good to go on the ground 3 seasons.

[Ironbelly]

Well I am a recent hammock convert. I saw alot of posts about hammocks and so I figured I would give it a go. So i jumped right in and bought a warbonnet blackbird (WBBB) 1.7 double layer hammock, and a Warbonnet Superfly tarp. I have been using it on all of my trips this year, and I must say for me the comfort factor is lightyears ahead of a ground setup even with the nice new pads like the neoair etc. I have never slept as good anywhere, including at home, as i do in a hammock. My total setup is 59.5oz. It's not so much about the weight as it is the comfort to me. Though you can get super UL hammocks and tarps if you so choose.

Under fairer seasons and weather conditions the superfly is awesome, you can pitch it high and broad and it's literally a palace to sit back and relax in during downpours. And during the winter or other foul weather it can be pitched low to the ground and still affords you alot of protected space. I plan on using my hammock this winter as well, this will be my first real winter with a hammock and the proper gear to suit. (i got my hammock last Jan? and used it a few times with pads and sleeping bag, but now i have winter quilts to use) . To me there is no difference between being stuck in a tent during inclement weather and stuck in a hammock/tarp setup. Except I have a super comfy seat to use. Yes you can cook inside your shelter area, I do so often. If the weather is so bad as to force you to do so, and have your tarp pitched high and low then I just lift my hammock up out of the way when i am cooking (i do this because i also have a dog with me so i need the extra room when cooking under the tarp in bad weather). If the weather is not bad and you dont have your tarp to the ground, i typically set up in porch mode, where i have a large area to do whatever i wish.

Pros:
Extended site selection-uneven ground, over brush or rocks etc
Super comfy camp seat
Super comfy sleep
much easier to stealth camp(people usually wont come looking up the side of a hill or ravine for you)
fast setup/tear down
Can be used in any season provided the right insulating material and tarp is used.

Cons:
You have to have 2 trees appropiate distance apart
hammocks sway/rock, and some people hate this (reminds me of my navy days!)
Sometimes the setup can be heavier than a ground setup
a hammock setup is not as 'rock solid/bombproof' as a 4 season tent, but can be setup appopiately for the conditions and be equally effective.
It's hard to pink blaze in a hammock
hammocks are not comfortable to everyone, try one before going all in and buying all kinds of quilts and tarps.
hammocks have a learning curve to get the setup just right for maximum comfort

[dla]

So i was wondering if I could get the WhiteBlaze communitie's opinon on the pros and cons of Hammocks vs Tents.

A tent is normally lighter, cheaper, and not dependent on trees. It usually offers coverage for more than one person, coverage for gear, etc. I think a tent is more stable in windy weather.

A hammock system is by far more comfortable for sleeping.

Here's an example of costs for a 3 season hammock setup: $175 for WBBB double layer 1.7 (40oz), $240 for HG 3 season Incubator under quilt (22.5oz), $275 for WB Mamba long/wide 3 season top quilt(24.5oz), $110 for WB BMJ Sil-nylon tarp (17.5oz plus stakes). Total outlay of $800 and 104.5oz(6.5lbs).

Now my "go to" ground solution is a Golite Lair 2* tarp with bug net clipped on front ($120 for a good sil-nylon tarp)(24oz), regular Z-Lite pad ($40)(14oz), piece of Tyvek for ground cloth ($15)(6oz) and the WB Mamba Long/wide quilt ($275)(24.5oz). Total outlay of $450 and 68.5oz(4.3lbs).

There's plenty of room under the Golite for me and 3 labs and I don't worry about them tearing the floor (there isn't one). The hammock is solo only and the dogs sleep below.

It is nice to be able to stay off the wet, uneven ground. I don't care about creepy-crawlies, but it is nice to not have a mouse run over my face in the middle of the night. However when camping close to the tree line the tree selection can be pretty limited and you can end up sleeping a long ways from your tent/tarping buddies.

I'm not a 5'5" tall gram-weenie munchkin, and I don't care about the 2lb difference in pack weight. But I do care about sleep comfort - so I'm liking my hammock setup for now. We'll see if that changes after I go through the fall and get into some colder weather.

The jump in prices I showed for a hammock setup are typical for a high-end configuration. You can cut the price down considerably by using foam pads instead of down underquilts and a Campmor down bag instead of a custom quilt. There's quite a bit of variability posible.



*(The Golite Lair 2 is just a Sil-nylon tarp with one end closed off for easier pitching. It's not available anymore but I think the same can be accomplished with any tarp. Weight includes stuff sack, lines, stakes and bug net)

[Ironbelly]

To continue on what Dla said kinda
Keep in mind buying a quality underquilt and top quilt comes to roughly the same price as buying a quality sleeping bag and pad (Your UQ/TQ is your sleeping bag and pad). You can't directly compare a z-lite pad to a 3 season incubator, More like a neoair and a 1/3 or so of the price of your sleeping bag to a incubator.

There are many lower cost items out there for hammocks also. For example, if your an ULer you could go with the Grand Trunk Nano 7 hammock. 6.7oz for 79.99. Then drape over some bugnet from a fabric store 5$.

[nufsaid]

Raul Perez---Thanks for the tube video, it's nice to see someone interested and excited about their setup.

Hammock camping to me is Tarp Camping, with a suspended bivy bag. Here are some questions for the hammockers:

** Last winter I was caught in a series of three blizzards at 5,000 feet (NC) and the snow got too deep to move for over a week, so I spent four days atop a bald afterwhich I moved and then spent another seven days two miles away waiting for the storms to end. I was stir crazy even with a 36 sq ft tent, what the heck would a hammocker have done? Stay cocooned?

** In harsh conditions, can a hammocker cook inside his hammock, protected from high winds and slapping horizontal rain gusts?

** What's the weight of a good secure hammock kit for below zero backpacking?

Tipi, by now everyone that has read your posts is well aware that you are a stud and can hike with a 70+ lb pack and camp in arctic temperatures. Most of us aren't interested it trying to match your manliness.

[nufsaid]

I would never recommend a hammock for those that prefer below zero backpacking or treeless environments. And I don't recommend it for everyone in any conditions. But if trees are available and the temps are reasonable (or hot) it can be a comfortable option for some.

[nufsaid]

Tipi VS Bear Grylls as a new reality show?

[Tipi Walter]

Tipi VS Bear Grylls as a new reality show?

I'M WEAK!! He's ex-special forces, climbed Mt Everest back in '98, and broke his back in three places during a parachute jump in '95---anyone can plod along a trail with 80 lbs on their back and posthole thru deep snow at a snail's pace and hunker in a tent during a blizzard---it's not about Manliness but about motivation. If we had a TV show, well, Grylls would be far ahead and back in the distance there I'd be with my Mystery Ranch Refrigerator---the Gray Silverback---inching along with a goofy grin and muttering crap about dayhikers. The Geezer And The Grylls---hey, maybe it would make for a good show.

[Stovemonkey]

I just got a hammock for an upcoming backpacking trip. I was wondering if I could use paracord to hang it? if not, what are some low cost alternatives?

[ljcsov]

For those that tarp in on the ground. Do you recommend a bivy? Is it necessary? Seems like tarp + ground cover + bivy = normal tent weight. Seems like it makes sense to go without the bivy. Idk what the purpose is if your whole body is covered by the tarp.

[Tipi Walter]

For those that tarp in on the ground. Do you recommend a bivy? Is it necessary? Seems like tarp + ground cover + bivy = normal tent weight. Seems like it makes sense to go without the bivy. Idk what the purpose is if your whole body is covered by the tarp.

Ever heard of ground water or spindrift?

[Wags]

here's a hammocker at -26. it can be and is done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnoo4...feature=relmfu

bigger tarps can give way more space than a tent. in fact, the new 4 season cuben tarps (at less than 7 ounces) are massive.

[MedicineMan]

tarp with doors fully to ground +10 to 12 degrees
hammock with netting e.g. Blackbird with netting zipped +5 degrees
BBO (bear burrito oven) from AHE on top of Blackbird +7 degrees (or more)

If you have a hammock and a piece of tyvek you've got a bivy with tarp above.
I never go without a piece of ccf...case in point, last week at Horsecreek near Sampson Wilderness I forgot my UQ but my Ohm has a foam backpanel which became my UQ. Also on the Roan my Nano-7 ripped dropping me on the ground-no big deal, had a torsoe ccf so only became an ultralighter again-tarp still above me, TQ on top, just reached into the pack and grabbed out a ground cover by Gossamer Gear and the ccf pad.
So far I'm at a low of 1.6F on the Roan with a 3 foot snowpack. I used a double pod system (PeaPod+Wallcreeper)...theoretically with that loft I was good to -10 or -15F.
I've got two hammocks set up in one bedroom, a GrizzBridge and a Warbonnet.
It really isnt for everyone. My conversion rate is probably around 85% so best to borrow before you buy.
The biggest advantage I can see for hammocking on the AT is the stealthing potential is greatly increased.

If holed up in a blizzard and alredy deep snow, with time on ones hands, 45 min's with your snow shovel would give a huge kiva under the hammock, hammock cinched up overhead even more room....easily as much room as a 3-4 man tent. My McCat Ultra can comfortably seat 4 with room to cook but thats a 14 ounce tarp in spinnUL and 17 with doors.

If you know rock will abound 2 lightweight hexes/chocks with webbing=trees.
In the dessert, just nevermind unless your motorized.

[Franco]

"A hammock system is by far more comfortable for sleeping"

This is often stated as a fact.
It really should be expressed as : far more comfortable for sleeping for me.

and has it happens that me is not this me.

However if someone asked for a solution for not being able to sleep on the trail, the first thing I would suggest is a different mat (ever noticed how some will post :best night sleep ever , when reviewing a new mat ? (I always translate that as : I did not really sleep that well before)) or a hammock as the solution.
Same reason some like a hard mattress at home, some a really soft one and others rave about a water bed or a tatami bed and futon.
Franco

[Tom Murphy]

Here are some questions for the hammockers:

** Last winter I was caught in a series of three blizzards at 5,000 feet (NC) and the snow got too deep to move for over a week, so I spent four days atop a bald afterwhich I moved and then spent another seven days two miles away waiting for the storms to end. I was stir crazy even with a 36 sq ft tent, what the heck would a hammocker have done? Stay cocooned?

** In harsh conditions, can a hammocker cook inside his hammock, protected from high winds and slapping horizontal rain gusts?

** What's the weight of a good secure hammock kit for below zero backpacking?

If you feel confined in a tent, then you will feel much more confined in a hammock.

A hammocker can cook inside his tarp, it is very simliar to cooking in a tent. A fair analogy would be asking if a tenter can cook in his sleeping bag. The typical winter tarp arrangement looks like the old A-frame scouting pup tents and is guyed out as well. So there is protection from high winds and horizontal rain. Nowhere near as good as a four season tent but, the winter hammock camp is usually in a wooded area that offers a lot of natural protection.

I can't answer the weight question since it is too broad. I think that where a hammocker has a weight advantage in the shelter side, the tenter has a weight (and pack volumne) advantage on the sleep system side. I think the tenter's advantage increases as the target temp range decreases since the hammocker needs to insulate about the entire hammock and doesn't have the add of the insulating snow ground cover.

I like my tent and I like my hammock. I use the hammock for solo trips and the tent for group trips. I have used both systems down to -10*F.

One advantage my hammock has in the White Mountains is the expansion of possible tent sites during the 3 seasons.

[dla]

"A hammock system is by far more comfortable for sleeping"

This is often stated as a fact.
It really should be expressed as : far more comfortable for sleeping for me.

and has it happens that me is not this me.

Very good point - thanks.

I transitioned from a somewhat minimalist setup to a hammock. My ground solution was a lot of tossing and turning due to pressure points - made worse over the years as I became a geezer. The hammock instantly solved the pressure points (but presented other challenges). Suddenly I was comfortable. I pull my hammock out and set it up in the back yard for naps - that's how comfy it is.

It was the aches and pains that got me looking at hammocks - nothing else. And I've had to work out solutions for hammock sleeping as well - it didn't just happen.

In summary: I use a hammock because I found it more comfortable than any ground solution I've tried over the years. Your mileage may vary.