Why do people not like hammocks?

[Ezra]

Has anyone known someone to try using a hammock but not like it and stick with tent camping? I hear lots of rave reviews of people loving hammocks and I was just curious as to reasons why people may not like them.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Some don't like the feeling / knowing that they are suspended and could fall. Some find them claustrophobic. Hammocks aren't the lightest sleep system / shelter (a foam pad under a tarp or in a shelter is). Learning to rig a hammock takes some time and effort (granted, not a lot, but . . .). They can't be used where there aren't suitable trees (above / near timberline where the trees are too small or simply aren't). And there's always the bear pinata scenario

[Lone Wolf]

Has anyone known someone to try using a hammock but not like it and stick with tent camping? I hear lots of rave reviews of people loving hammocks and I was just curious as to reasons why people may not like them.

i don't like then cuz you can't lay on your stomach or cook in them or snuggle with my lady plus they're cold to sleep in

[Tom Murphy]

I love mine but they are definately not for everyone. Some people just don't find them comfortable.

Pros:
comfortable [of course this is subjective but if you like sleeping in hammocks then you LOVE hammocks over ground sleeping]
off the ground
typically a lot easier to find set of trees to hang from in a forest than it is to find a flat level undrainage spot

Cons:
Not the most UL shelter/sleep system
solo at bed time
restricted back or side sleeping


I can cook while sitting in my hammock, just reach over the side.

[ChinMusic]

Tried hammocks and gave up. Too heavy and too much time futzing around to get things just right. I MUCH prefer tenting and have no problem with comfort on the ground. Temperature control for comfort is easier too. In a hammock I was nearly always too hot or too cold, and sometimes BOTH at the same time. Also with a tent I can have stuff laying around next to me with easy access.

Unlike hammockers, you won't find ground dwellers barking in nearly every thread trying to convince everyone to go their way. It almost seems like a religion to many of them.

[jersey joe]

I think most people tent over hammock because using a tent is the standard and what most people have done their whole life. Lone Wolf provides good reasons to opt for a tent. Another that I've seen frequently is that it is easier to stay warm in a tent with insulation under you.

[Hooch]

Hammocks, in general, have a learning curve and some just can't seem to get past. It's steeper for some than it is for others, definitely. Some folks don't like the "banana" sleeping position they oftentimes find themselves in (that means you're doing something wrong). Others are stomach sleepers and haven't yet discovered the Jacks r Better Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock (Lone Wolf). Still others don't like the whole "Bear Pinata" theory and would rather be a bear fortune cookie in a tent. Lots of folks don't like them because of the "fiddle factor" associated with hammocks. There are plenty of reasons that folks don't like hammocks, but if you talk to a dedicated hammocker, they'll give you 5 reasons they love their hammock for every one you dislike them. As Cannibal once said, "If you don't love your hammock, you don't know how to love".

[Double Wide]

I don't mind hammocks per se, they're just not for me--I'm a side sleeper, and one attempt at using a hammock was enough for me. But hammocks to me, are a lot like Apple computers--they're fine for what they are--and what they do, they do extremely well. But it's the overzealous fans of Apple computers that really turn me against using them...

[Tom Murphy]

Tried hammocks and gave up. Too heavy and too much time futzing around to get things just right. I MUCH prefer tenting and have no problem with comfort on the ground. Temperature control for comfort is easier too. In a hammock I was nearly always too hot or too cold, and sometimes BOTH at the same time. Also with a tent I can have stuff laying around next to me with easy access.

Unlike hammockers, you won't find ground dwellers barking in nearly every thread trying to convince everyone to go their way. It almost seems like a religion to many of them.

I think if you compare my post with yours, you will see that YOU are the one trying to convince everyone to go your way. Just sayin'

[Lone Wolf]

i been usin' tents for 25 years. it ain't broke so i ain't fixin' it. hammocks are a step down

[ChinMusic]

I think if you compare my post with yours, you will see that YOU are the one trying to convince everyone to go your way. Just sayin'

What is the title of this thread?

Oh yeah it is : "Why do people not like hammocks?"

I gave my opinion based on my experiences. THAT is what the OP was looking for.

If you can find ONE hammock thread where I went in telling others to go to the ground, you would have a point.

I can find dozens upon dozens of threads there hammockers jump in to espouse the superiority of hanging. Look on YouTube as well. It seems nearly every tent video out there has hammockers preaching the superiority of their system. Why is that?

[Slo-go'en]

The one advantage hammocks have is being able to hang in places where tents aren't practical. So long as there are suitable trees, it doesn't matter whats is under you or the slope of the land. That opens up a lot of potentual camping spots, especially here in the White Mts.

I once legally camped off the Jewell trail going up Mt Washington because I had a hammock with me. A FS ranger even pointed me to a good place to hang for the night.

That said, I still perfer a tent. Lighter, warmer without a lot of extra stuff, and I sleep better laid out flat then bent into a pretzel.

[DLANOIE]

I used a hammock for nearly five years. Used it in winter mostly with a good setup. I would be cozy and comfy for a while, but in the middle of the night I just tossed and turned. I couldnt STAY comfortable throughout the entire night. Im a quitter when it comes to hammocks, but I can honestly say I gave it all I could.

I dont mind using the shelters and I also carry a tarp/pad combo. Works for me. YMMV

[Rain Man]

My wife and I have two hammocks and three tents. We take one or the other based on the outing. To us, there's no "one size fits all." Having said that, over the years I have pretty much switched to hammock hanging when I go without her. NOT exclusively, but pretty much. It surprises me to see some say that hammock hanging weighs more, as that's certainly not my experience. Same when some say it's more complicated. I've spent much time on my knees when tent camping, clearing a second-rate spot of sticks and stones, and that's after not being able to find a flat spot. And maybe it's just me, but I feel I can slap up my hammock almost any time I want to take a break, and have a comfortable place to sit, lie, or nap. Most of my hiking is in warm weather, and I find hammocks cooler than tents, too.

As ChinMusic said, you cannot easily lay a book, or contact lens drops, or this or that, next to you in a hammock and expect it to stay there, like in a tent on a flat spot. Though you can put "pockets" in a hammock and solve that problem, just as most tents do. Also, it's harder to change clothes or take a spit bath in a hammock, unless perhaps you use it as a chair.

So, I/we have neither "stuck with" tent camping, nor abandoned it completely. For that matter and for what it's worth, we sometimes just put up a tarp or cowboy camp.

I agree with Double Wide, it's hard to put up with some of the zealots. Using a hammock, or not, is not a religious sacrament.

P.S. I've slept comfortably in my hammock in 5-degree weather. And for anyone who "sleeps like a banana," that's their fault, not the fault of a good hammock, properly hung, which takes no more time that finding a flat spot, clearing it of poison ivy and sharp, pointy things, and erecting and staking a tent.

RainMan

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[RevLee]

Personally, I just don't find hammocks to be that comfortable. It weighs more than my tent and doesn't keep me as warm. But there are times when the functionality it provides makes it worthwhile. On a trip this year with the scouts, one of our campsites was very space constrained. So to save space for the scouts tents, I took my hammock and actually setup over the (fortunately unused) fire ring.

[Nutbrown]

The biggest down side is the sleeping alone.

[daddytwosticks]

Got to agree with many of the posts. Tried hammocking, but couldn't get over the fussyness of the set-up and the crazy mental image of some creature taking a bite out of my rear end (really...). It was VERY comfortable for ME, but I like ground sleeping better. Just do what make you happy and comfortable.

[Lostone]

Well when I camp with the wife we tent. When I am out with the boy scouts I hammock. The hammock is more comfortable for me when I am alone.....but snuggling with the wife is much better than hammocking any day of the week.

[garlic08]

I tried a hammock on one trip below treeline in Colorado, and never again. It was way too cold. I ended up sleeping on the ground under the hammock. Plus I couldn't pitch the shelter above treeline so it changed the way I like to hike in the mountains.

[Hooch]

. . . .I still perfer a tent. . . .I sleep better flat than bent into a pretzel.

. . . .doesn't keep me as warm. . . .

I tried a hammock. . . .never again. It was way too cold. . . .

All goes back to that whole learning curve thing. But, HYOH as far as I'm concerned. Hammocks, as I've said before, aren't a one-size-fits-all solution and definitely aren't for everyone. I don't try to force "hammock superiority" on anyone, but if you ask me about them, I'll tell ya what I know.