hammock vs. tent

[dla]

I am a hiker that has only done dayhikes and I want to take it up to at least a two day hike. What is holding me back is that I can't figure out what equipment I need. I am a big dude. I am 6ft and 275lbs. and backpacker tents are small as well as expensive. I am trying to determine whether I should get a hammock which is easier to setup or a tent which is better for living in. What do you think?

The main advantage to a hammock is sleep comfort. But whether or not you can get used to sleeping in a hammock is something you'd have to find out for yourself. If you suffer from sleep apnea, you'll probably need to sleep on your side. When you side-sleep in a typical gathered-end hammock, the material will want to be right up against your face - something either you can or can't tolerate.

As I've gotten older, the ground has gotten harder. So last year I switched to a hammock. Here is some info on my setup. Sleep comfort was my primary motivation and as a plus it is kindof cool to be able to sleep on the side of a hill above the brush. For me, hammocking is the right way to go at this stage of my life.

[Tipi Walter]

As far as comfort goes, hammocks are for fair weather only. No matter which season you're hiking in, you have to bring a rain-fly to accompany it. This is why you see Jamacians in hammocks and Eskimos in Yurts.

An alternative is to tarp camp. Get a Tarp with guy lines for your roof, tarp for the ground, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag. It's a cheap alternative to a tent.

The major advantage to a tent is fly-exclusion. We're talking no-see-ums, blackflies, and mosquitos. In a bad area, a tent is the only thing that's going to keep you safe from those little bloodsuckers. You can get netting for hammocks, but they'll still get you.

My impression is that hammock camping IS tarp camping---both a hammock and a tarp are needed for hammock camping---except for those rare nights when there's no rain or drizzle or mist or sleet or snow.

[Tinker]

X2 on the larger tarp for a hammock. I had the maccat deluxe and found it way better than the standard size HH. I could do anything in bad weather under the tarp. Just roll the hammock into the snakeskins and youve got oodles of room.

X3 on a larger tarp. Ultralight isn't what you'll be thinking about when your hammock and sleeping bag are soaked (now, that isn't ultralight, is it?). Get a silnylon 8x10 foot tarp, and you might just have enough space for a second person underneath, or a dog, and you can actually change in a rainstorm without soaking your clothing prematurely. I love a hammock because I don't have to crawl on muddy ground to get into it, getting out of it is as simple as swinging your feet over the side and standing up, and the "floor" of your "tent" never gets dirty (if you're careful).
Re: Hennessy Hammocks - since the tarp attaches to the hammock support ropes you can't set it up separately (unless you modify it with longer lines). I especially like the fact that I can set up my fly, and then hang my hammock without getting it and the sleeping bag wet.
Most tents require that you set up the inner body and the poles first, which becomes problematic in a heavy rain (you have to lay out the form fitting tarp and try to set up the tent underneath it without getting the inner tent soaked - takes patience and practice).

[Tinker]

Originally Posted by KeyWest
"As far as comfort goes, hammocks are for fair weather only. No matter which season you're hiking in, you have to bring a rain-fly to accompany it. This is why you see Jamacians in hammocks and Eskimos in Yurts." (tents don't have rainflies? -most do)

An alternative is to tarp camp. Get a Tarp with guy lines for your roof, tarp for the ground, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag. It's a cheap alternative to a tent. (and invites ticks to bite you).

The major advantage to a tent is fly-exclusion. We're talking no-see-ums, blackflies, and mosquitos. In a bad area, a tent is the only thing that's going to keep you safe from those little bloodsuckers.

You can get netting for hammocks,

but they'll still get you." ----- Really? With a bug net? How?
If you say that the netting sits up against the hammock, I'll agree - but they still can't bite through the hammock material, and it can be treated with permethrin to stop them,
Or: you can sew pullouts onto the hammock bug net and attach them to the tarp pullouts to keep the mesh away from your body entirely. Then you can sit up in the hammock, legs over the side, and watch the little buggers try to get at you.

Otoh: Many solo ultralight tents are so skinny that it would be easy on a muggy night to roll up against the mesh, without sleeping bag, to offer yourself as a blood sacrifice to the flying winged leeches.


Bold and parentheses added by me.

[gunner76]

You can get netting for hammocks, but they'll still get you

Wrong...I live in skeeter heaven on the NC coast and I have yet to have any bugs get me thru my BlackBird with its built in bug net

[dejoha]

Howdy!

This is actually my second post on the forum, but I wanted to quickly introduce myself. There are plenty of hammock gurus on this forum from what I can tell, but I'm happy to offer any advice/info I can, especially questions about my book.

Happy Hanging,

~derek

[pepkbell]

I have done both and the ground is better and lighter if you know what your doing

[pepkbell]

to many cold spots hanging

[Hooch]

to many cold spots hanging

Unless you know how to prevent them. Hammocking, admittedly, has a learning curve to it. However, that curve is getting less and less steep as hammocking and some of the gear that can be used with it evolves. Many hammockers, especially those who manufacture gear in the cottage industry and DIY hammockers are innovators who help hamocking grow and keep up the cycle of evolution.

You'll see many people here on WB who will quickly criticize hammocks, but who have never tried them before or couldn't get past the learning curve. Hammocks certainly aren't for everyone, but, then again, neither are tents. It's all about picking the right shelter for you, regardless of what it is.

If you're interested in hammocking, I'll poing out 3 go-to resources from which to learn:

1) YouTube videos by Shug (shugemery on his YouTube channel). Shug produces very informative, entertaining videos, many of which are geared specifically toward new hammockers of those just curious about it.

2) HammockForums. HF is WB's sister site and is the best single online resource for all things hammocking.

3) The Ultimate Hang: An Illustrated Guide to Hammock Camping. This book (IBSN-13: 978-1466263680, IBSN-10: 1466263687) by HF member Dejoha is an excellent illustrated guide to hammock camping. It's a great resounce for newbies and veteran hangers alike. It's also available in Nook, Kindle and iTunes versions, if you're so inclined.

[russb]

to many cold spots hanging

Not if you know what you are doing.

I recently backpacked with a friend who slept in a tent. He had cold spots while on the ground. He didn't blame the ground, it was his own fault for not having the right gear, or not using it correctly. I was in my hammock and toasty warm all night. The temp only got down to single digits F. Not that bad. Two weeks prior I was in my hammock at negative 22*F and again was toasty warm, no cold spots.

[timbo59]

Tried a hammock twice. The last time, I had a quality setup (Warbonnet stuff). It wasn't for me. I toss and turn all night when I sleep. It was too fussy to setup for me. I also couldn't get the picture out of my mind of some long-toothed animal taking a large bite out of my butt in the dark of night...felt very "exposed".

This thread's long dead but I had to laugh at the point about getting a chunk taken out of your arse by sharp-toothed animals wandering in from below. Tenting has its own hazards - I once woke up in the Australian wilderness to find a log lying on me, and pondered drowsily how such a heavy branch had landed on me in the night without hurting me. Then the 'branch' moved and I came to life real quick, thinking someone was messing with me. I dashed out with my hunting knife at hand, ready to take on all comers, only to discover that the villain of the piece was a 5' long goanna that had decided to lie on top of the tent - and me - for the warmth! Lucky I didn't get bitten, as they have a bite that makes wounds fester for years.

[mPalozzola01]

I am still new to the forums here and will probally get blasted for this recommendation due to the hammocks being heavier then some brands but I sleep in a Clark Tropical Model Jungle Hammock. And i swear by em. I'm planning a AT thru-hike and I will be taking a fully winterizable 4 season model with me. The brands hammocks are all in one. Some models the tarp is independent but in most they are simply detatchable. As a result they are super easy to set up. The mosquito netting is no seeum grade, and the bed liner is mosquito proof. I live in South Florida and I take my hammock out with my kayak or on the few hiking trails down here often enough to confirm their claims of bug proofing. As mentioned earlier I also do not agree with the claim that hammocks are fair weather only but hammocks need to have their bad weather situations thought out a bit. If expecting cold weather an under quilt and top quilt system is needed and insultion is key even in more warm temperatures a simple 50-degree sleeping bag alone will be cool at night even upwards of 70 degrees due to the air flow below you. Its not a con just something that needs to be taken into account in preparation. For rain as also previously mentioned I do strongly recommend a large rain fly even on my small tropical model I have Clarks largest rainfly designed for their two person hammocks that way in inclement weather I can still set up the tarp in a way that I can pull my camp chair right underneath it and sit through the rain without being in the hammock and stay perfectly dry. Hammocks are not to be thought of as a cheaper or even much loghter alternative to a tent but simply as an alternative. I love my hammock and even with the smaller personal space then a tent I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel I'll always hang. Lastly I've never been out multi day backpacking without the hammock but I can't wrap my head around how people will hike all day through rain then set up a tent in mud. Give me two trees and I'm happy. No mud no dirt no water

[Drybones]

I am a hiker that has only done dayhikes and I want to take it up to at least a two day hike. What is holding me back is that I can't figure out what equipment I need. I am a big dude. I am 6ft and 275lbs. and backpacker tents are small as well as expensive. I am trying to determine whether I should get a hammock which is easier to setup or a tent which is better for living in. What do you think?

If you can sleep well on the ground use a tent, it's lighter and if you get the right tent it's much easier to set up. My back kills me sleeping on the ground so I am forced to switch to a hammock to get a good nights rest. I can set my tent up in 1-2 minutes, now takes about 5 times that long to set the hammock up, but I'm new at it and learning.

[Five Tango]

Tents are not right for everybody.Hammocks are not right for everybody.My body requires a hammock.They tend to be uncomfortably cold at times.Springing for the high price of down can make a hammock a great way to sleep.I think some ground sleepers use feathers too but they don't have to buy the underquilt like us hammock people do.......Hammockforums will give you more information than you want to know.

[gbolt]

I was alway's happy with a tent until age 50. Bad sleep nights, sore body, and trouble climbing into an out of the tent pushed me to try a Hammock. I now cannot imagine returning to the ground. To each there own.

However, back to the OP - Search Underground Quilts, Jackson Michigan's website. The have started a rental program to try and allow individuals to rent and try out Hanging with quality equiiptment without having to purchase and then resell the items. If just looking for one trip, this may be the way to go and then you can decide whether it is for you or not. I beleive they give breaks if you rent and buy items from them. However, even if you decide to go with other companies, you will have a better idea of your personal requirements.

[Theosus]

If you can sleep well on the ground use a tent, it's lighter and if you get the right tent it's much easier to set up. My back kills me sleeping on the ground so I am forced to switch to a hammock to get a good nights rest. I can set my tent up in 1-2 minutes, now takes about 5 times that long to set the hammock up, but I'm new at it and learning.

Agreed. Tenting seems lighter and less bulky. My AT hiking friend uses a tarp tent contrail, an inflatable mat, and a 20* down bag. his stuff is way smaller than mine. Even my smaller setup is bulkier than his. Hammocking has a plus, though - when it rained on us during a recent trip, I took down my hammock and everything else and just left the tarp up, and spread it out wide. It provided us a nice place to stay dry and eat breakfast.

[rojotide]

hammocks are way more comfortable and lighter