View Full Version : tent or hammock?
Toolumpy
01-01-2009, 14:56
I have both but am planning on walking as much as possible each day and was concerned about the ability to find a nice place to pitch my tent at the end of each day. Will stay at a few shelters but mostly tent or hammock. Section hiking 30 days in May-June. Starting at Springer Mtn.
plenty of places to pitch a tent in the south. almost every mountaintop and gap.
Either one works. They each have good points and drawbacks. I like a hammock for the comfort.
bigcranky
01-01-2009, 15:35
I've used both in that area in that time of year, and I preferred my hammock. It's warm enough that a simple 3/4 ridgerest is enough bottom insulation, and I like the comfort and ease of setup. Yes, there are plenty of tent "campsites" around, but not many that I would consider particularly good. Generally overused, heavily packed down, and not very flat.
If you're already familiar with hammocking, take the hammock and enough padding to keep you warm when the nights occasionally drop into the 40's. You can hang most any where and hang out near shelters if you want a dry spot to cook or otherwise not be confined to the hammock during rain.
Highway Man
01-01-2009, 16:41
I've just recently modified my shelter setup. I went out to get Speer hammock and McCat Delux tarp. The reason for me to change from tent to hammock was mostly based on the backpacking trip I had two month ago. It rained three days out of five days. I had to set up tent in a light rain. One night I even didn't bother tenting, but staying in Mashicopang shelter with three guys from Philadelphia, and a couple of nice mice as my ears still remained intact next morning. The pros and cons of hammock/tarp combo,
Pros:
- Can be set up/break in the rain without getting anything else wet;
- Relatively lighter than my old 4 Lb. tent inc. rain fly/tent/rod/ground sheet (now H/T set is litttle over 2 Lb.);
- Comfortable/softer to my body at night; I had sleep over a hard rock or tree stumps a few nights when tenting;
- Can be set up over a 45^ slope/stream/rock scrambles between trees;
- Can cook under the tarp. No fear to burn a hole inside a tent;
- Absorb less moisture from envir. when it rains. My tent set weight increased about 2~3 pounds and I had to dry the rain fly, tent, and ground sheet at Joe-To-Go's parking lot, with his permission, of course. And it was cloudy and a chilly day;
- Assume it vents better than tent in summer time;
Cons:
- Less warmer than tent when temp. drops low. I only spent one night out in Hammock. The temp was 40F/windy. I felt slightly cold at my back and I had a thermorest Ridgeline Delux pad under;
- Sleep in a cocoon. I felt a little hard to make a turn;
- As a newbie, I fear the strap tied to the trees may get loose, and I will fall to the ground to break my back(be very careful with it);
- Takes more time to set up (figure out tree gap, tie straps...);
- Mayby hard to set up where no trees. I have a sleeping pad, trekking poles, a huge tarp, or/and mostly summer time anyway;
These are my primitive understanding of H/T combo shelter. Thank the folks at the hammock sub forum.
peter_pan
01-03-2009, 08:21
Highwayman, et al,
Plenty of easy solutions to your cons.... especially staying warm.
Please visit Hammock forums....http://www.hammockforums.net and take a good look around.
Pan
Hammock ftw!
I have the Hennessey Hammock Expedition model for $139.
-virtually limitless campsites (just need 2 trees)
-I believe you can even set it up as a tent without trees
-very comfortable (no more sore back in the morning)
sclittlefield
01-03-2009, 10:44
Hammock ftw!
I have the Hennessey Hammock Expedition model for $139.
-virtually limitless campsites (just need 2 trees)
-I believe you can even set it up as a tent without trees
-very comfortable (no more sore back in the morning)
Yup, you can set it up as a tent. More of a large bivy and tarp in my opinion. Hiking poles on the ends or sticks standing up will keep it up and stake out the side tie outs like normal. There are instructions (http://www.hennessyhammock.com/use-as-a-tent.html)or at least pictures on the Hennessy website.
take-a-knee
01-03-2009, 12:30
Yup, you can set it up as a tent. More of a large bivy and tarp in my opinion. Hiking poles on the ends or sticks standing up will keep it up and stake out the side tie outs like normal. There are instructions (http://www.hennessyhammock.com/use-as-a-tent.html)or at least pictures on the Hennessy website.
The only reason to ever do so is to avoid bugs, otherwise just use the tarp.
I hiked the southern 350 miles using a tarp then a tent. The last 180 with a hammock / tarp combo. I wish I had the Hammock for my first years of sectioning,,,,,, looking back, I can't remember many places along that section where if I really wanted, I could not set up my hammock, & even the few where I couldn't, I could always just set up as a tarp shelter & been done with it, or moved on a mile or less & been comfortable. The last trip, there were a few places that I set up that I could not have camped if I had a tent or tarp, one being the Chatfield shelter & surrounding area.
Some of my favorite tarp / tent campsites would have been that much better with a hammock.
The only reason to ever do so is to avoid bugs, otherwise just use the tarp.
I happen to be paranoid of bugs when I sleep so that works perfect. =]
Speaking strictly from the standpoint of comfort, a hammock is the way to go. If comfort is low on your priority list or isn't important to you at all, then go with a tent or tarp. Me? I'll pick comfort. :D