View Full Version : Long Trail: Tent, hammock, or .....
'Til now I've been planning on bringing my Lightheart Solo cuben tent on my Long Trail hike..
I have been toying with 2 other ideas....
1. Hammock (WBBB, also have a 3 season Yeti and Speer winter tarp)
2. Gatewood Cape & TiGoat bivy and shelter hop using this combo when weather was nice or if I landed between shelters.
Honestly, the tent is the lightest option of all. It is not free standing and it's very long - too long for most tent platforms would be my guess.
The hammock idea is nice but I need a crash refresher course on rigging it and the tarp. There's also a substantial weight penalty and I'm trying to go light as possible.
The Gatewood Cape / bivy weighs in just slightly heavier than the tent. I *could* use the cape as rain gear which would save me some weight but I don't like the idea of climbing over rocks wearing my shelter. Also, I'd hate to get jammed up in a rainstorm with just the cape and bivy and not be able to pitch it against the weather.
I'm assuming the LT would be a hammocker's paradise?
10K, you're taunting me!!! No way are you going to hammock. If you do, you just need to get some more gear -- the yeti is fine, the other stuff too heavy for a fair comparison to your alternatives. What was that credit card number, again? Frankly, given how minimalist you are, you could use the tiny old HH silnylon tarp for a warm weather trip -- the one that everyone says is terrible and I know you can buy used on Hammock Forums for around 20 bucks. Weighs 8 ounces. And you don't need no stinkin' bug net on your hammock after June. Just bring a head net...
My friend, I just weighed my stuff and my WBB, tarp, Yeti, and assorted hardware for the ridgeline and to stake out the tarp is 4 lbs and change. Morally and ethically, I just can't do it. :)
I've only got 3.5 weeks to figure it out. I mean anything will work - it's just a matter of deciding.
I do have a Hennessy I got for my wife that has that itsy bitsy tarp but I'm too tall for it.
I know... Only way it works is with a cuben or spinn tarp and an ultralight gathered end hammock with a hardware-free suspension.
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Not famalar with that tent or hammacks. I use a freestanding tent mainly on account of the rain. And it will rain hard with wind. And be chilly. The bugs I don't have issue with.
What is an ultra light gathered end hammock?
What is an ultra light gathered end hammock?
Butt in a Sling weight weenie hammock kit. Great basic inexpensive yet light system. Just don't add too many bells and whistles. There are others. Grand Trunk Nano7 is what I use. The suspension system (with the adjustable ridge line) that Butt in a Sling has in his kit is the right approach, in my opinion. A gathered end hammock is just a simple piece of fabric with the ends, well, gathered!
Thanks ... I am convinced hammocks are the way to go and was looking at those companies you referred to. I can't see myself going with a WBB due to cost vs weight vs capacity rating. I weigh 245 and am 5'11".
What tarp and size do you use with the Nano? Bug netting or just a head net?
once i just brought a poncho oh to be young again.
Thanks ... I am convinced hammocks are the way to go and was looking at those companies you referred to. I can't see myself going with a WBB due to cost vs weight vs capacity rating. I weigh 245 and am 5'11".
What tarp and size do you use with the Nano? Bug netting or just a head net?
this isn't thread drift, is it? you should buy 10K's winter hammock if you plan on late season/winter camping ;<)... otherwise, the tarp size is directly related to how much of a gram weenie you are. Get a cuben tarp if you can afford it, then it can be a bit bigger. I use a warbonnet spinn edge tarp year round, which is about 8 x 10. There is a cuben tarp in my future, though -- probably will keep using the warbonnet in the winter and get a slightly smaller one for the summer. At the height of bug season or when it is really warm and I won't be in the sleeping bag much I carry a bug sock made out of tulle -- delicate but lighter than netting. Either side of bug season I carry a headnet. Fall and early spring, nothing... winter -- a "sock" the shape of my bugnet. You from Essex? Come to Wallingford and I'll show you my pile of hammock stuff. You are right, though -- you do need a longer hammock than I do. No way will the Nano be comfortable. Resist the "double" hammock temptation, though. oh -- and go to Hammockforums.net, too.
But... but.... the double hammock thing was all the rage over at hammock forums when I bought my WBBB!!!
My how things change... :)
mark schofield
06-30-2012, 09:46
Hi 10K; I've been using a TarpTent Contrail for the past 3-4 years on my trips up and down the Long Trail. I shelter half the time and tent the other half. I've had no problem finding on the ground tent areas where there are also tent platforms. If you don't mind using the shelters you should be OK (in my experience) . Where tenting sites might be hard to find (up north) it will be less crowded and you can probably find room in the shelters.
But... but.... the double hammock thing was all the rage over at hammock forums when I bought my WBBB!!!
My how things change... :)
you are absolutely right... the caution I would give before going to hammock forums is that the overall emphasis of many of their members is not usually on the lightest workable solution -- which is the very one I know you want!!! Hey, lots of people still call a 3 pound backpack "ultralight." The hammock manufacturers give people the bells and whistles they think they need and it just makes things heavier.
Hammocking is the best way to hike the LT!
Oh, and I have had or tried every hammock out there, including the new Dangerbird from DreamHammock. The Warbonnet Blackbird is hands down the best hammock available right now...
lazy river road
07-04-2012, 22:40
I'm leaving for my LT SOBO hike the late July and am planning on using my WBBB 1.1 dbl. Yes its heavy at 21 ounces and their is def lighter options but boy do I sleep so comfy and soundly in it. However even with the WBBB I'm able to get my base weight down to 8.75 lbs and looking and hoping to cut out that 3/4th of a pound and get it down to a solid 8. 10-K I've been reading through your threads and posts and have found all the information very useful. Hope to meet you on the trail in a few weeks.
lazy river road
07-05-2012, 08:12
21oz is heavy??
Well yes and no.
Yes because it's the heaviest item in my pack and if I used a GT or a BIAS or even a traveler with a tulle bug net then I'd easily be able to cut that weight in half.
No because nothing beats the comfort of a WBBB, its like sleeping on a cloud :)
However I do have a custom hammock in the making that I am hoping comes in at 11oz including tulle bug net and hoping its as comfy as the WBBB. But well see.
It's not so much the hammock. It'sl all the ancillary equipment that goes with it to make it a package deal that makes it too heavy for me. My tarp, hammock, underquilt, and the rigging to setup the tarp all together weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.25 lbs. My tent weighs 19 ozs... A significant difference, especially considering that I sleep ok on the ground.
When I have time to really focus on it I'm going to pick 1azurus's brain on how to get a sub 2# hammock setup and probably convert.
T.S.Kobzol
07-05-2012, 09:10
The Lighthear Solo cuben looks like the cat's meow. No? Were you looking forward to tent platforms? :-) There should be enough of space on the ground.
'Til now I've been planning on bringing my Lightheart Solo cuben tent on my Long Trail hike..
I have been toying with 2 other ideas....
1. Hammock (WBBB, also have a 3 season Yeti and Speer winter tarp)
2. Gatewood Cape & TiGoat bivy and shelter hop using this combo when weather was nice or if I landed between shelters.
Honestly, the tent is the lightest option of all. It is not free standing and it's very long - too long for most tent platforms would be my guess.
The hammock idea is nice but I need a crash refresher course on rigging it and the tarp. There's also a substantial weight penalty and I'm trying to go light as possible.
The Gatewood Cape / bivy weighs in just slightly heavier than the tent. I *could* use the cape as rain gear which would save me some weight but I don't like the idea of climbing over rocks wearing my shelter. Also, I'd hate to get jammed up in a rainstorm with just the cape and bivy and not be able to pitch it against the weather.
I'm assuming the LT would be a hammocker's paradise?
StealthHikerBoy
07-05-2012, 09:30
I've done quite a few 3-4 day hikes on the Long Trail. Although I am usually not a shelter person, it is really easy to find shelter space. Many times I wonder why I brought the tent at all, especially up north. I now just bring a tarp to hike the LT... so I'd say bring the lightest thing you have.