View Full Version : where do you put your gear?
grizzly bear 336
10-26-2012, 20:11
I am new to the hammock camping. Without a tent, where do you put your pack and other gear when it's raining?
yellowsirocco
10-26-2012, 20:22
Hook my pack on the end and throw the pack cover over it.
kayak karl
10-26-2012, 20:25
clip it to suspension where it meets hammock head end. i never leave anything on the ground ever since the skunk at Hiker Welcome Hostel. tried to take it'
in winter my pack is under my feet. once you hang food, setup tarp and hammock and use cloths for pillow, it's all but empty.
Wise Old Owl
10-26-2012, 20:36
Right on the web suspension on the tree, cheap carabiner.
On the ground under the hammock with my boots on top of it. Plenty dry there.
I've done both; hang it off the end of the hammock under the tarp and left it under the hammock on my tyvek ground sheet next to my shoes. I have also hung it off the hammock suspension hugging the tree where it was not protected from the elements, this did not work out so well when the sky opened up at about 5 in the morning one day. Now I usually stick to leaving it under me and hanging whatever I want to dry/air out at the foot end of the hammock suspension.
That's the cool thing about hammocking, you get to try everything and anything, see what works for you.
I've done both; hang it off the end of the hammock under the tarp and left it under the hammock on my tyvek ground sheet next to my shoes. I have also hung it off the hammock suspension hugging the tree where it was not protected from the elements, this did not work out so well when the sky opened up at about 5 in the morning one day. Now I usually stick to leaving it under me and hanging whatever I want to dry/air out at the foot end of the hammock suspension.
That's the cool thing about hammocking, you get to try everything and anything, see what works for you.
Forgot to add that I just bring a couple extra small biners with me when I go out just to hang stuff off the end of the hammock.
Binner from the tree strap on one end for the pack. I use a trash compactor bag over the pack to keep it dry.
--louis
I've done both; hang it off the end of the hammock under the tarp and left it under the hammock on my tyvek ground sheet next to my shoes. I have also hung it off the hammock suspension hugging the tree where it was not protected from the elements, this did not work out so well when the sky opened up at about 5 in the morning one day. Now I usually stick to leaving it under me and hanging whatever I want to dry/air out at the foot end of the hammock suspension.
That's the cool thing about hammocking, you get to try everything and anything, see what works for you.
Ditto! I do like to keep things off the ground, though, in case somethinge that likes salt comes along.
JaxHiker
10-27-2012, 17:14
On the ground under the hammock with my boots on top of it. Plenty dry there.
Yup. I carry a small piece of Tyvek.
Pack goes on ground under hammock. Boots on hammock suspension strap. I carry a small piece of painters drop for ground under pack.
bear bag hanger
10-28-2012, 12:08
I've tried both hanging the pack, etc. from the suspension and putting it on the ground. Mostly, I put the pack on the ground covered with my poncho. It stays dry there. Hanging from the suspension creates a different, for me less comfortable, hang. Balancing the weight from the head end to the foot end helps, but still doesn't feel right. Putting it on the ground wrapped with a poncho works, but if it's raining hard all night, you may wind up with your stuff floating away. I've not really found the definitive answer this yet and I've been hanging for over ten years.
kolokolo
10-28-2012, 16:01
I put my pack in an extra trash bag that I carry for that purpose, and put it on the ground under the hammock. I hang my shoes and other 'essentials' (like, I'm going nowhere if skunk or racoon decides to take my shoes!) from the ridgeline in my hammock.
I do like the idea of hanging things from the hammock suspension. I might try that in the future.
thebrewguy
10-28-2012, 18:52
Before I switched to the hammock I would put the pack cover on and put in under the vestibule with my boots on top. So far with the hammock I've just put the pack cover on and put it under/next to me and the boots right under me. I hung it at the end of the hammock and it seemed to make it lay funny but I will probably revisit it and try again. That seems like the best place to me as long as you put the pack cover on to protect from incoming rain.
I put mine on a small groundsheet (2 mil drop cloth) with pack cover on right under the hammock.*
Several things......I either hang my pack at the end of the suspension--between the end of the hammock and the tree OR put it on the ground under the hammock. It all depends upon my mood, the weather and my level of concern over animals getting into my pack if it is left on the ground.
I have an internal, overhead, ridgeline cord that runs the entire length INSIDE of my Hennessy Hammock. It has some clips and a mesh bag suspended on it. I shake the dirt off of my shoes and I tie them over the ridgeline cord at my foot end. I hang my socks over the ridgeline next to them to dry out. This way, my shoes and socks are inside--out of the elements--and they are away from any animals who might like the salt that gathers in the shoes/socks from sweat. This also makes my shoes and socks very handy in the morning.
I loop my headlamp over the ridgeline near my head. (This gives me easy access to lighting and I never have to wonder where my light is. I put my eyeglasses in the mesh pocket attached to the ridgeline. If I am listening to a radio or iPod--I suspend it from the ridgeline and let the earbuds hang down toward my head.
That's what I do with all of my gear.
nottelling
11-03-2012, 02:12
Mine usually lives attached to a tree (at suspension level) with a nylon BDU belt and the pack cover deployed. If it's really heavy rain, I'll stow it directly under my hammock with a poncho over the top - I figure if it's too wet and wild outside there won't be too many critters interested in chewing through the side of my pack to get to the food bag so I'm happy to leave it on the ground.
TheYoungOne
11-08-2012, 14:38
I either keep it on the suspension by my feet to proved some wind protection for my toes, or a use an Eno underbelly. The good thing about the underbelly is if you don't overloaded it like the tool in this Eno picture and you hang it close to your hammock, it provides a little dead air space insulation for your butt like a Clarks NA would.
http://www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com/images/product-galleries/underbelly/ub1.jpg
UnfamousK
03-18-2013, 14:47
underneath me on a space rectangular poncho, or with strap around tree with pack cover on....
WILLIAM HAYES
03-18-2013, 23:07
in a garbage bag underneath my hammock
2014hopeful
03-19-2013, 15:09
Skunks are going to steal my shoes??? Where is the forum about that? Come on, nature.
in a garbage bag underneath my hammock
Done that. Works well.
I've also hung my pack, upside down, from a tree. I put the waistbelt around the tree. That way it doesn't get full of water if it rains. You can put stuff in it that you won't need until next morning.
You won't want to leave food or dirty cookware in it, of course.
Scout620
03-20-2013, 03:22
Jacks R Better has a "Gear Hammock", which doubles as a pack cover. Triples as a wash basin.