hammock camping.

[Steamers]

I have a ENO hammock with all the extras, under quilt, rain fly, bug net>>> get it!!!~ My problem is, the weight. of all of this Hammock hiking stuff is to be light weight, but it really isn't. Im thinking of leaving all this at home and picking up a Bivy! any thoughts... And if a Bivy is lighter and better, Im thinking it is, whats the best bivy for the trail?

[kayak karl]

might be able to help with hammock weight, but i hammock, know nothing about bivy's.

[Stir Fry]

Use a Hammock for comfort not weight savings. A good Hammock set up will be about the same as a light weight tent. The bivy is lighter but you will have a lot fewer options for set up. If you want the lightest option just use ground cloth and a tarp. Use Cuben fiber and you can be in the 10oz range.

[Steamers]

What can i do to trim some fat off tis set up ? In all my hammock w/ all gear and stuff sack comes in @ 5 lbs 16oz.... shelter is shelter, is what I saying.. Some nights when i sleep in my hammock i wake up w a backache, so i have to put a pillow under the small of my back to hike the next day that 2 pillows not accounted for but blow up so not a great deal of extra weight!!!!!

[Steamers]

Kayak Karl,
What can i do to trim some fat off tis set up ? In all my hammock w/ all gear and stuff sack comes in @ 5 lbs 16oz.... shelter is shelter, is what I saying.. Some nights when i sleep in my hammock i wake up w a backache, so i have to put a pillow under the small of my back to hike the next day that 2 pillows not accounted for but blow up so not a great deal of extra weight!!!!!

[Grits]

Eno with the stock slap straps is very heavy. I would go to http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/? and scroll down to the bottom to the vendors part and start looking. Lots of great gear there. I have the warbonnet Blackbird double layer 1.1 with superfly tarp 1.1 ripstop nylon and 20 deg full underquilt and top quilt from Hammock Gear M50 outer material with a the total weight of 85 oz. You can get lighter with other designs of hammocks, whoppie sling suspension and as stir fry was saying using the cuben fiber tarp my next purchase which will save 12 oz on the tarp with doors. Whoopie sling suspension will further reduce your weights.
Good luck
18891

[waterman1148]

Trading the slap straps for whoopie slings should save a little weight and make setup more tunable.

[urbansix]

What can i do to trim some fat off tis set up ? In all my hammock w/ all gear and stuff sack comes in @ 5 lbs 16oz.... shelter is shelter, is what I saying.. Some nights when i sleep in my hammock i wake up w a backache, so i have to put a pillow under the small of my back to hike the next day that 2 pillows not accounted for but blow up so not a great deal of extra weight!!!!!

5lb 16oz - does that come to an even 6lbs?

Don't forget with that weight you are replacing the sleeping bag in your ground scenario. My Warbonnet Blackbird (not their lightest) setup with TQ and UQ, and ripstop (i.e. not sil nylon) rectangle tarp still only comes to 4.5 lbs.
Hammock/tarp/stakes = 2.6 lbs - about in the range of your decent solo tents. I feel i'm better off than a tent in the $/oz. ratio.
TQ/UQ = 1.9 lbs - about 10oz less than the Big Agnes down bag I replaced. I used a foam pad until I could afford the UQ - they weigh about the same but are hundreds of dollars apart ;-). The quilts pack much much smaller than their counterparts.

I am not sure what tarp you are using. Maybe some savings there?

I originally went to a hammock for modularity. I was hiking with my son and did not want to buy a 2-person tent that I would be stuck with when going solo.

I use rolled up fleece or semi-inflated drysack for pillow or knee support.

[Stir Fry]

Shelter

1. Warbonnet Black bird.
2. Home made Cubin fiber tarp, with 6 Titanium
stakes 10.5X8.5
3. Home made UQ, 72”X48” 8” differential cut, 12 oz 900 fill down.


24oz

10oz
17oz
Total 3lb 04oz 51oz

[bigcranky]

A breatheable bivy can work with a small light tarp, but a waterproof bivy isn't very usable on the AT. (Think for a few minutes about how you'll get in and out in a downpour without getting your bag soaked.)

The Eno is a fine hammock, but not all that light compared to some others.

[urbansix]

Shelter
1. Warbonnet Black bird.
2. Home made Cubin fiber tarp, with 6 Titanium
stakes 10.5X8.5
3. Home made UQ, 72”X48” 8” differential cut, 12 oz 900 fill down.
24oz

10oz
17oz
Total 3lb 04oz 51oz



& Top quilt?

[Stir Fry]

Top Quilt is also home made . Its 81”x54”, has a 4” differential cut. Material is Momentum 55, inside and out. 3” loft good to 15*-20* 15oz 900 fill down. Total weight is 24 oz.

[Grits]

Nice set up Stir Fry. Have you looked at this water repellent Down for your DIY and what do you think of it? http://www.theadventurepost.com/all-posts/water-repellent-down-is-hot-stuff/

[gunner76]

Attend a group hang in your area. You can learn alot by being able to check out the other rigs and asking why someone is using the set up the way they do. You can find the hangs at Hammockforums.net

[Stir Fry]

With the tight weave of most material used for down it is actualy hard to get it wet. The water repelent down is a little redundent and not woth the extera weight no nater how slight it may be.

[Wise Old Owl]

I have done a lot of bivy with the boy scouts in the past while backpacking - I got into it when I joined OA, and because I wanted to be alone anot with some noob, I stuck to it... there are great advantages being off the ground for comfort and weight, I have sold off all the bivys less one...

1. it is not for everyone ( claustrophobic )
2. expects to get wet or soaked
3. high humidity with mosquitoes is a pita
4. more attention to picking the right spot,
5. Critter's walk right up to you. And might want to spend the night...

[Steamers]

Thanks for all the thoughts and fore site into my hammock situation. Looks like ill be selling my eno and looking into a diferent setup.

[Spogatz]

It's as much about comfort as it is about weight.


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[dla]

Hanging to me is all about comfort. The ground is just too hard nowadays.

[bear bag hanger]

While I'm a hammock hanger, if you are having back problems when using a hammock, I'd advise ditching it. Nothing wrong with sleeping on the ground. I personally don't like bivy's very much. A good cuben fiber tarp, about 8X10 or maybe a little smaller will serve you better.

[Steamers]

I love hanging for a while but when I fall asleep in my hammock for 8 hours or so I can barley walk when i get out of it. I holds me a a slumpy angle .

[SawnieRobertson]

'Nother question about hammocking. Where does one's dog sleep and on what? Thanks for helpful replies--Kinnickinic

[Wise Old Owl]

'Nother question about hammocking. Where does one's dog sleep and on what? Thanks for helpful replies--Kinnickinic

See the dog thread. Several discussions there.


If your back is hurting from hammocking, set it up lower and tighter then sleep on a diagonal, far less of a curve and more comfort for us side sleepers. See Hammock Forum's.net for more info.
http:/CLICK (http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/search.php?searchid=8447007)

[gunner76]

Also try sleeping with the foot end of the hammock set up several inches higher than the head end.

[goheelz]

I have a ENO hammock with all the extras, under quilt, rain fly, bug net>>> get it!!!~ My problem is, the weight. of all of this Hammock hiking stuff is to be light weight, but it really isn't. Im thinking of leaving all this at home and picking up a Bivy! any thoughts... And if a Bivy is lighter and better, Im thinking it is, whats the best bivy for the trail?

Definitely follow the advice about hammockforums. My son has an ENO and we stripped weight by taking out the hook up through the channel ends including the heavy metal carabiners. We replaced them with whoopie slings and use polyester straps to form a marlin spike hitch (look up Shug's video on hammockforum). I've yet to need a bug net. I have hit the hammock and tarp with premethin to kill the bugs. If it's not cold, bring reflectix or a lightweight pad instead of an underquilt.

[scope]

I don't understand why he had a hammock setup in the first place if he's now considering a bivy. I understand going lighter, but I fail to see how a bivy saves him much weight, knowing of course that he still needs most of that other stuff he listed. Maybe not the bugnet, and maybe he plans to sleep directly on the ground with no under insulation. Certainly not enough weight savings to justify being on the ground.

[congnar]

does a pad in a hammock work as well as a UQ?

[bigcranky]

does a pad in a hammock work as well as a UQ?

Depends. A pad can be as warm or warmer than an underquilt. But a pad is less comfortable, easier to fall off inside the hammock, and most pads aren't wide enough to wrap around the shoulders. An underquilt can be warmer (depends on which one), and they are certainly easier to use once attached, though that process is more involved than just throwing a pad inside a hammock.

A pad is also multi-use - you can sleep on the ground or in a shelter, and use it as a ground sheet for lunch or breaks.

[scope]

does a pad in a hammock work as well as a UQ?

Depends on the work you want it to do. One of functions of an UQ is that it allows you to use the hammock as intended (and stay warm doing so). A pad in a hammock is not optimal because the rigidity of the pad (to varying degrees) doesn't go real well with the material of the hammock that conforms to your body. Pads are rather foolproof when it comes to CBS, although sometimes they can slide out from under you during the night. Once you learn how to get an UQ cinched up under and around you, then its pretty foolproof, too.

Air pads conform more and typically pack down with less bulk than closed cell pads, but I find its a catch-22 with them... when half inflating as most suggest, pads tend to accentuate the bend in the hammock - especially std length/long ones, making the lie less flat... I find that inflating one almost full flattens out the lay, but I do lose some of the conforming effect of the hammock and, therefore, have pressure points and want to toss and turn more.