Originally Posted by
cspan
Hey Red Sky, I'm from Chattanooga as well!
As one who really would like hammocking camping to work for me, but still struggles with comfort and sleep, I agree with most of the above, though I'd like to add a bit to it as well.
One consideration I've come to appreciate is ventilation and getting breezes during warmer weather. It's been my experience in a hammock with built in bugnet (Grand Trunk Skeeter Beeter Pro) that they are far too hot in summer. Last weekend it was 81F at sundown and that was way too hot to be in a hammock with integrated bugnet, because the bugnet begins well above your shoulder and head level ... it's mostly overhead. So even if there was a breeze (there was none), it wouldn't hit you from the side except through the fabric. What's more, the bugnet is above you, but not far above that is your tarp (in conditions of potential rain), which further traps heat. In a 3-season tent, the bugnet typically goes to the top of a bathtub floor, and if you have a tent with a rollback fly, you can better get any lateral breezes because at shoulder level you are not behind fabric but netting. [my tent has dual side entry so it's a bit like opening windows on opposite sides of a room - very good ventilation).
All that said, sure I'd like to be above the ground when it's pouring out (as it did last weekend). But the shoulder squeeze, heat, and stuffiness was unbearable. It wasn't great in the tent either (b/c there was no breeze), but it was not as bad.
IMO, a complete hammock setup is slightly heavier & bulkier than a tent setup (on average and at a given price point), but it's irrelevant if you sleep significantly better. You should try it out. Those who convert to hammocks often say it's the best sleep they've ever had, by far. So you should see if you are that kind of person or not. Sadly it doesn't look like I am, though I think I can nap in them OK.
An ultralight hammock can make a very nice camp chair or nap spot, without adding too much weight/bulk. That may be all I'll end up using them for, but we'll see. The one serious shortcoming it has as a camp chair is that you can't move its location to just anywhere (closer to the fire, closer to another friend, etc). You're limited by the location of suitable trees.