why do people sleep on the ground?

[neo]

Well, just a hint, Neo-- you need to change both the tone and the words you use (or the words you leave out).

"Absolutes" are almost always wrong in the first place, and just cry out for argument in the second. You need to use a healthy dose of "qualifiers."

"Generalizations" are the same. You need to start saying "for me" once in a while instead of imposing your individual personal preferences onto everyone. You speak as if everyone has to like your personal preference of ice cream flavor, or else they're not quite up to your level.

Finally, if you intend humor, then use a lot of smileys and/or go to the humor forum. Otherwise, it's not funny.

So, you do seem to be trolling, whether you intend to or not. Plus, your threads praising other trolls doesn't help.

If you mean to troll, you're doing okay. If you don't mean to troll, then listen to what a bunch of WhiteBlazers are telling you and modify the tone and tenor of your posts. In other words, don't insult people who don't genuflect to your hammock god.

Now, when are we taking the wives hiking?!!!!

my wife is a hammock hanger to neo
RainMan

.

yeah that sounds cool rain man we and our wifes need to get togethr soon
stay cool rain man neo

[neo]

I will take Neo over any other fanatic.

thanks tin man,are there really fantics on the trail lol? neo

[Turbo Joe]

i have to say that i am a rough sleeper at times so unless the weather is really bad i don't stay in a crowded shelter ther have been nights where i have literally rolled over other hikers. i dont prefer hammocks because i like good firm support on my back. one night a watauga lake shelter i fell asleep on the ground and have a great nights sleep then woke up to find i was sleeping on jagged rocks. and i still to this day have no clue of why i thought that was comfortable

[Tin Man]

Neo, I am a fanatic about my fires, but since the regs usually allow them only at shelters, I guess I won't be running into the cool hammock fanatic dude.

[neo]

i have to say that i am a rough sleeper at times so unless the weather is really bad i don't stay in a crowded shelter ther have been nights where i have literally rolled over other hikers. i dont prefer hammocks because i like good firm support on my back. one night a watauga lake shelter i fell asleep on the ground and have a great nights sleep then woke up to find i was sleeping on jagged rocks. and i still to this day have no clue of why i thought that was comfortable

i toss and turn in bed at home,no need to in a hammock because i am perfectly comfortable neo

[Tin Man]

i toss and turn in bed at home,no need to in a hammock because i am perfectly comfortable neo

I am devastated! I was sure you hammocked 365 days/year.

[Turbo Joe]

i do have to say on the shelter behalf when its a miserable day some people will do anthing to squueze into a shelter. i got the last spot one night and my buddy asked if there was any room and the only thing we could come up with was a an uneven support beam with a 5 inch drop to the next level and he was happy to have it

[the goat]

i could hammock for a few days, but, as jack pointed out, there are way too many disadvantages to using one on a thru. $hit, half of my camp sites would have been eliminated if i used a hammock.

[Ridge]

I've heard several say they can cook in a hammock. I have cooked many a meal in my tent vestibule in rain/snow, but I can't imagine cooking while in a hammock. Someone please explain how this is done.

[Rifleman]

I've heard several say they can cook in a hammock. I have cooked many a meal in my tent vestibule in rain/snow, but I can't imagine cooking while in a hammock. Someone please explain how this is done.

This was my response to Baltimore Jack's ten reasons (in regards to things you can do in a tent v. cannot do in a hammock):

QUOTE:
[2. One can do things in tent or a tarp that one cannot do in a hammock:
Prepare a cold meal; change one's clothes, do gear repairs, do first aid/
personal stuff, etc. In a hammock, you can essentially lie down. Period.]

Granted, there is a steep learning curve with how to properly use a hammock. If pitched properly you can sit up in a hammock & do all the things you mentioned (i.e. prepare a cold meal, change one's clothes, etc.).

Addendum: Hammocks are merely tarps & ground cloths raised into the air. Many folks use the hammock as a 'second floor' to the system & have a second ground cover (tyvek, etc.) which they use approprately. With a large enough coverage tarp (9x9, 10x10, or 8x10) the first or ground floor can be used for many chores in all by the worst weather. In the worst weather if the tarp/hammock system is pitched low enough, say 2-4 feet off the ground, the tarp could give just as much weather coverage as a Henry Shires tarptent or a Ron Moak's Sixmoondesigns tarp tent & still allow you to hang in the hammock off the ground. Such a lower than normal pitch could allow the industrious hammock camper to even add a 'bath-tub' like floor which would attach by velcro to the tarp itself. Such a floor could allow the hammock camper to let die hard tenters sleep on the first floor (for a nominal fee of course!).
R.

[Jack Tarlin]

I think Rifleman's posts here were excellent. (And by the way, I was kidding about the bear "pinata party" thing!)

Ultimately, one's choice of shelter is a matter of personal preference. I've nothing against hammocks, but for any number of reasons, I'd prefer not to use one for six months at a time.

[neo]

I am devastated! I was sure you hammocked 365 days/year.

no but i wish i was hammocking 365 a year lol neo

[Dances with Mice]

I've heard several say they can cook in a hammock. I have cooked many a meal in my tent vestibule in rain/snow, but I can't imagine cooking while in a hammock. Someone please explain how this is done.

I thought someone else would have answered this by now. I'm not an old pro at hammocks, I did my first week-long hike with a HH last spring, the Georgia loop. I didn't cook "in" my hammock, meaning I didn't bring my stove into the hammock with me, but I cooked and ate all my hot meals while on my hammock, under an over-sized tarp.

Like this: http://www.hennessyhammock.com/use-as-a-chair.htm Food prep is even mentioned in the first and last paragraphs.

My 'cooking' is waiting for water to boil. But if I had needed to prepare something more elaborate, it wouldn't have been a problem.

[Panzer1]

I enjoy the times I have spent in my tent. I like having that space around me and having all my "things" in there with me. It's like my little "fort". I don't think I would like hiking with a hammock. I wouldn't mind taking an hour nap in one though. But for those who like to hammock, I say enjoy yourselves, that's what it's all about.

Panzer

[Lumberjack]

Ive soloed a lot with hammocks but they arent for everyone and dont work well for more then one.

[Tin Man]

Panzer and Lumberjack have summed it up quite well - to each his own. Hike your own hike and sleep where you want.

[Tinker]

Neo, I'm a hammock hanger much of the year, myself. I usually hike solo, and have a wife at home, so I don't need room for another. So, here we're on the same page, but there sometimes is a very thin line between an enthusiast and a fanatic. Right now, I'm looking for a viable way to use my existing hammocks and sleeping bags so I can do the Ga. section of the AT without sleeping on the ground, but I'll do it if blowing snow is a real possibility.

With some of the responses I've read by others on the forum, I hope nobody figures out just how easy it is to take out a hammock camper with a Bic lighter. Oops!

[Rifleman]

With some of the responses I've read by others on the forum, I hope nobody figures out just how easy it is to take out a hammock camper with a Bic lighter. Oops!

Tinker,
All of the materials, to my knowledge, that are used for hammocks, tents, or tarps are extremely flammable. That's why its damn important to be careful with fire in or around any modern (old-time canvas you could get away with) shelter.
R.

[River Runner]

I love my hammock. I get a much more comfortable night's sleep than sleeping on a thin pad in a tent (and I consider a 1-1 1/2 " thermarest thin). I'm a stomach and side sleeper. It's very easy to sleep on my side in my Hennessy, and I actually find I can even sleep comfortably on my back which I can't do on a mattress.

I can change clothes in my hammock if necessary. I can sit up if necessary, but frankly when I am out in God's country, I am more interested in being outside than staying inside whether in a tent or a hammock, so being comfortable spending daytime hours in a shelter isn't a high priority. If I want, I can set my tarp up higher and use the hammock as a comfy lounge chair if it comes to that.

Most of the area I camp are bear country, so I wouldn't eat in my hammock or in a tent either. But if need be, I could eat comfortably under the tarp.

Condensation makes me really cold in a tent, and there is considerably less (usually none) when I hammock, so I stay warmer even if there is a breeze. Now that might not be the case if a huge blowing storm hits, but I've seen a lot of tents damaged by those too.

Hey - if you like tents cool. That leaves more good trees for me to hang my hammock.

[Singe03]

I'm a pretty strong HH convert and used one on much of the AT but there are definately issues with them and I'm 50/50 on whether I'd carry one on another thru attempt. Probabily start with a tent and finish with a tent and carry the HH during July and August.

I loved the HH during the hot summer months, took the rainfly off and slept far better than I would have in a shelter or tent. I could lay there on top of my bag wearing only a pair of shorts, enjoying the breeze and silently snicker at the people who were sweating in their tent or trying to get comfortable while getting eaten alive by the bug storm in the shelter. Too hot to sleep in bag, too many biting bugs to sleep outside of bag <snicker>.

I hated being so limited on what I could take inside with me or what I could do in the hammock. Writing in my journal was near impossible, rolling over to sleep on my side was always an adventure in shuffling stuff around as everything tends to slide to the center unless you hang it from the ridge line. Trying to figure out how to cook in the rain is a pain in the rump, keeping the rest of my gear dry in the rain sucked.

I missed the tent alot when i used the HH then missed the HH when I sent it home and got my tent back. In short, there is no ideal solution, each has its strengths and weaknesses for me. The HH is more comfortable, the tent provides more comforts.