Tents vs. Hammocks

[Matty427]

I'm shopping around for shelters for my 3-week solo section hike this summer from Springer to Hot Springs and have been leaning more and more towards a hammock. I was curious what the pros and cons of each are.

The tent I'm looking at is the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1.
The hammock I'm looking at is the warbonnet blackbird.

I like the idea of a hammock - especially for summer nights. I'm a teacher and will only really be hiking in the summer. But I like the flexibility that a tent would offer in being able to move around a little bit more and try to organize.

I know there are lots of hammock die-hards and am not looking for a flame war - just some more input and opinions before I make a decision.

[take-a-knee]

Dude, get the blackbird, depending on your bodyweight, I'd reccomend the double layer 1.1 oz version. You can use an evazote pad in between the layers for warmth. I really don't understand your "get organized" remark. Organize what? My food bag is hung PCT style from a nearby tree. My nearly empty pack is hung from the hammock ridgeline, along with my cook kit and rain gear. The Warbonnet has a "shelf", actually a pocket that holds small items you may need during the night. Also, get a good tarp like an OES Macat or another caternary cut hammock tarp. The non-caternary cut tarps can flap like a drum in a stiff wind, enough to keep you awake.

[SGT Rock]

Have you slept in a hammock yet? I'm just saying, as much as I love them, they ain't for everyone.

[1azarus]

... i've got to agree with take-a-knee... for summer use a hammock is just so much more comfortable for us old men (well, you are thirty already!). IMHO it is only in the winter when under insulation becomes a bigger issue that there's more reason to consider a tent. the options for site selection are so much better, by the way -- you can much more easily find the perfect view and breeze spot for a hammock than for a tent. Just spend some time playing with your hammock before you start your hike.

[Red Hat]

Warbonnet Blackbird for sure!

[take-a-knee]

Have you slept in a hammock yet? I'm just saying, as much as I love them, they ain't for everyone.

That is true, some people deserve to be on the ground with their reptilian associates.

[h. hastings]

I've slept in tents and I've slept in a hammock. If I can help it, I'll never sleep on the ground again.

YMMV

[Bearpaw]

I like the idea of a hammock - especially for summer nights. I'm a teacher and will only really be hiking in the summer. But I like the flexibility that a tent would offer in being able to move around a little bit more and try to organize.

The BA Seedhouse SL1 offers only a little more room than a tall coffin. Under my tarp, I have LOTS of room to move around and still be protected from rain.


You have to improvise a bit more for privacy, so if you hang near a shelter, face your tarp-down side toward the shelter to have a spot to change away from others' eyes.

For me, I can't imagine being cooped up inside such a small tent as the one you mention for very long. A two-person model like the Hubba Hubba would be much more livable. But it's the Blackbird and tarp all the way for me.

[papa john]

The BA Seedhouse SL1 offers only a little more room than a tall coffin. Under my tarp, I have LOTS of room to move around and still be protected from rain.

You have to improvise a bit more for privacy, so if you hang near a shelter, face your tarp-down side toward the shelter to have a spot to change away from others' eyes.

For me, I can't imagine being cooped up inside such a small tent as the one you mention for very long. A two-person model like the Hubba Hubba would be much more livable. But it's the Blackbird and tarp all the way for me.

Bearpaw - is that a Speer Winter Tarp?
John

[Bearpaw]

Bearpaw - is that a Speer Winter Tarp?
John

Yes. I like it a lot, but I will likely soon go to my newest obsession, the Warbonnet Big Mamajamba with detachable door flaps.


It gives incredible coverage in the stealthiest color I've seen in a hammock tarp yet. In warmer weather, when cold wind is not an issue, I can leave the 8 ounces worth of doors home.


I've been really impresses with what I've seen from Brandon at Warbonnet. I love my Blackbird, and I will likely get the tarp and Yeti underquilt this spring.

[papa john]

Yep, I have the WB Traveler and just traded a JRB BMBH for a WB Blackbird. I have the Speer Winter Tarp too. Nice tarp. I'll have to look closer at the WM Mambo!

[Matty427]

Thanks for all of the input everyone - I suppose my biggest hesitation with going with a hammock is rain - namely what to do with my gear when it's raining out - is there enough room for me and my stuff in a blackbird? I'm assuming though that if the gets like that, I can simply hop into a shelter though, so it's probably a moot point anyway.

Looks like mostly great things to say about the blackbird so I'll probably be ordering one soon while they're still available within 2-3 days!

[moytoy]

Thanks for all of the input everyone - I suppose my biggest hesitation with going with a hammock is rain - namely what to do with my gear when it's raining out - is there enough room for me and my stuff in a blackbird? I'm assuming though that if the gets like that, I can simply hop into a shelter though, so it's probably a moot point anyway.

I'm pretty sure that the tarp is for keeping your pack dry. I'm following these tent vs. hammock threads with interest. Two months ago I would have not even thought about a hammock. Now I'm not so sure. I have time to consider though. I have a good tent and my planned thru hike cannot happen until I retire.

[Bearpaw]

I suppose my biggest hesitation with going with a hammock is rain - namely what to do with my gear when it's raining out - is there enough room for me and my stuff in a blackbird?

Carry a pack cover. Your pack will be mostly empty by the time your hammock is set up. Pull the shoulder straps and hipbelt inside the pack cover as well and hang the pack from the suspension like you see in the picture of my rig with the Speer Winter Tarp.

I also use a Sea-to-Summit lightweight dry bag for my food bag, so when I hang it, it also stays dry. Every thing else is under the tarp, either attached to the suspension or in the very roomy storage shelf of the Blackbird.

With good site selection, you can keep your gear reasonably dry with a tent also, but I find it easier to stay dry in my hammock. I put up the tarp, then put up my hammock under it. It's trickier to put up a tent in the rain without wetting the interior. Granted, I'm not gonna melt from a little rain, but I like my options with my hammock.

[take-a-knee]

Thanks for all of the input everyone - I suppose my biggest hesitation with going with a hammock is rain - namely what to do with my gear when it's raining out - is there enough room for me and my stuff in a blackbird? I'm assuming though that if the gets like that, I can simply hop into a shelter though, so it's probably a moot point anyway.

Looks like mostly great things to say about the blackbird so I'll probably be ordering one soon while they're still available within 2-3 days!

Well then, the hammock is a slam-dunk choice. In a downpour, you can set your tarp up first, then the hammock, then unpack your pack under the tarp. Like I said in my first post, once you've eaten and the food bag is hung PCT style nearby, there isn't much left in your pack but what clothing your aren't wearing and your cook kit. That gets hung from the hammock ridgeline, under the tarp.

Compare that to setting up a mesh type tent (like your chosen SL-1) in a downpour. You need to stake the corners out first, then install the poles, all the while trying to keep the thing from turning into a kidde pool. If you do decide to get a tent, by all means get a tarptent from Henry Shires.

[Bearpaw]

I'm pretty sure that the tarp is for keeping your pack dry. I'm following these tent vs. hammock threads with interest. Two months ago I would have not even thought about a hammock. Now I'm not so sure. I have time to consider though. I have a good tent and my planned thru hike cannot happen until I retire.

If weight is your primary issue, you can likely tent, especially a tarptent, lighter than a hammock, at least during colder months. Underquilts or extra padding for underinsulation definitely add up,a nd if you go the underquilt route, this can get expensive. During warmer weather, weight evens out for the most part.

You might consider tenting in the colder start of a hike, then switch to hammocks in the warmer months.

If comfort and quality of sleep trumps all, the hammock will probably be the better bet. Just my opinion.

[Hooch]

Warbonnet puts out a doggone fine product. I still love my BlackBird hammock and am seriously considering a set of his 4 season top quilt and underquilt for winter/cold weather use.

[Kerosene]

I've got to weigh in on this one...

I mostly gravitate to a tent, but only because I tend to section hike in the cooler late Fall/early Spring months and have been hesitant to try to figure out hammock insulation.

I'm an inveterate side-sleeper, but the most comfortable nights I've had, by far, were in a Hennessey hammock above 60F. I disliked the need to bring a wide, closed-cell foam pad, but once I got everything positioned I slept like a log. I'd take a good look at the Warbonnet for warm-weather use before springing for the tent.

[Tipi Walter]

That is true, some people deserve to be on the ground with their reptilian associates.

Did Matty427 say he wasn't looking for a flame war?

[singing wind]

Having hiked with the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1, a tarptent, and a hammock I'll take the hammock with a good size tarp any day for versatility, comfort, and just plain all around being able to set up almost anywhere. At least for the AT..

The SL1 is a tiny tent, albeit fairly easy to set up with little room for gear and virtually no room to dry out.

The tarptent was an interesting experiment - nice idea, great weight factor, but still not enough wiggle room and also very little room to dry out.

Hammock, mmmm... That was an experiment also. After over 20 years of tenting I have come to realize that tents have their place as do hammocks. I really like being able to put the hammock tarp up in good or foul weather, sitting dry underneath or whatever needs to be done to complete the setup. Gear, cooking, and generally lounging can be done in a variety of ways - and oh, trees are usually much easier for set up than hiking miles to find a suitable tent site.

The pack usually gets hung in an adjacent tree similar to how other posters have mentioned.

To each their own -