Convince me to hammock... or tent on my thru

[russb]

A hammock treated with permethrin keeps skeeters away.

[SouthMark]

The Maine mosquitoes have titanium needles I sometimes worry they bite through my double :P

This is not really a concern when I use an underquilt though...

Sent from my vivid imagination and delusions of grandeur

I have hiked sections of Maine three different years and I have yet to be bitten by a mosquito or black fly. I'm beginning to think the stories about them in Maine are a lot like the Bigfoot stories

[T.S.Kobzol]

I wish ;-)

Sent from my vivid imagination and delusions of grandeur

[Pressure D]

I thru hiked this year and hammocked every night for the first 1750 miles. I loved it. My wife joined me for the last 450 miles or so and I sent my hammock home. We went to ground and used the rain fly to my hammock. I much preferred the hammock.

[Nuggz]

I did some testing last night. I have a 15 degree UQ from leighlo and right now I'm using a 30 degree down sleeping bag as a TQ. Instead of using my 30 bag, I brought out a light weight 40 synthetic bag. It was 27 degrees out and I was just as warm in one as I was the other. I'm pretty sure that UQ is doing all the work of keeping the heat in anyway. I think I'm going to go with my hammock setup and maybe carrying a small Z pad for sitting around or the few times I have to stay on the ground.. Alright.. time to purchased the 40 degree TQ.

[Sacchoromyces]

So: 1) In the south there are bugs and creepy crawlies. Hammocks get one up off of their runways. 2) Shelters are replete with vermin. Four-legged and two. Avoid them. 3) Once one is north of the Carolinas the trail gets really rocky & camping gets less comfy for older spines/hips. 4) Run-off from rain WILL find a way in to your tent/tarp.

[Sacchoromyces]

"Alright.. time to purchased the 40 degree TQ."


​Make one instead. I like my Ray-Way quilt. Synthetics rule for the east, IMHO.

[zelph]

These 2 guys make it look easy as long as you have the right equipment

I like the little alcohol stove Shug depends on for his morning coffee

-40 degrees, now that's crazy!!!!!!

[larkspur]

everyone seems to be talking about how well ground pads work in hammocks. I personaly like using a thick wool blanket underneath my sleeping bag, the biggest one you can find. it might weigh a bit, but it's worth it

[Wise Old Owl]

I have hiked sections of Maine three different years and I have yet to be bitten by a mosquito or black fly. I'm beginning to think the stories about them in Maine are a lot like the Bigfoot stories

One of the few posts Southmark ... Hey I like you & and your posts. This was way out of touch! Serious.

[G2outdoors]

So: 1) In the south there are bugs and creepy crawlies. Hammocks get one up off of their runways. 2) Shelters are replete with vermin. Four-legged and two. Avoid them. 3) Once one is north of the Carolinas the trail gets really rocky & camping gets less comfy for older spines/hips. 4) Run-off from rain WILL find a way in to your tent/tarp.

Yup. You're exactly right!

[Drybones]

They each have thier pros and cons. I recently made two hammocks and started toying with using them in the back yard, tried using a pad with them but that hasn't worked out too well. I'll make an under quilt to take care of the cold but I believe I'll still use a tent for long hikes and the hammocks for weekend trips.

[WILLIAM HAYES]

I dont have to fiddle with my hammock snap snap up in under a minute most experienced hammockers dont have to fiddle around once their system is dialed in -you have more options with a hammock besides its the best sleep I have had compared to a tent or bivy I have tried all of them tent, tarp bivy and a hammock wins hands down for me. carry a pad if you need to go to ground or sleep in a shelter

[gunner76]

hammock hangers are sooooo annoying,....always fiddling & fussing with lines & things

gee...sounds like a young couple camping next to me and my wife ( we were using hammocks) that spent an hour trying to set up their tent. After watching them for 30 minutes I asked if they need any help. They said no and spent anouther 30 minutes setting up their tent. Takes me about 5 minutes or less to set up my hammock, tarp ect depending of which rig I am using. I own and use about 20+ hammocks ( not all at once )

have had to "rescue" 2 hammockers already this Fall because apparently they were too corpulent for the straps on their set-ups.

Sounds like they did not test their set up before using it. One should always test new gear under controlled hammock hangers are sooooo annoying,....always fiddling & fussing with lines & things

gee...sounds like a young couple camping next to me and my wife ( we were using hammocks ) that spent an hour trying to set up their tent. After watching them for 30 minutes I asked if they needed any help. They said no and spent another 30 minutes setting up their tent. Then they tried to start a fire..... Takes me about 5 minutes or less to set up my hammock, tarp ect depending of which rig I am using.






have had to "rescue" 2 hammockers already this Fall because apparently they were too corpulent for the straps on their set-ups.


Sounds like they did not test their set up before using it. One should always test new gear under controlled conditions before using it in on the trail. before using it in on the trail.

I was at a group hammock hang about 2 years ago where we rescued two hikers who got lost at Mt Rogers and could not find a shelter ( they did not have a tent or hammock). We had enough extra hammock gear to set them up for the night.

[Theosus]

I dont have to fiddle with my hammock snap snap up in under a minute most experienced hammockers dont have to fiddle around once their system is dialed in

Very true. I can slap my tree straps on, pull the whoopies through, set the toggles and I'm done. I won't say getting EVERYTHING done is faster than say, a tent. The under quilt might take a few minutes, and the tarp I use is a hex tarp, so their are two tree lines and four tie-outs, so it CAN be a bit fiddly, but once set up you don't have to "fiddle with" the lines.

Much like tents with removable rain flys, hammockers may readjust later. I started one night with my rain fly wide open, flat, but tilted slightly to one side so I could see out. About 1am the breeze started blowing through pretty good, and I got out and moved the lines and closed in the sides, but had I started out that way it wouldn't have been an issue.

[MDSection12]

I'm in my hammock before my buddy's tents are up. Not saying that will always be the case, but it certainly doesn't seem to be a disadvantage for me.

[Meriadoc]

I'm in my hammock before my buddy's tents are up. Not saying that will always be the case, but it certainly doesn't seem to be a disadvantage for me.

I think this mostly depends on the person setting up. Tents, tarps, and hammocks are all pretty simple if you know what you are doing. Yet I'm still one of the slow ones no matter what I use. :P

[Dogwood]

G2, AWESOME avatar! GREAT pic with the kids. Obviously, siblings and they look like you. All of you look like you're having a ball which is what the outdoors is about!

[G2outdoors]

Thanks! They are definitely all me... Flaws and all.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Nooga]

To me the setup between a hammock and tent is six of one, half dozen of the other. The real difference is the morning that you wake up and its raining and have to break camp. It is so nice to be able to get up cook, pack your gear under the tarp, put on your rain gear and the last thing take your tarp down.