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  1. #1
    Registered User Red Sky's Avatar
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    Default Thinking of switching to Hammocks

    Hey all, I'm thinking of making the switch to a hammock, but I do have some concerns. I've been section hiking the AT this year and have come across quite a number of hammock users who all love their sleep system. I've taken a look at what they are using, and it seems to involve a lot more gear than what I currently use. It also seems like it would be heavier. I'm currently using the Zpacks Duplex tent, Sea to Summit insulated pad and a Nemo Nocturne 30 degree bag. That's a little over 4 lbs. Won't the hammock, straps, tarp, under quilt and top quilt be more than that?

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    I think my hammock summer system is about 3.5lbs. It really depends on what you get. You can get light suspension systems. Check out Dutchware's stuff or JacksRBetter, Warbonnet. My tent setup and hammock setup are within a few ounces to maybe a half-pound of each other. I would suggest trying something out if you can, though.

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    An ultralight tent setup and ultralight hammock setup can be somewhat similar in weight as long as care is taken to select the best components.

    My summer setup w/ Duplex tent, Neoair pad, and 40 degree quilt is slightly less than my summer hammock setup with Hammock Gear Cuben Fiber tarp, Dutchware hammock, same 40 degree quilt and 40 degree under quilt.

    Ultimately, I found that I sleep better on the ground than in a hammock and thus tenting is my preferred method. I know this is counter to most hammocking enthusiasts. Since comfort is very subjective and hammock dependent, you will need to some time experimenting with different hammock setups to find one that is comfortable and works for you.
    Last edited by SteelCut; 08-15-2017 at 16:08.
    Remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, the Trail beckons not merely north and south, but upward to the body, mind, and soul of man.


  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by SteelCut View Post

    Ultimately, I found that I sleep better on the ground than in a hammock and thus tenting is my preferred method. I know this is counter to most hammocking enthusiasts.
    If I made this comment I'd probably be kicked out of the Hammock Forum.

  5. #5
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    The weights of the two are going to be comparable, you can always find ways to shave ounces off of each system. What people forget to think about when going lightweight is how valuable a restful sleep. A good night's sleep is easily worth an extra half pound in your pack.
    So ultimately it just comes down to which system gives you a better night's sleep. If it's on a pad on the ground: great. If it's swinging between two trees: that's cool too.

    For what it's worth: my last overnight hike with my daughters, I ended up taking the weight penalty and carried both the tent the three of us normally sleep in as well as my hammock. My underquilt and topquilt were basically the same weight as my pad and sleeping bag, so the only real additional weight was the hammock and tarp: about 1.5 lbs. but I slept better and they had more room in their tent. (And now the oldest want to try a hammock.

    Go to Hammock Forums and find a Hang near you and see what's out there. You might find you like it.....or not.


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  6. #6

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    Leaving the top quilt out of the equation my three season tent and hammock set ups weigh exactly the same oddly enough. Old school Hubba with TR XLite and sheet weighs 66.4 oz packed as does the Dutch netless w/fronkey, suspension, 30° UC,10x12 SilPoly tarp plus ridge, guylines and stakes. If I carry the XLite for shelters or going to ground I'm actually heavier with the hammock set up, but much more flexible in terms of where I can camp.

    Weight is mostly a function of cost. If you spend a lot you can get very light and if you spend even more you won't have money for gas so never have to carry it at all
    “The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait until that other is ready...”~Henry David Thoreau

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  7. #7

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    My set-ups also weigh in at about the same. I use the same top quilt for tenting as I do for hammocking. My underquilt is a few ozs heavier than my pad. I don't need a pilllw so that evens out there. My Dutch hammock plus straps and my winter CF tarp weigh about the same as my Duplex.

    I use both set-ups depending on where I am going.

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    Consider the value of a good nights sleep. I find that where I hike (inland northwest) I sometimes need the ability to sleep on the ground. This adds weight (about 1 pound for ground pad) but overall it is worth it.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

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    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.

  10. #10
    Registered User Red Sky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cspan View Post
    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.
    Hey cspan!, Thanks for comments, and I think I will give it a try. I understand that Rock Creek will rent you a setup. Don't know how much yet, but I may run by there this week and find out. It never occurred to me that the hammock might be hotter to sleep in, in the summer. Makes sense though if it keeps the breeze off of you. I did see one guy on the AT a couple of weeks ago who put his sleeping pad in the hammock. He said that it it kept him warm from the bottom, and also helped to spread the hammock out some. Seems to be various ways to skin the cat.

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    If you toss and turn while you sleep like me, hammocks may not work for you. I tried two different hammock set ups over the years. The last one was the new REI bridge hammock. I wanted both set ups to work for me, but no go. Additionally, I found them kind of fussy to set up, but that might have been the fact that I didn't get over the original learning curve of the "set up". Hope you have good luck.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Red Sky View Post
    Hey cspan!, Thanks for comments, and I think I will give it a try. I understand that Rock Creek will rent you a setup. Don't know how much yet, but I may run by there this week and find out. It never occurred to me that the hammock might be hotter to sleep in, in the summer. Makes sense though if it keeps the breeze off of you. I did see one guy on the AT a couple of weeks ago who put his sleeping pad in the hammock. He said that it it kept him warm from the bottom, and also helped to spread the hammock out some. Seems to be various ways to skin the cat.
    I don't think the hammock would be quite so bad in the summer without the bugnet, because those nets, especially noseeum netting, really do reduce airflow. Try setting up a freestanding tent with noseeum mesh in your house and sit in it for a bit. You'll get toasty PDQ.

    The trick is though, when in the southeastern summer is it fine to camp in a hammock without a bugnet? Not often, IMO. I suppose you could just spray yourself with deet and hope it d/n adversely affect the fabric - or your subjective experience. BTW, my SBP can simply be flipped so that the bug net is underneath and un-used. So I don't have to use it. I just default to using it, to keep out bugs.

    For underneath insulation (necessary below 70F, for most), I've both thrown a RidgeRest in there and, other times, used an underquilt. Most people prefer the latter, and pay big bucks for light, compressible down ones. I started out with a synth one just to see if it was better than the RidgeRest. In many ways, it was not better. The fiddle factor for suspending it just the right amount was pretty high. It exacerbated my "foot squeeze" (the other end of the shoulder squeeze). Bulky in pack (granted, down would be less bulky, but a RidgeRest can go outside your pack). And so on. The real advantage of a down UQ is that it d/n get between you and the hammock. You enjoy that direct-on-fabric feel. But I agree with that guy, a RidgeRest will open up the hammock a bit and cut down on the lateral squeeze. It can be a challenge to make fine adjustments to pad position - when you're already laying on it.

    But they are definitely worth a try, since they enjoy no small devoted following. I.e., there are many people for whom it works, and who find it vastly superior to tent camping.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by daddytwosticks View Post
    If you toss and turn while you sleep like me, hammocks may not work for you. I tried two different hammock set ups over the years. The last one was the new REI bridge hammock. I wanted both set ups to work for me, but no go. Additionally, I found them kind of fussy to set up, but that might have been the fact that I didn't get over the original learning curve of the "set up". Hope you have good luck.
    Yep, I do that. Left side, right side, stomach. But never on my back. For someone who is sides and back, a hammock may be a better fit. The bridge hammock garnered my curiosity, but I'd like to try one before buying one.

  14. #14
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    I have a complete hammock outfit for sale, $300 range. Warbonnet hammock and under quilt; tarp, under quilt protector, gear loft; gear hammock; turtle dog hammock stand; snake skins; etc. Central PA [email protected]

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    Quote Originally Posted by SteelCut View Post
    Ultimately, I found that I sleep better on the ground than in a hammock and thus tenting is my preferred method. I know this is counter to most hammocking enthusiasts. Since comfort is very subjective and hammock dependent, you will need to some time experimenting with different hammock setups to find one that is comfortable and works for you.
    I agree you really need to try it out. I almost always hammock but I tend to not sleep as well as with a tent because I tend to sleep on my side. I plan to get a different hammock, though, to try and achieve a flatter lay. I like the idea of being up off the ground, though. The other big draw back for me is where to put my stuff. I find hanging it all up to be less than idea. Can't beat a tent for making yourself at home.

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    @cspan I have no idea of your experience level so forgive me if this comes off as treating you as a noob.

    If you haven't already, maybe you should try a bridge. Less fabric surrounding you so better airflow AND less shoulder squeeze. You probably already know this, but even in warm weather your backside can be cooled off quickly with the uq pulled to one side. It doesn't help airflow over the top of course. Not my cup of tea, but some folks rig up a mini fan to hang from the RL.

    What fabric is your hammock made of? This can make considerable difference in perceived shoulder squeeze.

  17. #17
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    Like cspan said, a hammock setup tends to be (but doesn't have to be) a bit heavier and bulkier, and totally worth it if it helps you get better sleep. For me, it's almost too comfortable - once I fall asleep, I'm out until I'm up, and I have to set an alarm. I wake up with no aches & pains, and have very little weight penalty to pay for that. A big bonus IMO is the ability to setup your tarp and have all that space underneath to cook, sit, lounge, change, etc., without ever crawling on the ground. Getting in & out of the hammock is like getting in & out of bed - sit down and turn your legs and lie down, or turn your legs to the side and stand up. No contorting to try to change clothes inside a tent, and no crawling around in the mud to get in or out.

    Seems like there isn't much middle ground - you either like hammocks or you don't. Whenever I bring a tent, I always wish I had brought the hammock. To start out, all you need is to replace your tent with a hammock & tarp. Try it out with your existing pad & bag. If you like that, it gets better! Personally, I use a pad instead of an underquilt so I can cowboy camp on the ground when I feel like it.

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    For the OP. About 2 years ago my wife and I were considering the purchase of a duomid to save weight. The main problem we had with that was the awful expense plus the fact that neither of us could sleep on the ground. No matter what we did we could not get comfortable enough to sleep well, if at all. I had been reading a bit about hammock camping and thought we should look into this before we spent a bunch of cash in the wrong direction.

    Long story short, we have been sleeping full time in hammocks for over 1.5yrs now. Our granddaughters also prefer their hammocks to a bed. We can't sleep on a mattress never mind the ground. Even in the woods we can fall asleep easily in a hammock. I haven't done a direct comparison in weight between tenting and hammocking because it would be moot. We're not going back to tenting for anything, so if our hammock setup weighs a bit more it's worth it to us.

    So far I have two different style bridges and about a dozen GE's. Most of the GE's are DIY. I do use a CF tarp with doors for solo hikes, I think it weighs around 7ozs. For double hanging we use a DIY silpoly winter with external pole mods, which is quite a bit heavier but worth it to us for the purpose. Eventually we'll decide if it'll be worth the expense to save a bunch of weight with the larger CF.

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    Just a quick reply on summer heat in a hammock:

    I actually find a hammock mush cooler. If it's warm enough to go without the under quilt and you're using one of the newer thin fabrics, even a little airflow under the hammock cools you off. The tarp can be hung and encased in snakeskins making for all the ventilation you could need while giving you the ability to quickly unfurl should a rain storm pop up. That's one major drawback with tents that I have is using a rain fly when it isn't, but could start, raining.


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    Quote Originally Posted by Tipi Walter View Post
    If I made this comment I'd probably be kicked out of the Hammock Forum.
    I'm glad I'm not the only one. I tried hammock camping and simply didn't like it at all. I roll around too much and just prefer being in a tent.

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