Having been a ground dweller (tent) all of my life I am thinking about transitioning towards a hammock for my shelter of choice.

Im thinking that the improvement in sleep quality would be the number one benefit.


Looking at the Warbonnet line.

Any hammock campers out there?

ya know, a couple of our older Eagle Scouts had a hammock they got off line that had a weather proof cover over it, like a pup tent sort of thing... with sides that extended down past the bottom of the hammock...

camping in some severe Oregon coastal winter weather, they were staying high and dry and it actually was handling the weather much easier than any of the others with standard tents on the ground, no matter how much we tarped them over....if I was still long distance hiking and back packing, it would definitely be my shelter of choice.. easy to set up, and easy to take down...

as long as you are where there are trees around that is...

This fella has a great deal of good information on hammock camping...sleeping...etc.

His manner of presentation is somewhat comedic but he IS an expert at hammock stuff.

This is the first in one of his series... there are several.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7NZVqpBUV0&list=TL8L1n__fJDffuUCp6lpz3zw82TCUIpFWU

If you are satisfied sleeping in one position, on your back, they are comfortable. In the rain or bad weather make sure your drip lines are properly rigged or you will get wet. I have used them in the past but don't any more. Some of the older ones that were sold as surplus, I don't know from where, need to be checked throughly before the trip. I failed to check out mind and ripped through the bottom. As has been mentioned and it may go without saying, trees that are properly spaced are very handy.

If you are going to be camping in cold weather you may have an issue with staying warm on the hammock due to airflow under you versus sleeping on the ground.

When I was a kid I always used the army surplus jungle hammock, pretty stout units as they held up to a rambunctious boy.

Hammock is ok if you don't have a spine or want to ruin the one you have. I guess they are ok if you lower it to the ground and insert a good sit or foam rubber mattress.

I tried it with a hammock and it just about killed me. I'm a side sleeper so I woke up in pain and cold but there are tricks to staying warm in a hammock. A under blanket will help keep you warm but if you sleep on your side I don't know if you could get comfortable.

On the cross country bike trip I just took, sure was easier just laying out a little one-person quarter dome in the dark just anywhere at short notice than it would have been with a hammock. Less visible too.

Hammock is great if you have a good one, and you have a place to set it up. Like Birdwatcher said, if you're going stealth at all, it isn't always ideal.

Your back will never survive and there is a reason they were called jungle hammocks, if it is not warm, you need two bags below foe every one on top.

http://hennessyhammock.com/

I have one of these and it works as described. If you sleep on the short diagonal, you do lay flat. No back issues afterward.

Also very weathertight. I've slept through a few good rainstorms in mine. I stayed dry through all of them. The new hex flys they have are even better than the original one I have.

It is cold though in any temps below the 60s. That constant air movement below you will freeze you in the night if you don't have a good quality pad below you in the hammock.

Plus, you do need to have a place to hang it. No trees around makes it useless.

The cold part is right. They actually make "underquilts" for hammocks, as they are, by nature, much cooler than being on a pad on the ground.

As for the back, I am much, MUCH better off in a hammock when it comes to my back. I broke my T5 in 1993 in Wyoming, and sleeping on the ground sucks for me.

How comfy the hammock is depends on the hammock.

Do they make hold-in-place closed cell ("ensolite") pads for those things? Pretty sure it would be relatively easy to rig one, if not, but yeah, I'd want under-insulation.

if comfort is what you want, stick to a tent and get one of these....i slept on it every night for 3 months and its better than most mattresses ive slept on
Big Agnes Double Z

Buy a used Hennessy Expedition off of ebay. Go to hammockforums.net for other info and advice. There, you will get real advice from those, unlike here, who've ACTUALLY USED modern hammocks long enough to actually figure them out. It really isn't that hard, unless you're a 'tard.

If you are over 5'10", you'll need the longer Hennessy, I forget its name. Most folks start with a pad inside the hammock. A Hennessy Expedition with the now unavailable "Segmented Pad Extender" gives a "lay" that is quite flat and rivals the comfort of any bed I've ever slept in, including the I-Comfort I'm about to move to.

The SPE mentioned above is merely a sleeve that allows you to add foam "wings" to a pad. If this sounds silly, after you wake up on a 20F night all warm except for what feels like ice cube trays against your triceps, you'll then under stand.

For top insulation, just use the bag you now own as a "quilt", just stick your feet in the foot and pull it over you. The downside of this is you really don't get the benefit of the hood and need a really warm cap/balaclava or similar. PM if you have any other questions.

In a forest, above 20F, using anything else is, IMO, missing the boat.

Gee, nobody here has used one?






Unlike you, I not only know the name of the Hennessy model for tall people, I own one and use it.

I use an different fly than what came with the Hennessy, and changed out my suspension system to something more user-friendly.

I also sent mine off to a guy on hammockforums to have a zipper-mod installed.

Not sure how those hammocks would work trying to tie them between two spindly mesquite thickets...

You just find 2 mesquites with no rocks between them to bruise your butt.

They don't. I've had to use mine as a ground shelter on a few bike trips when there were not appropriate places to "hang."

Don't know if I could get one high enough off the ground.