PedalingWalrus

I didn't get worked up. :-) Really. I was just puzzled by the foregone conclusions. Also I was just going to bed when I saw the post and so my response was more hurried.

First I do not see 4 poles. Second I have not seen a question how much does the whole setup weigh. Then it could be compared to your own setup and a conclusion could be made. Then there are also the unknowns - it just happens that this set up was a winter setup. So then this would also have to get compared to a winter tenting setup. The summer quilts are lighter and less bulky for a summer setup. Also the poles were only 2 and they are Zpacks carbon poles. They hardly weigh anything and colapse right into the packing bags. The tarp is cuben fiber = crazy light. Titanium shephard hooks are just the icing on the cake.

OTOH - as I said, I also tent so I could see some of Your assumptions having merit.

Cheers.

PedalingWalrus

I looked up the weights of my items (thanks internet)

SUMMER SETUP
top quilt (hammockgear burrow 20) 18.6 oz
bottom (hammockgear phoenix 20) 15.4 oz
hammock (warbonnet blackbird with buckles) 1.11 oz
poles (zpacks carbon poles) 6.6 oz
tarp (hammockgear palace) 10.13 oz

52.83 oz = 3.3 lbs

WINTER SETUP
top quilt (hammockgear burrow 0) 23.11 oz
bottom quilt (hammockgear phoenix 0) 20.13 oz
hammock (warbonnet blackbird with buckles) 1.11 oz
poles (zpacks carbon poles) 6.6 oz
tarp (hammockgear palace) 10.13 oz
61.08 oz = 3.8 lbs

3.8 lbs

alan s 

You're right about the poles. Only two. The other "poles" are straps. Anyway, looks like a decent savings in weight and volume, but what about the cost for a high quality setup for all seasons? What do you do if there is nowhere suitable for a hammock? I can see the plus side, but no one really discusses the downside of hammocks. I don't have any issues with tents in terms of cost, weight, comfort, ease of setup, etc. Having never used a hammock or even seen one in use, other than pictures, I really don't have much information to go on. Appreciate your attempts to educate me.

rhm

I haven't bothered with anything as elaborate as what's in the photo. It seems overkill to me, but I see the attraction. Indeed I'm a hammock novice compared to most of the posters above. Setting up is very fast, packing away is even faster. The hammock never touches the ground, and tends to stay clean.

When I spend a night in a tent, I basically lie there trying not to toss and turn too much, waiting for morning, sometimes with a weird dream thrown in along the way to indicate I may have actually fallen asleep at some point. In a hammock, I actually sleep. If you can sleep in a tent, and get up in the morning well rested, you have found a system that works; may as well stick with it.

PedalingWalrus

Well, if it costs something it's an expenditure of money. Some setups cost more than others. It's all relative but gear accumulates over time ;-) I'm 50 now, the stuff creeps into my bins, at my age I don't know what to do with it.

Suitability - It all depends on where you are going and for how long. If I go for weekend or long weekend then I usually know where I'm going and therefore I could choose the right sleep system (tent or hammock or tarp or bivy). If I was going on multi month trip then I would probably take my hammock setup and add a cuben fiber tarp like Hyperlite Mountain Gear Mid and an inflatable mattress. I would not think the extra weight of the tarp and the mattress would be a showstopper. Besides, sometimes a hammock is also nice for a siesta or a brief nap to escape the midday winds or a sudden downpour.

revcp 

One tip to decrease setup time for a hammock. I have two loops as part of my tarp's ridgeline that allow me to clip the hammock itself into those loops using carabiners. There are several advantages to this: the tarp is the only thing I have to anchor to trees (less set up time, less rope/webbing used, etc); I get the correct angle hang every time; I can set up / take down the hammock itself in a driving rainstorm and keep it bone dry. It makes all kinds of sense.

Rob_E

I feel the opposite way. When hammock camping comes up on the bike forums, I feel like I start the internal clock ticking: "Cue the 'what if there are no trees' question in 3 ... 2 ... 1"


To me that is the downside to using a hammock. I think it's possible to get very similar weights between hammocks and tents. Costs also seem comparable, with the only, real hammock-specific gear being the hammock itself and the underquilt. The underquilt basically replaces a sleeping pad, and prices vary just like they do with sleeping pads. In fact, many people just use sleeping pads. Hammock/rain fly also compare well to tents in cost. I've seen useable hammocks and tarps in the $30 range, but of course you can always spend more for more features, lighter/stronger material, etc.

But the tree question: If there are no trees you either hang from something else or sleep on the ground. If you're used to using a hammock, then you're eyes are open for what looks like a good hanging spot, and you usually find one. A tent camper might look around and say, "Thank heavens I have a tent." But a hammock camper might look around think, "I may have to get creative." I haven't crossed the country with my hammock, so I can't speak to the various terrains that you may have to deal with, but here on the east coast, I've hung from trees that seemed unreasonably far apart. I've hung under pavilions. I've hung from the rafters of a cabin. I've hung from electric poles. I've hung with one end around a tree and the other end running over a sawhorse sitting on top of a picnic table (that one was pretty sketchy). I haven't slept on the ground. If I had to, it wouldn't be the end of the world. If I knew ahead of time that it was likely, I might bring a sleeping pad, but otherwise I'd just take my chances and assume that a night on the ground would be a rarity. Hennessy has a couple of photos of dealing with that situation. It ends up being much like a bivy. https://hennessyhammock.com/pages/cycling

Here's someone else with same problem: https://i.imgur.com/SBP3l.jpg They said they spent 6 weeks touring Europe, had to put their hammock on the ground once. That's a decent enough ratio for me.

There is a lot of variation in hammock set-ups. PedalingWalrus's set up has a lot going on that is not at all necessary. Even so, it probably sets up more quickly than you'd expect. My first hammock tent was a Hennessy. it came with a small rain fly that attached to the lines of the hammock, which kept it close enough to the hammock to keep it effective in most weather. It was a diamond shape, so it had two more corners to tie out. So two lines from the hammock to the trees and two lines to stretch the tarp out to the sides.

https://goo.gl/photos/9ZkrSzrFWe1wzKXs8

With that set up, I need two stakes. Assuming I need the tarp. With my larger tarp, I can get by with 4 stakes for the tarp. I usually carry two more for the hammock itself.

Also a lot of the hammock-tents have tie outs for the sides to spread the hammock out a little more. My Hennessy had them, and the tarp used the same tie outs. My Warbonnet has them, too. They are handy, and make it a little roomier inside, but, in my experience, they are completely optional. If I'm getting in to camp and hanging out for a while, I'll take the time to deal with the side tie outs. If I'm pulling in, setting up, and going to sleep, I don't bother. Also, depending on the weather, the tarp in completely optional. In that case, set-up is super-easy.

To me, the hammock itself is dead simple to use, sets up instantly, and requires nothing other than somewhere to tie it up. All the complexity comes from the tarp. Those poles in PedallingWalrus's set up are not necessary, just nice to have in certain circumstances. The tarp in general can be just small enough to cover the hammock, or can be big enough to give you plenty of room. My old, Hennessy tarp was tiny, but functional, and easy to carry. My new tarp is bigger (but not much heavier because of using lighter material), and packs a little bigger, but when I get to camp, I can set up the tarp first and roll my bike right under it, and do the rest of camp set-up out of the rain. If you want air, you pitch the tarp high and open, and do things like the poles PW is using to get lots of airflow and the ability to see around. If you're worried about wind, you pitch low and steep. When I'm in bad-weather-mode, the tarp almost comes to the ground, so there's not much flapping around. But in the worst wind, yes, the tarp may catch it and react, but if you tighten everything down properly, there shouldn't be much actual flapping. I find that's trickier to do with a smaller tarp, but if you get it close enough to the hammock, it keeps a lot of the wind from getting under the tarp. If I find I'm going to be staying put for longer than it takes just to sleep, I may end up changing my tarp set up once or more depending on my needs. It just takes a minute. So the tarp ends up being the most fiddly part, but mainly because it's also the most versatile.

dh024

I agree with most of what Rob has said above, although I have found that I use my hammock less and less, despite that I get a much better sleep with it. Many (most?) of the campgrounds I have visited in Western Canada won't allow hammocks, citing potential damage to trees (ridiculous, I know). My hammock (Hennessy Ultralight Backpacker zip) deploys just fine in "ground mode" as a bivvy, but it does require carrying a sleeping pad and poles (I've tried using my bike to hang it, and it is less than ideal). Anyways, if I have to plan to use the hammock in ground mode, I find that I carry way too much stuff, and my sleeping kit ends up being twice the volume and 150% the weight of my ultralight tent. So I just carry the tent instead, if I know I will be hitting campgrounds a lot. Otherwise, I really prefer my hammock. I wish there were some better options to carry it all the time, but I just haven't figured it out yet.

alan s 

Good points. Thinking of many places I have used a tent, my first reaction is there was nowhere to string up a hammock. Now that you mention it though, perhaps there were possibilities, but I wasn't aware of them because it wasn't on my radar. Still not sure a hammock would work for me better than a tent. An air pad, air pillow, ear plugs and sleeping bag in a 2 person tent, and I can't really tell I'm camping.

PedalingWalrus

I'm thankful that we have all these options. :-) Life is good.

at_hiker59

I carry a Big Agnes Air Core if I ever have to 'go to the ground' with my hammock. Hammockers get very creative with unusual spots to hang.

TimothyH

I want to thank everyone for this thread.

I build up a gravel bike and purchased my first Apidura bag. Have been interested in hammock camping for a while and might pull the trigger this fall with some local overnight trips to practice.

Very informative thread. Thanks again all.


-Tim-