Originally Posted by
phughes
With my Warbonnet Blackbird, tarp, Klymit insulated pad, and Kelty sleeping bag, I'm at right around 6.5 pounds. I could get a lighter sleeping bag, but 6.5 pounds is okay for me.
I have an REI one person tent that will weight in about one pound more when coupled with the sleeping bag and pad. It isn't the lightest one person tent, but I like it's size. It is larger than most one person tents.
I wouldn't sweat the weight. On half of my last tour, my wife joined me for the weekend, bringing our three person Coleman tent. I ended up keeping it with me and using it for the rest of the tour since I was possibly going to have to wait out a couple days due to cold, hail, and high winds. That tent alone weighs in at 11 pounds. I still carried my hammock gear as well. Overall I pack fairly light, so the sleeping gear isn't much of an issue to me.
I've thought of using a sleeping pad rather than a underquilt for trips where I might have to sleep on the ground some nights. I own a Klymit Static V sleeping pad that is lighter and packs smaller than my underquilt, but it's the uninsulated pad so I'm not sure if I'd be warm enough using it in the hammock. I'm also not sure if the pad would stay centered under me with the hammock I'm using.
I hope to try bicycle packing with my mountain bike this summer. Pack size and weight is going to be a lot more critical, but I think I'll still use the hammock. Before the hammock, I often cowboy camped with a ground cloth and a tarp for the possibility of rain. I had a down sleeping bag that weighed about 2lbs and my sleeping pad was about a pound. I'm pretty sure total weight was around 5 lbs, but it could've been less. I sleep way better in the hammock than I do on the ground so the extra weight is a good tradeoff.