Hi everyone,
I want to do my first bike tour in western Europe (Germany, Switzerland, France, Czechoslovakia, and Skandinavia) this summer and have few questions concerning camping.
1) do I need a bug net? Are mosquitoes a big problem in Europe?

2) what kind of sleeping bag do I need? What temperatures should I expect at night?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Congratulations on your trip.
Mosquitoes are a problem along with ticks, gnats and black flies, mostly in the country side. It's not as bad as the American brush, but very annoying.
Being in northern Europe, night temps can drop down to 8 C (45 F), with even flukes that might go below 5 C.
With the route you're planning, I would prepare the same as you would for the northern mid-western states.

You should also consider that anything you may need is also available in Europe.

Have a great trip

Mosquito nets as used in tropical, malaria-infested areas are rarely used in Scandinavia. While being active, repellents are the normal procedure. While camping, most will use tents with mosquito net in the doors and vents.
Sleeping under the bare sky is relatively rare, but tarp use is getting more common.

I would bring a head net for evening, wt is a few grams. I sleep cold I personally would use a colder rated bag probably 30*. There's not much wt or cost difference between 30 & 40.
Enlightened Equipment makes very nice quilts.

I'd say "no" if you sleep in a tent, "maybe" otherwise.

Summer nights will be warm. We were fine with 10c rated bags + liners. If there is an exceptionally cold spell, you may keep some (dry) clothes on.

Thank you for the helpful advice. I come from Mauritius, so I would not really know the temperature in "northern American states."

I'm more worried about the packing size of the sleeping bag than the cost. I will be sleeping in a hammock probably so it will be a little colder.

Summer climate isn't appreciably different there than in Michigan. I always use a 25/30F bag (-5/0C bag, I guess) here. Remember, bags ratings are what keep a generic adult man in long clothing OK, not necessarily every person at a comfortable temperature. Worst case, if it is too warm, I just unzip it. Most recommend going 15-20F (8 to 12C) lower than the lowest temp you expect to encounter.

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-adv...eping-bag.html

Not sure that a hammock is a good idea in Europe. Sleeping pad + tarp/tent would be more like it.

Ok, well then with what your accustomed to: It will be cold at night.

And may I ask why. In my opinion hammocks are lighter and more comfortable

You'll have a difficult time finding a place to set your hammock. Official campgrounds are little more than a field and sanitary building; if you stealth camp, you'll have to search quite a bit in some areas to find an adequate spot.

Google "hammock camping Europe".

These are pretty typical of campgrounds in most of Europe. I'm not sure if this one is in Denmark or Germany. Bike sites are usually just a large open grassy area. Even if you go to the smaller campgrounds you are usually crunched in between two caravans. IME it would be hard to find a convenient place to hang it. However, there were a few where a hammock would have worked.

European campgrounds are much different than those in North America. They are more structured, and many of the spots are taken by season long leases with camp trailers parked in them. Little or no vegetation separating the sites. There are no marked sites for ent, you just pitch them ere you can in the designated area. They can be very crowded. I probably have 50 more pictures of European campgrounds, and they are not much different.




Switzerland


Koblenz, Germany

I am hoping to stay away from campsites and try wild camping. It kind of defeats the purpose of getting out into nature to camp when the campsites have so many people.

Just my opinion from riding through all the places you mentioned (not much in Scandinavian countries), but I think you would have more flexibility wild camping using a tent.

Depending where you're going to be riding and what gear you have, the hammock isn't necessarily any lighter or more packable than a bag, pad and a small one person tent. This is because you'll need a tarp of a decent size to protect your from rain (3X3 meters is kinda ok but I'd go with 4x4, although I wouldn't tarp it as will come clear in a second). you'll need the bug net to protect you from insects (mosquitoes and ticks in scandinavia), you'll need either a sleeping pad or an under quilt for the hammock. An under quilt is recommended since if you use a pad and you're running a bit hot you'll find yourself in a puddle of sweat since pads are pretty water proof. On top of that you'll need a sleeping bag that's slightly warmer than what you'd need in a tent since you'll be exposed to wind etc.

So in the end you'll be carrying 5 bags or so
sleeping bag,
under quilt
hammock
tarp
ropes (this includes tree huggers, other hardware like carabiner clips etc)

instead of

tent
sleeping bag
pad

Now the real reason I would not use a hammock for general wild camping in Europe or rather, the mountain regions is the weather you get sometimes. The mountain storms in the alps will rip a hammock system to shreds and they are extremely hard to predict. We're talking hurricane strength winds, vertically flying hail the size of ping pong balls etc. A good tent can shrug that stuff off, but a hammock tarp will be in real trouble since it's essentially a sail.
The storms I speak of are not that rare so riding in the alps carries a risk of seeing at least heavy winds and rain if not something of the epic proportions we faced.

In terms of what kind of temps you'll be facing, the night time temps in the mountains can go down to sub freezing. The late summer temps in the scandinavia can go down to almost sub freezing in the south and definitely sub freezing in the north.

The tent vs hammock debate burns on in the hiking forums. But look at the above pictures. No trees, no hammock. I was only able to wild camp in Ireland and once in Wales. Not on the continent. I was in France mostly where there are a lot of decent campgrounds. Generally 1 in every town.

This is from Switzerland last summer.

Wish I could get comfortable in a hammock - it is usually far easier finding suitable trees than clear flat ground (at least where I'd consider wild camping over there), and of course, you can always pitch a hammock on the ground if necessary. Certainly the countries you list are going to be colder than Mauritius so if you use your hammock, you better know how to rig it for warmth - personally I suggest a pad + width extender (vs an under quilt) which will give you the option to go to ground in the case of an urban campground, for example. FWIW, a great way to find potential wild camping spots is Google maps (from a free wifi spot) - use satellite view to find large blocks of forest, and then street view (if available) to get a sense of forest density, tree height, no-trespassing signage, etc.

If you are really interested in compact/lightweight, consider a floorless pryamid with nest. I find 'mids' significantly out perform my Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 and Hennessey Hammock UL Backpacker on most measures (eg, packs smaller/lighter, quicker set-up/take-down, better bug/rain protection), yet mine cost = or <, and for me is = or > comfortable. For sleeping, I highly suggest a quilt with Velcro head hole and belt (eg, Sierra series from JacksRBetter) - doubles as a super warm down poncho for cold evenings/mornings while stagnant at your campsite. Saves packing a down jacket, but reserve it for the 15-30F nighttime temp drops at your campsite - do not use/rely on it for riding.

Best of luck.

Can't speak to the comfort, but if lightness is really a concern, there are always the one person bivy tents. Effectively, nothing more than a tent big enough to cover you and your sleeping bag and allow just a bit of room to move around. Was planning on one for my next tour, until a friend decided to join.

Have you slept in a hammock before? I found a sleeping bag in a hammock to be kind of a pain, and not terribly warm underneath. In all but the warmest weather, I like quilt or some insulation underneath the hammock. Then another quilt/blanket to drape over you inside the hammock.

Can't speak directly to hammock camping in Europe. I did read a few Crazy Guy journals of people doing it. At least one of the people had to sleep on the ground at least one night, but was able to hang the hammock most nights. Still, that info may not be relevant where you're going. Might be worth checking to see if there are any hammock camping tour diaries for those areas.

Someone also makes a portable hammock stand. It's on my wish list, but I haven't tried it. And, of course, it adds to your gear, which detracts from part of the appeal of hammock camping.

Hi everyone,
Sorry for the late response. Most of the answers here are tending to criticize hammock camping. Please may the replies focus more on the question. I have decided to do hammock camping for specific reasons, and I am not really convinced that a tent is any better. Anyhow, thanks for the helpful answers and hopefully someone else will have good advice for me.

Maybe you are right, but I have yet to hear of a storm "ripping a hammock to shreds." I also think that if there was such a storm, a tent would not be able to "shrug it off." Anyways, There are tarp configurations for all types of weather conditions, and hopefully I won't encounter such a storm. Thanks for your answer anyways, especially for your advice for the tarp.

You may want to read this thread.