Considering a Hammock

[cougarmeat]

CPS, While you are waiting, look at www.hammockforums.net

You can use a lot of your current gear to get started - you have the tarp you used for ground camping - good if it is 10 - 11 ft. (a little less than 4 meters) long.

You loose heat in the hammock by air convection flowing under it. So people use their camp pad inside the hammock or inside a sleeve - an extra layer of fabric under the hammock to hold a pad. They can use their sleeping bag as a top quilt by unzipping it, leaving about lower 1 meter zipped for a "foot box", and using it as a quilt. Note that the area of a sleeping bag that is under you doesn't add to warmth because the insulation there is compressed.

When you are sold on a hammock, a next step would be to replace any "pad" solution with an under quilt - like the bottom half of a sleeping bag - that is suspended under the hammock body.

You can get a hammock with a full built-in (unzippable) bug net or a completely separate net or just a net that covers your head to mid torso - because the rest of your body is inside the quilt.

Instead if "getting flat" by stringing the hammock up tight, the correct way, and easiest on the gear, is to hang it so it has about a 30 degree angle (or 60 degrees depending upon which part of the triangle you measure) from the tree. That creates a sag so when you get in, you rotate a little off center with your feet near one side and your head/shoulders near the other. Or, you could use a Bridge Hammock - that's a hammock that uses a spreader bar at each end and has its own characteristics.

Something to keep in mind is you don't have to mimic your home/bed situation. The nature of the mattress is such that it can create pressure points during the night (hips, shoulders) so a person is inspired to move around. The hammock gentle supports all your body so there is less need to fidget.

That said, the first (or second) night in something new - or someplace new - is often sightly unsettling for some people (me included). With a hammock, the muscles need to learn they can relax more - it might take a night or two.

When I first started, I set up a tent near the hammock so I could bail out if I needed to. The first night wasn't the most comfortable I've had, but it was different. The next night I thought I'd use the tent, but as I walked towards it, my "body" said, "Nooooo" and I continue to the hammock. I can't remember the last time I've slept on the ground.

There can be challenges - I used to think, "How hard can it be - there are trees everywhere." But they need to be the right distance apart (4 - 5 meters) and they can't have anything (additional tree/bushes) between them that would interfere with the tarp. I finally invested in a TensaOutdoors Solo pole that acts as one of the "trees". That way I need only one other natural support and it greatly opened up my ability - for better or worse - to camp closer to my tented companions (who are seeking open spaces).

See my Trip Report: Around Orcas in Eight Days, September 10 2022.

 

[mick_allen]

Aside from the comfort and everything else mentioned by cougarmeat above, if you use undeveloped sites - the characteristics of which that you're unsure - having a hammock increases the likelihood of a site being usable by a huge factor: maybe 40% or higher. Or another way: if you're in unknown territory, site potential goes way way up.

If that's the type of paddling you do, possibly it should in the quiver.

 

[CPS]

Always good to from those using the gear.

I have stayed in quite few sites where a hammock would have been more comfortable than the ground. Places with lots of roots, or prickly plants, or even just a slope would probably all be better in a hammock.
Or the only spot clear enough for a tent is a low spot and it's pouring rain...

My current thought is to pick up a hammock with an integrated bug mesh, and use my pad inside it. I think my existing tarp will work well and I've been considering getting another one anyways to have for kitchen duty. (Can't have too many tarps)
Down the line I am sure I'll get all the fancy under quilts and such, but this seems like a good initial start. The Hennessy Deluxe Zip Xl is my current thought. There are other options that are cheaper but it seems like a safe bet.

If I found myself in a situation where a hammock didn't work but a tarp/tent set-up would be better I could always set up the hammock as a sort of bivy bag under the tarp. A split 2 piece paddle and some ingenuity and it would probably be workable (if a bit laughable looking). I've slept on the ground with less.

My only complaint when sleeping just under the tarp is bugs. Usually mosquitoes, but sometimes slugs, come to visit and that's not great. Wind, rain, etc can all be dealt with without too much trouble, and there are some options when using a hammock that look really weather proof.

With a tent my complaints are more numerous. Most tents I've seen, and certainly all I've owned, have a fly that's put on after the body. It's possible to do the fly first with my MSR Elixir, but it's a pain in the butt. So if you're in a downpour it sucks. Tarps are just much nicer to deal with.
Then there's the morning tear down where I have to touch tent poles. Mine are aluminum and they suck the heat out of my fingers. It's a minor quibble but my hands take forever to warm up.

I did look briefly at single wall tents which seemed more appealing to me, but maybe I'll try that as an additional to the backpacking gear.

 

[AM]

Hammocks work. I think the issue there is whether you feel constrained in them — I feel a bit ‘swaddled’.

A pyramid tent/tarp might be good for you — bombproof for weather, versatile, simple.

Lots of options, none perfect. On my next long solo canoe trip I will take: MSR solo tent, tarp (for tent), pyramid tarp (for eating, lounging), and hammock for crappy ground.

As you can tell, I’m not an ultralight guy.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[mick_allen]

Oh yeah, instead of an insulated pad, in shoulder seasons I just pack whatever jackets/clothes I have under the bag as an insulative layer. If I've brought my wetsuit and it's unused, it's simplest.

I've got one, but haven't brought it, but one of those multiuse unfoldable foam northwater paddlefloats would be great too.

Another thing I've thought about but not done yet is - because I bring 2 inflatable paddlefloats [for other reasons to cover elsewhere] - to slice them in half, put velcro down the slice [to put back together] and inflate all 4 chambers for another combinable [the velcro combines the 2 as well as the 1] pad alternative. This approach might be another marginal ground tent site alternative as all 4 chambers can be individually filled to accommodate for really variable ground situations.

 

[cougarmeat]

>(Can't have too many tarps)


CPS - If you have friends across the border - I don't think there's an REI in Canada - REI often has a 20% off sale that includes Hennessey Hammock. But then again, I believe Hennessey is in Canada so maybe they have local deals. One thing I would seriously consider - The standard tarp the comes with Hennessey is just barely enough. It will keep you and the hammock dry; but that's about it. At one time, when you ordered, you could request their Hennessey Hex tarp - much more useful - and you'd be given credit for the retail cost of the standard tarp; you'd only have to pay the difference. The standard tarp is ok for the minimalist. But if it's raining, I don't want, "inside the hammock" to be the only dry place.

If I can swing it, I'll attach photos but I've absolutely used a hammock (with bug net) as a ground bivi. I was showing a paddling partner that my hammock could work as a tent better than his tent could work as a hammock. I do carry collapsable poles (light gloves help if it's cold). My paddle is precious; I'd like it's only job to be a paddle. First I guy out the poles - two lines coming off at angles and the tarp between them giving counter pull. Then I lay down a plastic ground sheet. Put my pad on that for more protection of the hammock (and my) bottom. The bug net is lifted off my face by being tied to the tarp poles. Works great.

The challenge of Single Wall anything is condensation - certainly much more an issue in winter. During the week I sleep outside in a bridge hammock that is fully enclosed by a Sock - a zippered, breathable, cover over that whole hammock. It provides privacy from neighbor's windows and blocks the light from their house (lit up until 1:30 AM) and street lights. The challenge/game is to unzip the opening allowing enough airflow to minimize condensation, while not giving up too much "shelter". You do NOT want such things to be waterproof -that's the tarp's job.

One advantage of tarp/hammock camping is when it rains, you can keep yourself and gear dry by packing up everything under the tarp. Ironically, I learned that at a kayak camping seminar (pre-hammock days) where I saw people putting tarps over their tents. I asked why they were doing that because the tent already had a rainfly. One of my paddling partners alway tarps his tent - in addition to the rainfly - if he expects rain.

Yes, you can suspend your hammock between trees on a slope. But you are still on a slope. Gravity still applies. Things roll

 

[cougarmeat]

CPS - just a note that there are many hammock in the market and almost anything off Amazon will be too short for comfort. It may be okay for a nap, but for regular sleeping, the general length is 11 ft with a few going to 12 ft and some down to 10 - 10.5 ft. I'm under 5' 6" (you really do shrink as you get older) so a WarBonnet BlackBird works fine for me. I can also use a 3/4th length underquilt and it is almost full length for me.

But people sprouting up beyond 6 ft (2 meters), will definitely want an 11 ft, or maybe 12 ft hammock. Though the hammock is usually hung so the hammock ends (not the suspension ends) are 83% of the physical length - that would be about 9 ft for an 11 ft hammock, it's the tarp that dictates how far the trees (or other support) have to be. Most tarps are 11 ft which gives about a foot overhang on each end of hammock.

If adverse weather is anticipated, it's worth getting a tarp with "doors". Doors are extra material at the end of the tarp that can be staked so they block wind/rain from entering at the end of the tarp.