First time I've chosen to add some weight… Switching to hanging

[Brian Goode]

I won’t be adding a ton of weight but I’ll have a more comfortable sleep, can sit up in hammock and can no longer worry about looking for a better spot like you do when ground sleeping.

Should have my full set up in about 2 weeks.

[Rob P]

What did you end up getting?

[Brian Goode]

I ordered the Warbonnet Edge tarp, single layer 1.7 fabric blackbird with woopie sling, and Wildernesslogic 15 degree 3/4 under quilt.

[Brian Goode]

Sold my back up shelter system and it paid for it all. WhooHoo Buddy!!

[Rob P]

I can tell you’ve been watching Shug!

[Ken Thompson]

.

[Brian Goode]

Gotta love the Shug

[Billy Ray]

“…and can no longer worry about looking for a better spot like you do when ground sleeping.”  Yea… but you will be looking for a better tree or set of trees… ha… and be limited to sleeping below tree line…

Everything has it’s advantages and it’s disadvantages… so pick your poison..

billy

[IVO K]

You may have to reconsider this “switching” business…

I thought just like you that I have discovered the wheel when I dove into hammocking several years ago.

Soon afterwards it became obvious that the hanging is not a panacea, and since then I have learned to follow my nose – there are trips, places, and seasons better suited for hammocking, and others – best served by ground dwelling. My trips are week-long at most, and I have learned to make the judgment call and take the type of shelter which will fit the trip best.

I suspect that you might come to the same conclusions. Just give it time.

[michael F]

Ive been on the fense about switching to a hanging setup but have not pulled the trigger yet. Reason being im more of a side sleeper dont know how I would do sleeping on my back. Are you able to side sleep comfortably?

[Brian Goode]

I did side sleep last trip. Different than ground but it works. Drew my knees in and it worked

[Brian Goode]

I can also add to the side sleeping issue that for me on the ground I had uncomfortable neck and just overall tension in the shoulder area from the ground. Xlite pad helped this considerable but the first time sleeping in s hammock was the first time I had zero tightness in the morning like I felt when ground sleeping.

Overall when ground sleeping I would feel stiff and couldn’t wait to get my tent packed up so I could be mobile. The hammock seems to be the opposite. Normally I am packing my tent gear up at around 7am. This past trip I woke up in hammock at 8:15. And zero stiffness and zero crawling on the ground.

[Todd Stough]

@Ivok

I’m curious what you mean?  I have never had a comfortable nights sleep on the ground.  I sleep great in my hammock.  Here in PA I’m never going to be above tree line and trees are plentiful.  Why would I need or want a tent over my hammock?

[michael F]

I generally dont get sore sleeping on the ground but do get a little stiff. Sounds like I will be looking into ordering a hammock setup seeing as aide sleeping does not seem to be an issue. Thanks for the input.

[Brian Goode]

Warbonnet has great weight to options ratio. Single layer 1.7 weigjt material.

[Huyzee]

For side sleeping check out Amok Draumr and HammockTent 90 degree hammocks.

[Greg Deitrick]

I am going to try 1.0 oz ROBIC for a DIY hammock with an integrated bug net.  I’m expecting about 14 oz.  or so for the hammock.  Add to that tree straps and a Cuban fiber hex fly and I should be several ounces under 2 pounds.  With that and my 20 degree over/under quilts I’m expecting to be right around 4 pounds.

I am also planning a simple DIY bug net to use with the fly for a ground setup.  That will be maybe 8 ounces lighter than the hammock.

I hike/camp with 2 busy 65 lb dogs and the hammock works particularly well.  It keeps me up and out of their dirt and activity when I’m trying to sleep.

[Kevin Babione]

Greg – If you have 20-degree top and under quilts do you really need integrated bug netting?  When I carry my warmest quilts I never have to worry about bugs.  Since you’re DIY you might want to find a way to make the bug netting removable.

I just ordered a new hammock from Dutchware (his Half-Wit) that has an integrated bug net that only covers half of the hammock.  I’m anxious to try it out next weekend on a trip.  The hammock with the bug net will weigh less than my existing hammock plus the bug netting that I have.

[Greg Deitrick]

Kevin –  I own 1 set of quilts; they come regardless of the weather.  I start the evening with the top quilt in the stuff sack and the bottom quilt hanging to the side of the hammock so I can cool off.  The quilts come out as I start getting chilled.  I HATE bugs, and the netting is less than 4 ounces, so I’m happy to carry it.  I really like having that bug-free space in the woods.  In cold weather it cuts down on drafts a bit.  It also prevents the dogs from dropping sticks into the hammock in an effort to get me to play with them.

The easy way to make a removable bug net is to make a Fronkey net, but this will add a few ounces.

[IVO K]

@ Todd Stough:

I’m curious what you mean?  I have never had a comfortable nights sleep on the ground.

Therein lies the difference between us.

I sleep in hammocks no more and no less comfortably than I do “on the ground”.  I was raised sleeping on relatively hard surfaces without a lot of “give” (as perceived as a healthier alternative by my parents, and as it turned out – proven to be the healthier alternative indeed). I still maintain that the most stressful aspect of moving with my family to the US of A at the age of 38 was the scarcity of hard beds, and it took me years to find a suitable mattress….

I have tried many gathered-end hammocks, some of them needed extra tweaking to make them more comfortable, others were great off the bat.

I was a full-timer too, for almost 3 full years (started hammocking every night at my place back in March ’13, and finally got off that horse just 4 months ago, for my own reasons).

I can relate to your PA experiences: Just 2 years ago did a hike covering the Quehanna trail, decided to do it as a ground-dweller, and – regretfully – at least 2 of my nightcamps had much better opportunities for hammocking. But I have the opposite example as well – did the 85-mile Susquehannock trail system last October hammocking, and 2 of the nights I had lots of trouble finding a good spot and establishing a comfortable hang.

This is what I mean – hanging does not trump ground-dwelling in my book, they are equally attractive, and in many cases one is more feasible than the other.

[Lori P]

“You need the right trees.”

My whoopie slings and straps have plenty of length, so no, I really don’t. 12 feet apart, 25 feet apart, 12 inch diameter, 10 foot diameter, whatevs.

“You need to stay below treeline.”

Uh huh. I had that trip where we were above 10000 feet every night – could have hung a hammock so easily, regretted not bringing it. Rocks and chocks, rocks and chocks.

Nearly every con that a non hammock hanger can come up with has an exception, a workaround, or it’s just not so. Except for when you’ve got a pesky significant other who likes your company – no way for two people to really sleep together in a hammock, even if it’s a really big one, and that Clark two person thing is just way too heavy and still not “together” enough.

So, yeah, I have tents and pads, and a boyfriend. The quilts are great either way. I don’t sleep so well on the ground, have to wake up to roll over too much. In a hammock I can sleep soundly enough all night in a way I don’t even do at home.

[Jeffrey Wong]

I made the switch and camped most of the PCT in a hammock last year. Deserts made me ground camp b/c I was walking with some dirt campers. Next time, (I hope next March) I’ll walk the PCT again and find the desert washes where I can hang from the hardy roots of native shrubs.  When I got past the deserts, the hammock camping was fabulous.  I might stop an hour early if I found a group of trees that I found “just right”

STRANGEST thing.  I used to turn 3-4 times in a bed and often woke up sore. Camping on the ground I’d always be sore for a few days until I got comfortable with being uncomfortable (yeah, WTF does that mean?) In a hammock, I start sleeping on my back and never remember turning even once on my side and I wake up completely restored even after walking 20-30 mile days. I have a hammock stand (Google “turtledog stand”) from which I hang and sleep almost nightly in my living room .

HYOH. Hang your own Hammock!

Trail name: Goldilocks

[Doug Green]

Slept on the ground for 45 years of my camping life (starting at 10 years old). Went to a hammock last  year and don’t plan on going back. I agree that there may be times when a tent is preferable, but I’ll avoid it if at all possible. I get a few hours a night at most on the ground and it is not a comforatble sleep.  7-8 hours in the hammock is the norm, only waking up once during the night to pee.

In terms of the weight penalty,  for me there is very little to none. My hammock setup using a Warbonnet Traveler, Maccat tarp, and Yeti under-quilt weighs exactly the same to the ounce as my equivalent ground setup using a Tarptent Notch and Thermarest Prolite sleeping pad with the exception of the bug net that I carry in the summer (adds 5 ounces).  I am sure that with enough money I could get it lower, but it is low enough for me.

 

[Brett Cooper]

Welcome to hanging!  There is a “Cool” factor with hammock as well just because it is totally different than what I do at home.  If nothing else it is fun to try new things in the back country.  I was all in about 2 years ago, but have since then sprinkled in some ground dweller trips.  I have had some uncomfortable nights in the hammock and some comfortable nights on the ground.

I also have the Wilderness Logics 3/4 overstuffed, great quilt, enjoy.  It should get me down to 10 degrees.

[Stefan Hoffman]

I switched to hammock about 7 years ago because i wanted to be off the ground away from foot long centipedes, and got hooked right away. Since then i have gotten my setup MUCH lighter than i could ever ground camp, and still miles ahead in comfort. 25ish ounces for hammock, shelter, insulation (see profile pic), even a real pillow!

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