I Wish I Knew This Sooner About Hammock Camping!
I Wish I Knew This Sooner About Hammock Camping!
Hammock camping is not something I do often in my backpacking, but is something I enjoy dabbling in when I have an opportunity to hang. There is a steep learning curve with hammocks, and here are some things I wish I knew sooner about hammock camping that might have helped me have a better experience early on.
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Video title: I Wish I Knew This Sooner About Hammock Camping!
This video concerns what I wish I knew sooner about hammock camping. But it also covers the following topics:
Beginner hammock camping
How to choose a hammock for camping
How to pack a hammock in a pack
Hammock tips and hacks for backpacking
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My procedure with a hennesey: Take hammock/tarp roll out of bag. Tie one side to a tree above your head. Tighten and tie the other side to a tree, preferably keeping the hammock in the middle. Tie the two side strings of the tarp to something on the sides. Sit under the tarp if it’s raining and enjoy nature. Hook the hammocks side strings to the side tarp ends when you go to bed and sleep well 🙂 Done! Reverse order when packing 🙂 I say 5-10 minutes setting up camp depending on how in a hurry you are. 1-5 minutes to take down, also depending on the hurry.
P.S slept 6 months in said hennesey in a shared apartment. My whiplash neckpain healed itself over 2-3 weeks.
I switched from tent to hammock several years ago & won’t look back. A hammock sleep/shelter system takes similar volume & weight in my pack compared to my tent & accessories. In the video you said there are more parts in a hammock system. Respectfully, I’d say they are equal: in a hammock system you have hammock & suspension (=tent sleep compartment & poles), under quilt & top quilt (=inflatable pad & sleeping bag or quilt), & tarp with guy lines (tent’s rain fly with guy lines). Yes, it takes practice to properly hang the hammock & pitch the tarp but this gets better with experience. Hike our own hike! Happy trails!
You sleep like a princess, but you have to study like PhD to do it perfect.
I was thinking about a hammock but not anymore seems like a PIA unless conditions are perfect wind and rain changing directions changing clothes places to keep all your gear dry I guess if I was on the ground in a flashflood I would wish I had one. Lol
I’d love to see you revisit this with gear truly made for backpacking, like Superior Hammocks and Tensa Trekking Trees! A tarp with doors, too!
Also, I’d consider a gear hammock for getting your stuff off the ground and in easy reach.
I warn you now, do not buy a hammock. If you do and you get it figured out, you may eventually find yourself choosing to replace your bed with a hammock for an amazing nights rest and comfort with the freedom to roam the world have a great night’s sleep generally at a much lower cost than those stuffy motel rooms.
Instant like! ��
It doesn’t take that long for you to stop overthinking it.
Want to keep stuff on your ridgeline, just clip a stuff sack on it. No need for a purpose built single use piece of gear.
Knees hyper-extended, put a jacket or a clothes bag under your knees.
I’ve tried all of the suspensions systems out there, and I keep going back to cinch buckles or Becket hitches. Fiddling with whoopie slings when your fingers are cold just isn’t worth the struggle.
I used to overthink everything and try to get "perfect". Now that I have my system dialed, I can have my tarp pitched from its snakeskins in a couple of minutes in the dark then the same with my hammock.
That feeling of being exposed is called "sleeping outside", which is what we’re actually trying to do. That’s a feature, not a bug.
Hammocks only seem more difficult because you have a lot more options and flexibility than a tent that can only go one of maybe three different ways after you located that flat piece of ground with no rocks or roots.
What if I have for him and camping and what I did my first few times is instead of putting a tarp over my hammock even if it wasn’t raining I would just leave it open. It’s so calming to just watch the stars move as you drift into sleep. It is one of the most unreal experiences I’ve had ever hearing the small creatures of the night wrestling about it’s just so peaceful….
Respect!! ��
Utilizing the Ridgeline for storage hanging cloths lights and anything else I just want out of the way
just get OVER this idea that EVERYTHING has to fit INSIDE of your pack, folks. It’s not true Lots of stuff can be hung on the outside of your pack, with MOLLE gear.
I always hear people complain about the under quit being an extra piece of equipment but you’re not bringing a sleeping pad isn’t it a one for one🤔
Hammock gear has an inexpensive Ridgeline organizer. Made from no seeum mesh, multiple pockets carry a bunch of stuff.
Flat hammock tent is the best! Unless you’re backpacking far and needed ultralight gears, lay flat hammocks is the best in between between tents and hammocks
you raised smile on my face. Thank you for your honesty. I switched to hammock when I was 54. I felt exactly as some others here-like idiot. Then next year I flew to USA and walked PCT. With hammock. I set up my Garmin to warn me 1hour before sundown-just to have enough time to find convenient trees and make the camp. Two trees from distance looks great, but when you get closer… Sometimes in nigth, I felt not very safe, you are rigth, you feel there like a hotdog for wild animals… But you have to get used to (there is no other choice). And later, you spend this hour before sundown not looking for rigth distance tree, but for rigth trees for the most amazing sunrise in your life. Watching sun rising from your hammock. Nothing can compares to this. As for where the hell all the stuff to be stored-I hanged every single piece to the ridge line. Just because all that hungry small creatures on the ground. Even my shoes and backpack. You need bigger tarp to cover all that wobling hanging stuff if rain is coming. I use 3x3m square tarp and hang it diagonally – it gives you close to 4m length. No ridge line organiser. Warbonnet Blackbird XLC hammock has a genious invention-pocket as a part of the hammock. Another usefull invention for it is their underquilt protector. In fact I threw all stuff like shirt or socks in it. In the morning you know, where to look for it. I have as well small hammock for stuff-just below my hammock. I walked one third of PCT starting from Washington and appart of two nigths when I willingly stayed on the ground because of space with nice view, I spent around 80 unbelievably beautiful nigths out there in my hammock. No holes in my gear from mouse, no back ache. On contrary-having legs higher than head helped to recover better. I am 57 now and in 2026, I get back to PCT. With my hammock. To react to some ultraligth comments here-I don’t care. My gear together with 5days food weighs over 60pounds, I had no issue on PCT walking 18miles a day. Less than ultraligth guys, ok, but with all the comfort (including hammock gear), even camp chair😊. Why and where the hell to rush, I don’t need to walk around the Earth in one month. I want to enjoy and that is where hammock shine…
I wonder what the average weight for a hammock setup vs the average weight of a tent setup is?
I just gotta say, those quilts don’t pack down near as small as mine (30 degree, but still). Both of mine pack down into something the size of one of yours, and I have slept in a hammock using them down to 35 degrees and didn’t wake up cold (I did wear long underwear and a hat, which I always do if it’s cold because I tend sleep cold). As for gear if not very heavy, you can put it in your pack and hang that from the end of the hammock, and misc items from the tarp ridge line if you need to reach them often.
i can unzip the bivy into a flat canopy and i can slit open the envelope to acheive the same effect. Gorilla tape suffices to reassemble it (or the drum liner, ir i have cause to cut it in half and tape it into the ends of the super shelter. Normally, the two bags and ridgelines are just flattened out, folded and rolled up, leaving the ridgelines and hammock in place. Then it’s only the work of a very few minutes to get things hung again. Ditto if I get set up as a Kochanski, I leave it set up that way for the rest of the trip. The hammock can still be used inside of the supershelter. The difference is that a 4×8 ft sheet of clear PEVA shower curtain is draped down the fire-side of the lean to and the envelope and bivy are "opened’ like a clamshell towards the one way projected heat of a Siberian fire lay. The halves of the drum liner are taped to the "roof" and "bottom" of the ends of the envelope. The ends of the PEVA are spring clamped to the drum liner ends of the shelter. A small log is used to roll up the PEVA out of the way, from the INSIDE and the top of the PEVA side of the shelter is closer to the fire than is the bottom of the PEVA.. Thus, there is nothing for popping embers to land upon and the Siberian has few such embers in the first place. The Siberian cannot be put out by rain and it projects its one way heat twice as far as is the case with a normal fire. So that helps with the ember issue too.
Maybe just use a tent brother. It sounds like you’re just complaining about hammock camping lol
I ride a motorcycle. Weight and bulk are a concern. I looked into hammock camping and found a few concerns.
First, weight. There isn’t much difference in weight between a tent and a hammock setup.
Second, trees. You need trees. I’ve ridden around the Western US and camped in many places that had no trees, including one where I was stranded overnight.
Third, rain. When tent camping in the rain, I set up a tarp first, which I expect is also the priority for hammock camping. I assemble my tent under the tarp and then move it to one end were the tarp covers the entrance. That leaves space under the tarp to dry wet gear and cook dinner. Most of the prime tarp space in a hammock setup is occupied by the hammock.
Very original! ��
$300 plus is kinda ridiculous for a hammock, doesn’t surprise me though but hard pass.
A waterproof compression sack will easily take that top quilt and underquilt and easily compress those two quilts to the size of one of those two stuff sacks …
or smaller.
Look at the size of an equivalent sleeping bag.
Let’s see:
Rain fly = tarp … Both require guylines and stakes usually
Tent poles = suspension
Tent = hammock
Footprint = nothing because you dont need an equivalent
Clearing roots, rocks, sticks etc from your site = Fiddling with suspension
Picking a flat, level site with no immovable obstructions = picking two trees a usable distance apart
Benefits:
Standing up from a hammock instead of getting up off the ground and crawling out of a tent.
Not inflating a sleep pad only to discover it has a leak.
With snakeskins and rigging attached, hanging & storing takes minutes … or less.
Another set for the tarp👍
No poles required, unless you want tarp spreaders and/or porch mode poles which means easier packing.
All gets more critical as you get older.
Have a Good Day👋
👽
I needed this! ��
i am getting ready to order the cinch buckle system from superior gear. the normal cinch buckles tent to shread and i fall about 2 am. i hate them.
How do we overcomplicate (or overgear) things. I’m saying things specifically following your common on all the setup options. I agree with you we don’t need lots — in fact, ALL one needs is whatever rope (or webbing or accessory cord) one chooses to attache the hammock to the poles/trees.
– One fixes one end to a tree/pole, using the dead end of the webbing/cord passed into a clove hitch. This is fixed and is not adjustable.
– One uses a trucker’s hitch / tension hitch / whatever this is called in one’s neck of the wood on the other end to adjust the tension.
Done. No buckle, no additional doodles to acquire and manage.
I lived outdoors for a year sleeping in my hammock and he is absolutely right. At first I was like, he is tripping about feeling exposed, but then i remembered, I had my gigantic dogs with me always
I’ve sewn an extra thin layer (same as the hammock material) onto my hammock, where I can slide in an ultralight inflatable mat and a silvered foam pad. It’s elasticated at the seams and keeps the mat and pad from shifting and provides excellent insulation. Since I use a two person hammock just for myself and this custom adjustment, it gives that extra room for movement and I sleep like a baby in it.
Also, if you have anything in your camping gear with a 90° angle, strapping your hammock level will be simple, no matter how uneven the terrain, or trees are. A weighted plumb-line string at your first attachment point with the 90° item inline with the string will leave the other 90° line pointing directly at the spot on the other tree where your second attachment needs to be.
I dont use sleeping pads, sleeping bags, quilts, I use a 1.5 lb, reflective tyvek bivy, a 1/2 lb reflective plastic envelope around the bivy. Two ridgelines and the 1 lb net hammock go thru the bivy . Two more ridgelines go between the bivy and the envelope, I wear a tyvek coverall and sleep fine in this setup at 40F degrees, in just my cammies. If I add a balaclava, unlaced shoes, 3 sets of sock liners, gloves, shemagh and my "longjohns" I sleep fine at 34F in wind and rain. As my "coveralls", I use a couple of 1/4 lb each. fcutull body bugnet "suits" from Amazon and a couple of their 1/2 lb each "cut leaf" type of camo nets". if it’s 20F, or so, I add layers of debris as insulation, If the debris is all wet, I can use the UCO lantern and its beeswax candle and some hot rocks, with the hammock rigged as a "slingchair" to dry out the debris that later becomes my insulation. If it’s colder than that, I rig this same gear, with the addition of a 55 gallon drum liner and a 3x 8 ft sheet of clear PEVA shower curtain as a Kochanski super-shelter, for use with a Siberian fire lay. or I use hot rocks/hot water bottles inside of my bivy. If I use both the supershelter/fire and the hot rocks, I can sleep ok at -10F, for a few hours at a time. given some sedatives, I can get enough sleep to be ok for weeks of such living . I need sedatives at home in my bed, so you might not need them while using this super lw, compact gear in the field. I use both a buttpack and a daypack, stuffed with debris, as sleeping pads on the groiund or as (very small) "under quilts". When it’s cold, hang your hammmock just 6" off of the ground and kick debris uner it to stop air flow under you. That debris CAN be wet and it wont matter, if you use the packs to keep the moistture away from yourself. I use the pack’s harnesses to suspend them under the hammock. With my trail socks, boxers and T shirt in the packs, they have a bit of insulative value, when I put them where my bodyweight is not crushing them.
Hammock are the best <3 I been sleeping in my hammock for a while with just the hammock and some blankets hahah! And then I hope it doesn’t rain, last night it did rain tho.. so I do need a tarp.. And a sleeping back would be nice, mosquito net and maybe and under quilt. But really when you are starting out.. you can just start / try out with the hammock only and some blankets.. just check the weather tho haha.
My back would be so messed up if I slept in a hammock! No thanks!
Lemmie just count that up quick,, tent,, outer, inner poles guys pegs. VS Hammock straps tarp guys pegs,, one less whicheverway you count it.
Do you not use a compression sack?
After over 30 years of tenting, I’ve been hammock camping for about a decade now and will never go back to the ground. Over the years ive tried the different suspensions and use what fits the situation best. I make my own hammocks, tarps, straps etc. to what works best for me. My only regrets are all of those years tenting when I coulf have been hanging!
Structural ridglines are as important as integrated bug nets- its not even worth it witj out one.
Lay flat hammocks have come a long way since this video was made. I’ve researched enough to know that I’m getting a Haven Spectre for my thru hike of the AT next year. It checks all the boxes for me and can be set up as a tent in the absence of trees. Looking forward to not sleeping on the ground…
Try a Haven XL
Hammocks are to tents what motorcycles are to cars.
Well, oldschool bikes anyway haha, these days bikes are just as idiotproof as cars haha!😂🤘
Hyoh👍🏻
Simply the best! ��
Old , overweight and late to the party. Hammock. Sleeps better after you finally get it set up nicely. Have a giant 12’ tarp. Bring two chairs and a table plus two cups of coffee. Will always have company while I sit my butt down to relax. Even hot cocoa for the young ones that stop by. 4 days of doing nearly nothing and sleeping in feels like two weeks of vacation anywhere else.
9:50. Am I the only one who uses ratchet straps for hammock camping? They’re completely adjustable and way easier than hanging and rehanging/ leveling your daisy chains.
They are a little heavier, but well worth it.
(Also, a Haven hammock solves the side sleeping issue)
Quality of sleep 💤 is the beginning, middle and end of the entire argument. If, like me, you sleep unusually and incredibly well in a hammock. Decision made. To put this in perspective, I have a Vispring Tiara Superb mattress at home, sleep is incredibly important to me. The ONLY place I sleep almost as well as on my home £10k mattress is in a £20 hammock. All mattresses in between are horrible and leave me aching and grouchy the next day. So floor matts and tents?!?! Absolutely forget it. In short, hammocks are a secret sauce, an incredible cheat mode for sleeping well on the move. The shock of my first good nights sleep away from home, in a hung peice of stretched fabric that fits in the palm of my hand?! Well, that’s never going to wear off. I’d consider taking a hammock with me when staying anywhere but home, that’s how a massive a deal a hammock and my sleep is for me. It may very well be for you too!
Dude ! AT thru-hiker here. Why would you have a stuffsack? Take a garbage bag put it in the pack, suff your quilt, then hammock with under quilt attached into the bottom sans stuffsack. Add any clothes not on your body, close the garbage bag and crush out all the air twist compressed bag shut and stuff the twist under then ad food bag or bear canister with food and cooking gear inside or on top, shut the pack and cram your tarp in the outside netting so you can deploy it instantly from the pack. Raingear and poop bag goes in too. I just had a $5 umbrella from Walmart.
I wish I learned that hammocks come in different lengths before I bought a cheap hammock to try it out. Now I’m planning to get my self a proper 11" hammock and this time I’m doing all the research on the available options and gear.
ENO has a rainfly that fits like a tent over your hammock, stretching to the ground and closed at each end. They also have a small gear hammock for suspending under your sleeping hammock where you can store a bunch of items.
I’ve never found a way to be comfortable in a tent. Hammocks have a harder learning curve, but, you can get actually comfortable, to the point you don’t want to get out.
I can tell you a 12 ft hammock is much more comfortable. I used a 11 ft last trip and regretted it. Both were made by Hammock Gear. At 67 years old I appreciate not having to get down and crawl into a tent ⛺️
I don’t go to ground unless absolutely necessary (above treeline, desert etc). Otherwise it’s 🙌 for a hammock for me. And if you like to geek out on small company custom gear the accessory options are endless! 🥾🏔️🇨🇦❤️
A price of cordage cut to the length needed between trees for your set up, will supplant the need for a tape measure.