What do you put between....
- Thread starter Sundowner
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I use a self inflating mat (Alpkit wideboy). In very cold weather I use my Snugpak cocoon and a 2 season down bag along with the alpkit mat. If it's sub zero then my 95 arctic bag again with the alpkit mat.
Hammocks will always be heavier than ground camping. I could go with exactly the same stuff minus the hammock and even have a smaller lighter tarp and bivi on the ground. Still my hammock weighs around 460g and for me this weight is worth it for the comfort. I've even a home made one that weighs just 90g it was a test to see just how light I could make one, it is a bit on the small side and I've never slept a night in it, but for sitting around in it's ok - but I wouldn't trust it to hold me and my three kids at the same time!
Weight for weight, hammocks may be heavier but I do not think most compare like for like.
For my the first thing is the size / thickness of the mat; to get anything like the comfort of a hammock I would need a 10cm thick ground mat. Using a 1cm mat in my hammock wins hands down.
Standing room; any tent used to compare must allow for being able to stand with ease. Any tent that when pitched comes up to my knees is out the running, up to my bum and it just gets laughed at.
Condensation; running wet walls mean you have lost so we need a decent tent. I will accept that some folk get a bit of condensation in the bottom of their hammock
Site; hammocks are rubbish in the desert, tents not so good in dense rocky woods. By this I mean you and a rucksack in the desert, if you can fasten your hammock to a landrover...... the weight issue is over!
So on site I am thinking a field next to a wood to give balance.
Weather; got to be "English" !!! High on a hill in Scotland is WonderFul, but I want to batten down the hatchs. 2 weeks of welsh rain in summer and you can stick your tent where the sun does not shine.
For me they both have their place but the scales tip 80:20 for a hammock for me.
For my the first thing is the size / thickness of the mat; to get anything like the comfort of a hammock I would need a 10cm thick ground mat. Using a 1cm mat in my hammock wins hands down.
Standing room; any tent used to compare must allow for being able to stand with ease. Any tent that when pitched comes up to my knees is out the running, up to my bum and it just gets laughed at.
Condensation; running wet walls mean you have lost so we need a decent tent. I will accept that some folk get a bit of condensation in the bottom of their hammock
Site; hammocks are rubbish in the desert, tents not so good in dense rocky woods. By this I mean you and a rucksack in the desert, if you can fasten your hammock to a landrover...... the weight issue is over!
So on site I am thinking a field next to a wood to give balance.
Weather; got to be "English" !!! High on a hill in Scotland is WonderFul, but I want to batten down the hatchs. 2 weeks of welsh rain in summer and you can stick your tent where the sun does not shine.
For me they both have their place but the scales tip 80:20 for a hammock for me.
I have to say, I don't get your mat logic there.
Honestly, 10cm sounds a made up number to reach the point where mats aren't made that thick. I use a Thermarest NeoAir Xtherm MAX Regular which is 6.3cm thick and is incredibly comfortable and warm. The only mats I can think of that are 1" thick are either closed cell foam or self-inflating and I'd be willing to bet money my NeoAir packs smaller and weighs less.
Standing room... I'd love to see anyone stand in a hammock - Again, something I'd be happy to spend money on to see. I think you mean a tarp, which is certainly not exclusive to hammocks as I take one with me for a living area when I'm in my tent and a tarp is also what people use on the ground without a tent.
Condensation I have had on a tarp also, it's not exclusive to tents though some tents are very bad at managing it.
Site... the jungle or extremely densely wooded areas are about the only places I don't think work for tents... hammocks are ok in most places other than where there is no structure for them... land rovers, sure... but I think you need more than one unless you have a structure for one end.
Weather... I don't really get... I have been in truly biblical weather in a tent and been fine... I still use a tarp as a living area just as hammock users do. My tent is for sleeping, just as a hammock is.
I'm not selling tents, my name isn't Tent_man and I have used hammocks... and still have a few that I like. I know I'm not going to change your mind Hammock_man... I don't really want to if you're happy doing what you're doing... but your arguments don't hold water for me I'm afraid.
Honestly, 10cm sounds a made up number to reach the point where mats aren't made that thick. I use a Thermarest NeoAir Xtherm MAX Regular which is 6.3cm thick and is incredibly comfortable and warm. The only mats I can think of that are 1" thick are either closed cell foam or self-inflating and I'd be willing to bet money my NeoAir packs smaller and weighs less.
Standing room... I'd love to see anyone stand in a hammock - Again, something I'd be happy to spend money on to see. I think you mean a tarp, which is certainly not exclusive to hammocks as I take one with me for a living area when I'm in my tent and a tarp is also what people use on the ground without a tent.
Condensation I have had on a tarp also, it's not exclusive to tents though some tents are very bad at managing it.
Site... the jungle or extremely densely wooded areas are about the only places I don't think work for tents... hammocks are ok in most places other than where there is no structure for them... land rovers, sure... but I think you need more than one unless you have a structure for one end.
Weather... I don't really get... I have been in truly biblical weather in a tent and been fine... I still use a tarp as a living area just as hammock users do. My tent is for sleeping, just as a hammock is.
I'm not selling tents, my name isn't Tent_man and I have used hammocks... and still have a few that I like. I know I'm not going to change your mind Hammock_man... I don't really want to if you're happy doing what you're doing... but your arguments don't hold water for me I'm afraid.
So to reply, 10cm is a made up figure. My point is most any mat is not as comfortable as a hammock and a mat that gets close to comfortable is heavy, costly or both
Standing in a hammock is a skill I have yet to manage, yes I do mean standing alongside my hammock, under my tarp. ( If I have to stand in my hammock, you have to stand on top of your tent!!
Sorry but it is a comparsion to tent vis hammock/ tarp. If you are going to have a tarp along with the tent then the weight has to go from both sides. There is nothing wrong with taking a tarp along with a tent just as a hammock with two tarps can be easy living.
Weather.. oh yes in a gale give us a tent Please. But if it was to be 2 weeks of welsh rain, aka the worst Bushmoot of all time, may I have hammock and tarp. My point being you can not pick the weather to shift the choice.
You are right in as much as changing my mind, I am too old to go back to ground dwelling. The great thing is there is choice and it is your choice.
Standing in a hammock is a skill I have yet to manage, yes I do mean standing alongside my hammock, under my tarp. ( If I have to stand in my hammock, you have to stand on top of your tent!!
Sorry but it is a comparsion to tent vis hammock/ tarp. If you are going to have a tarp along with the tent then the weight has to go from both sides. There is nothing wrong with taking a tarp along with a tent just as a hammock with two tarps can be easy living.
Weather.. oh yes in a gale give us a tent Please. But if it was to be 2 weeks of welsh rain, aka the worst Bushmoot of all time, may I have hammock and tarp. My point being you can not pick the weather to shift the choice.
You are right in as much as changing my mind, I am too old to go back to ground dwelling. The great thing is there is choice and it is your choice.
Nonsense statement. Most absolute statements are nonsense.
If you'd said "A hammock rig that could cope with any weather all year round will be of similar weight to ground camping" I might have agreed with you". I've done bivvi camping and I've done hammock camping and the home-made hammock camping rig was much lighter and more compact. Granted, it relied on the availability of trees and was therefore less versatile. However, it also meant I could comfortably sleep on very steep hillsides, where nobody else would be camping.
My home-made hammock, including ropes packed down to smaller than my gore-tex bivvibag. A bit of 3mm underfloor matt did for insulation and folded to nothing much in my rucksack. The difference in bulk and weight was the sleeping matt required for the ground camping, which I didn't need at all for the hammock camping.
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I gave up on tents years ago - my custom hammock system or stretcher bed under a tarp is So much more comfortable and versatile and my home made hammock/tarp combo is a lot lighter than my home made tent ever was!
good hammocking resource=
http://theultimatehang.com/2012/04/...ping-claim-1-hammocks-are-lighter-than-tents/
there's also a picture of someone standing up in a hammock on there too....
http://theultimatehang.com/2012/04/...ping-claim-1-hammocks-are-lighter-than-tents/
there's also a picture of someone standing up in a hammock on there too....
Thank heavens I have both. A 4m Bell tent when it's freezing cold ( with a frontier stove) and now the hammock. If I go canoeing to an island / inaccessible shores I'll take the tent as there no weight issue. Any other time it's the hammock
Just my 2 p's worth
😀😀
Just my 2 p's worth
😀😀
It is colder.
Balance that with often you are camping in forest that can be dense and the wind is cut by the trees. However there is significant heat loss below you. I've not hammock camped in cold weather, only cool summer temperatures.
Yeah, I guess the decision isnt hard and fast and only 1 rule to live by but more a question of where you plan to camp.
Neither one is better than the other tent vs hammock is just preference
Imo a proper down underquilt is the only way to go for bottom insulation in a hammock (again, imo)
Weight wise hammocks can be just as light as tents easily. I can go to -5*c with my hammock, tarp, underquilt, and top quilt for under 2kg
And do overnighters with that set up in my 11ltr bergans lumbar pack
One thing cant be argued though. If you want to go ultralight with a hammock its gonna cost you. That -5*c set up i mentioned is not the most expensive out there by a long way but still cost me around £500-£600 (without the lumber pack)
The underquilt was about £160 from uk cottage maker bespokeultralight, and worth much more imo
Imo a proper down underquilt is the only way to go for bottom insulation in a hammock (again, imo)
Weight wise hammocks can be just as light as tents easily. I can go to -5*c with my hammock, tarp, underquilt, and top quilt for under 2kg
And do overnighters with that set up in my 11ltr bergans lumbar pack
One thing cant be argued though. If you want to go ultralight with a hammock its gonna cost you. That -5*c set up i mentioned is not the most expensive out there by a long way but still cost me around £500-£600 (without the lumber pack)
The underquilt was about £160 from uk cottage maker bespokeultralight, and worth much more imo
See that's the advantage of a bridge hammock - it allows you to use your regular kit that most folk will already have. Heres my winter hammock set up, the Exped mat is an upgrade from this season, prior to that I used two CCF pads overlapped to give me decent width. No need for a dedicated UQ, but you do have a weight penalty carrying extra poles, and the initial cost puts some folk off them. Great nights sleep IMO.
