Hammock Vs Tent - Why I DON'T use a Hammock 

Both are great for certain reasons, I make the choice depending on where I will be going and what terrain I will be in! Also, with today’s amazing blow up sleep pads, I wouldn’t agree that hammocks are always more comfortable. Also a tip to try is not using an under quilt, just slide your sleep pad into the hammock, its works really well and makes it even more comfortable.

I'm a hammock guy my reason is mainly comfort I use the Dutchware chameleon I can definitely recommend it also dream hammock makes really nice gear , keep up the great work love your vids

Too old for long distance hikes now. So, hammock. Have a few tents if I change my mind.

Team tent here all day.

I'm a hammock guy unless I'm somewhere where trees are scarce. It comes down to comfort for me. I sleep better in my hammock in the woods than I do going to ground.....or in my expensive, memory foam, pillow top mattress at home, for that matter. When I was young, I cowboy or tent camped exclusively. Now, at 49, I get much better rest and feel much better in the morning in my hammock. And now, after setting up and tearing down so many times, I feel like I'm as efficient with the hammock as I am with a tent. And I care little about privacy. I can change fine under the tarp. The biggest con to me is the extra weight. But at the end of the day, the comfort is worth the extra weight to me. I don't know if I would feel the same on an extended thru hike. But for over nighters and multi day hikes, I'll make the weight sacrifice.

Dude thats what I was thinking. No one can blame for wanting to get camp set up with ease at the end if the day.

lazy hiker is like physically active gamer

Yeah - truth is he is a lazy camper, not a lazy hiker.

Hiking is the easy/fun part. Setting up camp, taking down the camp, leaving no trace and cleaning up after yourself is the hard part. Also I have a gear hammock under my hammock so all my stuff is right there and off the ground. I think you may just not have the experience or desire to hammock camp in a better way

yea this past winter i slept in a hammock and had the best sleep ever woke up feeling great. I like my tent but if its nice out and no rain ill use my hammock

@@niq872 No rain? I've slept like a baby in raging downpours that would leave most ground dwellers soaking wet.

@@KarlBAndersen i dont have a small tarp to cover the top yet only a bug net .

@@niq872 get one they’re not expensive at all

Yeah same. My back can't handle the ground anymore so I went hammock and ease of setup/breakdown is amazing.

Agree

Yeah exactly. I would say a cheap hammock setup is going to be lighter than a tent setup until you start really investing in a light tent. And you also have to keep in mind tents are going to be pretty leaky until you get into more expensive ones as well

I have a UL tent set up (duplex, quilt, thermarest) but I don't sleep well so I researched UL hammocking setup. Hammock, suspension, tarp w/ doors, top and bottom quilt is lighter than my tent/regular sleep system.

@@marinusingebredsen5342 .y

I own a Duplex tent, my hiking buddy has a hammock and tarp setup. I am usually set up so much quicker than him. Granted he is methodical about his set up, and also stakes down a large ground cloth underneath his setup. I am also able to brake down and get packed up several minutes before him. With that said, he recently gifted me a new hammock. I've ordered a silpoly tarp and am looking at underquilts. I love my Duplex, but don't love crawling on the ground. So I think I'm going to mix it up and start to use both, making my choice depending on the trail I will be hiking.

What do use for that temp? I haven't found systems that will go that low.

Nice! Badass

@@Jimmy4video He never replied because he froze to death.

Actually the -13 celcius is quite mild temperature to hang. I find that when you go below -25 celcius i need to layer something more. There are many quilt manufactures both under and top that makes it easy to camp on lower temps. Research is the key and google has load of options to go with. Thats my two cents

@@grendelprime166 didn't receive notifications 😊

Hell yeah!

just the fact that you chimed in is a win! love your channel Fowler!

I just came from your video! I wanted to see both sides of the pros and cons.

I've never tried a camping hammock. But my geertop is the best tent I've used! Thing is a beast. Do they make 3-4 season hammocks that pack down into one small bag? I might add one as a spare shelter in my sidepack. I saw your video on hammocks vs tents. I figure I really need a canopy tarp for either one. I may have to craft my own as I'd want one that is camouflaged an very large so as to allow plenty of room to move around in a storm. But the main problem I have with a hammock as well as canopy tarps is that trees are required and that may not always be in the area.

Dude, your video got me to try hammock camping. I'm never going back to a tent. It may not be for all, but for a hunter who spends a lot of time in the woods during the rainy season in Western WA, I like to be dry. Hammock camping all the way.

Look at the amok draumr. A flat sleeping hammock.

@Brian Cuprisin Used to be a stomach sleeper as well - Thinking there’s no way to sleep in a hammock (btw true in banana style only) - That changed immediately when I learned HOW to get the most comfortable position in a hammock: the brazilian way - it’s diagonal. After that I found out that it’s even possible to get comfortable positions on my side or stomach as well. Finally my body is really resting overnight in my hammock - no tossing and turning anymore, sleeping like a baby, no back problems anymore. Though I threw out the bed, bought a hammock stand and nowadays sleep in my hammock at home like I‘ve never slept before 😴

I'm a stomach sleeper at home, but in my hammock I'm on my back or side, and I've never had a bad night. As Anne Li says, the key is a diagonal position.

@@RatJan I have been told that exactly . I got a hammock but I haven’t used it yet.

Two words: Warbonnet Blackbird! Buy one and never look back!

Excellent Point! One of these days I might have to make the Switch! 🤔 Hike On, Darwin

@@DarwinOnthetrail it ain't real camping unless you on the ground or on a tarp on the ground

@Cody777 the point of camping is to get out in the world and enjoy the outside and that includes sleeping on the ground not hanging above it, but if you want to sleep in a tree like a monkey then that also works for camping but hanging and not feeling the hard earth is not camping

I know people who have actually switched to hammocks at home. If you do it right, they can be more comfy than a bed.

Hi Kaptin, I love freedom of choice. For me everyone can call what they do camping . Did you ever tried hammocking? Do you know how monkeys sleep? What is wrong with monkeys? ;) ;) ;)

Thanks for sharing your Thoughts & Experiences Frozen! Hike On, Darwin

When he started the video I thought of your setup lol

I really enjoyed and appreciated the collaboration here guys. Well done and informative. Thank you.

How did you make it like as if you are talking to each other?

I finally got a chance to watch this video and almost died when I saw you in it Jason..😬😂😂 Great Job! 👍

totally agreed, and very well said. I sleep fine on pretty much anything but waking up in a hammock, I noticeably feel good, and in the summer here in Australia, having the breeze underneath you is second to none. its very dependant on what the user likes and what the trail/season suits I believe. if I have an opportunity to hang over a tent or bivy/cowboy, I will.

i did not read one sentence of that. but facts

I think he meant privacy when you're changing, you can change in a tent easily and with 360 coverage while in a hammock you'd probably have difficulties changing in such a small space and sure there is definitely coverage for hammock I don't think as much as a tent would have.

Hence why it's important to carry a sleeping pad instead of an underquilt, and an emergency bivvy

@@pedroclaro7822 that's totally true, I always think about it tarp + hammock + sleeping pad is the most versatile combo.

@@alvaroelmanco43 yeah, tarp is a tent in a pinch.

If you have a fixed amsteel Ridgeline in your hammock it doesn't matter the distance apart of the trees as long as your straps reach...Not a big deal if you have the correct setup...

Second that. Shug is font of hammock info and entertaining as well.

Whooo buddy!

Took some of Shug’s advice for my own recent trip. Good fella, that Shug.

@@KimberlyGreen All secure in sector 7!

And on top of that, any hammock can also be grounded just like a tent so that argument is wiped out also. it's just that hammocks are cheap to buy and that pisses off the major gear companies.

Me too, I also tent with a ground sheet and tarp. This is useful in torrential rain, and makes the tent last longer. Also going for a piss during the night, being on my knees and doing it outside the tent door, no need for feet to touch the ground.

Comfort for the WIN!!! Hike On, Darwin

Hi Amy, did you read my comment? ;) I also have a bad back and prefer my hammock. Greetings from The Netherlands, Theo "SurvivalTrotter" Brouwers

No I didn’t read all the comments. I will look for it. I watched a video of how to set up a hammock System fast. Maybe by Shug. It helped me a lot. Great surprise seeing frozen on here. Looking forward to following him. I love Darwin’s videos. Always great.

Found the hammock to be much easier on a bad back as well. Easier to get up, get in and set up. And love that I can prop up the tarp and watch it rain with room to spare for those stuck in a tent.

I feel similar, though with my knees and bad ear.

Yeah Man! That's the most important thing... GET OUT THERE! Hike On, Darwin

Good point. I was not allowed to hang my hammock once in N. CA. Its something I always check now before heading to a new location.

I've ground bivied in my warbonnet blackbird a few times using my trekking poles. Not super comfortable sleep but it worked

Easy enough to set up a hammock like a tent using hiking poles when needed. Any hammock can be done that way. Cheers.

I love hammock i am Hammock maker

Considering you spend 1/3rd of your entire time sleeping, I agree. Plus it makes for the most comfortable chair to just sit in.

I've often thought, if I sleep this well on my last night on earth because a bear comes and noms me up... then I've made a fair trade.

EXPmusic no need...

@@stefanekmartinko How so?

Never camped somewhere where there were no trees around... So not really something that limits you

If I have a rainfly (and you should on any thru-hike) then you always have a basic tent. You're going to find campsites with no trees in only a few types of locations. -A desert -Above the treeline on a mountain -Urban settings like parking lots. In the case of the parking lot, this is usually not a problem. Plenty of other things to hang on, like cars and fences. Even in a case where there's only a single tree there are a number of ways to hang a hammock on a single tree. A common method involves using a branch to run a bit of line to the ground and that line and a prussic knot become your second tie off. In another, you hang it over a branch like a swing and lay sideways for a night. In another, you can guy a sturdy treking pole as a second tie off point. And it's worth noting that there are ultralight gantry systems that you can hang on every single night trees or no trees. Adding them to your pack will add weight but may not when compared to most free standing tents. There are also a number of Treking poles sturdy enough to hang on when properly guyed with earth anchors. Earth anchors could be ultralight screw-type anchors or ridiculously ultralight retrievable trapping type anchors. Regardless, and in any of those cases you can always set up nearly any tarp as a stick tent as per the video above. In terms of ground insulation, those who use underquilts may be uncomfortable but there are plenty of hammock users who use pads just like tent campers. And in terms of a dry floor, you can either add a dry floor option to your pack or reuse another silnylon tarp, use an oversized tarp and fold it in half for the a-frame setup, or simply go without. I prefer an oversized tarp myself as it can be used to keep wind out in some configurations or double as a dry gear floor when going to ground. For thru-hikes I prefer the incredible comfort of an underquilt but grudgingly take a closed-cell matt if I'm unfamiliar with the trail or it has significant cold sections with no hanging option. When comparing hammock setups to setups like pole tents as above there is a weight savings but that saving is slight enough that it really boils down to how well you sleep in either or. I prefer confined and warm comfort. When I'm in chilly or cold conditions I prefer a hammock to a tent or a pad. When it's raining and I'm hiking for more than a day I REALLY prefer a hammock. Toss up your rainfly (or in my case and oversized tarp) and you have a dry work area to start getting your gear sorted out while standing. In my experience setting up a tent in the rain is going to get you wet. You toss it out on the ground and by the time you sort out staking and placement the waterproof floor has collected little puddles and if you're not very careful mud and dirt that won't dry up until a few days later. Then there's the getting into it while decked out in rain gear without getting soaked. I usually manage this by just leaving the raingear on until I've entered the tent and guess what? The little droplets on my raingear collect on my floor to join the ones that snuck in while I was setting up the tent. Those puddles end up either keeping you up at night (making you cold) or worm their way into your pack for a nice soggy hike the next day. I NEVER have these problems when setting up a hammock setup in the rain. You always get wet but I've had good luck keeping things simply moist and not soaking when I'm hammock camping. In a hammock setup once you have the rainfly up you can take off your rain gear and start working your way through your fairly dry pack. If you set up the hammock right away you have a table. Or you just hang the pack on the ridgeline and have access to it there. The ridgeline under the tarp (in my setup) is made of zing-it so I can hang my pack from that and have full access to it without it ever touching the ground. For me after a long day of hiking getting up and down and up and down just kills me. Crawling around on stick or rock infested earth where your knee seems to find the only lego in the whole damn forest. The hammock, however, is a damn fine chair before it's a bed. All of your camp business can be done standing or sitting comfortably. This little princess can never seem to feel the pea. Then there's breakfast in bed from the hammock. I'm not sure about other people but it's become one of my favorite parts of camping now. I use a solo stove most of the time and I can use it without fear of burning the floor or lighting myself on fire. And because my pack hangs just above me, I can do the entire thing astronaut style without ever leaving the comfort of my warm little bear burrito. You can be a purist if you want. Hammocks are just the way some of us camp now. I don't ever see myself preferring a tent pole setup now that I've gotten so spoiled. You're entitled to your opinion for yourself. I thought I'd give you some insight thought because your comment seemed a little misinformed.

These videos are all by "Shug" as he's known on the hammock camping forums. He's kind of a celebrity in the hammock camping world. Here are a few references for my text wall: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2kPvSn5_T58.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0j54vMKGhiQ.html Single tree stuff: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-57I_HLsEnbc.html www.instructables.com/id/One-Tree-Hammock-System-Ultralight/ No tree: Whole variety of options here... sectionhiker.com/portable-hammock-stands-for-camping-by-derek-hansen/ One of the better ultralight stand systems I have owned (10.5 oz) theultimatehang.com/2012/12/11/handy-hammock-stand-review/ You know why the handy hammock stand isn't sold anymore? Because no one needs it. They just go to ground on the very rare occasion they can't figure something else out. So for one or two nights, they sleep like a caveman. Then the rest of the time they sleep in a hanging hotel room still worth the trade. I think your comment is better stated like this: "How about the biggest con for hammock, there's a slim chance you'll have to go back to sleeping in a tent just like the one in this video for a night or two."

Do you have a Ridgerunner by chance? That's my hammock of choice and it can be set up as a tent.

What tarp do you have? I like oversized tarps to keep out the wind? Often it'll save me from having to pack too big of an underquilt or overquilt in the spring and fall.

🤙🤙🤙 Hike On, Darwin

I have sciatica too, but as a woman, I’d feel super unsafe alone in a hammock 😭

@@leleprtk How is that any different than being alone in a tent? Neither one is going to protect you from any serious threats. The feeling of safety you get from sleeping in a tent is entirely mental.

@@leleprtk Somehow for me, being off the ground actually makes me feel safer. I feel like I'm floating up high where nothing can get me, even tho I'm just a foot off the ground. Give it a try, you might be surprised!

Having the space to physically react quickly to any threatening event is why she may feel safer in a tent, over a hammock.

About cost: It's surprisingly easy to DIY a hammock, suspension, and bug net though. I even DIY'd my top quilt (which I do admit, was a time consuming process, so your miles may vary on that one). Plus, I'm not sure you can lump the cost of your top/under quilt in with the hammock to compare to the cost of *just* a tent. You'll still need a sleeping bag/pad combo if you're tenting.

I plan on going NOBO 2020 or 2021 . Planning bug net/tarp setup , never tried a hammock

Hi Abby, see my comment for more info on hammocks! ;) Greetings from The Netherlands, Theo "SurvivalTrotter" Brouwers

With a hammock setup you can just as good sleep on the ground without trees. You have your tarp, so you can set it up as a tent with a walking pole or stick, maybe use the hammock as under sheet and voilla.

@@SmoothGefixt I'm sure it'll do in an emergency situation. And that's actually a good solution you bring up, that I will definitely suggest next time something like this happens. Regardless, it is undeniable that above tree-line, a tent is clearly the preferrable option. ;)

you can make a bivy tent with a hammock very easily, so that guy was just an idiot. You can sleep over water, above snow, uneven ground, and if need be on the ground as a bivy tent. You guys are smoking rocks with that dumb shit logic.

​ guywithbeard Interesting to come across this comment. About a month ago I was bikepacking with some guys and two of them were hammocking while the other two of us were in tents. We were in a desolate northern Arizona juniper forest where the few trees were stocky, far apart and pretty weak. One guy went to ground while the other guy found a perfect hang between the only two strong and tall junipers around for miles. The guy on the ground hung the middle loop of his hammock bug net over a branch and made a net bivy out of it. I was surprised that was their choice given the trip conditions but it all worked out in the end; didn't look that bad to me.

@@WildlandExplorer All depends. In the UK and Scandinavia you simply don't see hammocks in the hills. Trees are just too few and far apart, and the weather can be savage so you want a proper stormproof shelter and not an improvised tarp.

Ticky Tacky lmao

Nice Strategy! Thanks for the kind words, I try...😂 Hike On, Darwin

LOVE my Hennessy hammock. Finding smooth, level ground is not easy in the Rocky Mountains (says Captain Obvious)

Thanks For Watching & for the Support! Hike On, Darwin

TRAIL CAM I just subscribed! I wasn’t expecting much since you are just starting out but it was really entertaining! Your awesome 🤙🏼 Really looking forward to your weekly videos!

Thx for the support Jake!

Can you tell me which hammock you have. Getting the best hammock for you can be complex. See my comment for more information. Greetings from The Netherlands , Theo "SurvivalTrotter" Brouwers

Trying to sleep in the open in the jungle at night sounds like hell to me

Yes. In desert or plains, good luck finding adequate trees.

I live in W Wash too, and it took me a while and weight sacrifice to find a tent to invest in that was waterproof enough for out here! That was a few years ago. Now I'm saving up to try out some of the newer fabrics that weren't an option then.

Dirty mike and the boys!!

I'm a sleep in my travel trailer kind of person.

Oh yeah.....no zomvies will get you there, eh mate....!!!!

Who the f is frozen?

I used to feel the same way. Warbonnet makes the Spindrift Sock that completely encompasses the hammock for added warmth and complete privacy

CALHANGO agree. Amazing

Right coz a tent would protect you more from a freaking bear 😅

giantfoam more than a hammock tho 😂

@@nathanjohn367 0+0=0

Set up higher in the trees with your hammock then... You know what bearbags are right? Just become a bearbag.