Give me some tips on hammock camping

[omicron1792]

If you have already bought the hammock my advice is to sell it and buy a tent. In my opinion they are good for naps, but I cannot get comfortable for long stretches. I am not alone. I did a backpacking trip with a buddy who was trying out a new hammock. I woke up in the morning to find him sleeping on the ground underneath his hammock.

We already own the hammock. We love it and use it a lot at home.

It’s for a 10 year old boy. He will be fine

 

[Zeke6951]

I have a hammock but have only used it for mid day naps. My son and grandson have hammocks, under quilts, top quilts, rain and bug flies. They love them. The do a lot of Boy Scout camping.

 

[ohoopee]

I backcountry camp in mine quite a bit. Hammock gear has a Ridgeline gear bag that is handy. a cheap piece of tyvek under the hammock keeps gear off the ground and a tarp sleeve will help deploy the tarp in windy conditions. I prefer a mesh sleeve for faster drying. I have a top cover for "Winter camping" when weather is sub-35. Finally, the smaller tarps are great when weather is nice but a larger one can help with blowing wind and rain. You can use a smaller tarp but you have to pay closer attention to how you set up. Oh, the 3/4 quilts are great until it gets cold you dont have to fuss as much with a full size quilt in colder climes.

 

[ohoopee]

I like to pitch a larger tarp in "Porch Mode" for rainy weather or drop sides down all the way
in cold weather and have a place to eat or read out of the weather.

 

[Blurry1]

My son started Boy Scouts and I am setting him up for hammock camping. Have hammock, rain tarp, bug net, and sleeping bag. What else do I need?

In south so rarely that cold. Will get him an under quilt next season.

Assuming you know how to set everything up you need nothing else outside of the aforementioned sleeping pad.

 

[aclawrence]

A good set of quilts is the cats meow for hammock camping.


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[LongWayAround]

I don't often sleep in my hammock, other than mid-day camp naps, but a pad in the hammock makes it much nicer. I prefer a closed-cell foam or self-inflating. My self-inflating pads have a face material that is much less slippery than a blow-up air pad

 

[James sky]

EDC pouch

 

[justinspicher]

I’m a huge fan of hammocks and actually prefer them over a tent. I’ve found a solid tarp is key for using a hammock. Mine has a reflective inner side that helps keep me warmer. I’ve never used an underquilt, I just use my bag and pad and haven’t had any issues.

 

[NLBowhunt709]

I’ve got some buddies who hammock camp and from what I’ve seen it’s a lot more comfortable for some but depending on the gear they bring it can be a hassle figuring out where to put their pack if they need it close by.

 

[Clovis]

If you have already bought the hammock my advice is to sell it and buy a tent. In my opinion they are good for naps, but I cannot get comfortable for long stretches. I am not alone. I did a backpacking trip with a buddy who was trying out a new hammock. I woke up in the morning to find him sleeping on the ground underneath his hammock.

My experience has been different--I sleep better in a well set up hammock than on even a large cushy pad on the ground and find my hammock to be very comfortable. As I said above, there is a learning curve to getting it set up right. Folks may have different preferences though based on any number of factors.

 

[Ringbill27]

I prefer a sleep pad and a underquilt. I tie a little piece of paracord on rope going to the trees on each end so rainwater hit the tassle and drips away. If not the water travel down the whole rope and your soaked.

 

[omicron1792]

I prefer a sleep pad and a underquilt. I tie a little piece of paracord on rope going to the trees on each end so rainwater hit the tassle and drips away. If not the water travel down the whole rope and your soaked.

What a great tip. Thanks

 

[omicron1792]

Had a traditional pad we tried in the hammock yesterday and it worked great just out in the yard. Any problem with using that instead of buying one specifically for hammocks.

Still have underquilt ordered. Will use it as needed for weather.

 

[Ringbill27]

Sleep diagonally rather than inline with the trees. Causes you to lay flatter and not banana shaped.

 

[twall13]

I've been using hammocks for years and prefer them for most camping situations. At least once a year I take my boys on a backpacking trip, been doing it for about 10 years now and always used hammocks. My youngest is 12 and has slept in a hammock on those trips since he started going at age 7. Some tips I found with kids: While I strongly prefer an underquilt/top quilt setup personally, for my younger boy, it's easier to use a pad and a sleeping bag. I just use a cheap closed cell foam pad cut down to 3/4 length and put it inside of his sleeping bag so he can't slip off of it in the night and he's golden. Kids aren't as picky as adults, but also don't take the same care to make sure things work out right. I often found with my older son and an underquilt/top quilt he'd end up with both off them off the hammock by morning. It helped as he got older/wiser and it also helped to use a zippered bug net to help contain the quilts, etc. For young kids, keep it as simple as possible. If something slips in the night, they won't be able to figure out how to adjust it themselves, so anything to prevent that goes a long way. That's why I really like the pad inside the sleeping bag for kids.