Tent vs hammock?

[daniel.doll.908]

I'll be going to Colorado the last 2 weeks of the archery season and I'm looking at different shelter options. I was dead set on a one man tent but hammocks have caught my eye. I'm wondering if a hammock would be a good option? In 2014 the temps got into the 20s at night.

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

You'll find lots of discussions on here about the options. Me personally, I like the freedom and versatility of a floorless shelter. I'm running a Seek Outside LBO and love it. I have lots of negative thoughts towards hammocks being a main shelter/sleeper but I dont want to be a debbie downer

 

[Jmock97]

With a hammock in September you are going to need top and bottom insulation there. Are two main ways one is top quilt and botttom quilt the second is top quilt and a sleeping pad plus a tarp.

 

[daniel.doll.908]

Ya I was looking at the 2 layer hammocks so I can slide in a sleeping pad then I'd use my mummy pad to sleep in.

 

[MOhunter28]

I have had both and here are my pros and cons.

Pros:
-Lightweight and small to pack
-Comfortable
-quick to set up and take down
-no worries about water in a rain under your shelter

Cons:
-No room for storage (shoes or boots mainly so changing in the morning if it was raining at night can get your feet wet to get to them.)
-picking the "perfect spot" never happens. You commit yourself to finding 2 good trees in the right location at an appropriate spacing for the length.
-you get colder in a hammock
-getting in and out of your sleeping bag isn't as easy
-your shelter is your hammock so on rainy days your confined to a tiny shelter

Use to have one and it was just ok for me, loved sleeping in them cause it was so comfortable, no pad needed. Side sleepers its a bit rougher.

 

[daniel.doll.908]

I have had both and here are my pros and cons.

Pros:
-Lightweight and small to pack
-Comfortable
-quick to set up and take down
-no worries about water in a rain under your shelter

Cons:
-No room for storage (shoes or boots mainly so changing in the morning if it was raining at night can get your feet wet to get to them.)
-picking the "perfect spot" never happens. You commit yourself to finding 2 good trees in the right location at an appropriate spacing for the length.
-you get colder in a hammock
-getting in and out of your sleeping bag isn't as easy
-your shelter is your hammock so on rainy days your confined to a tiny shelter

Use to have one and it was just ok for me, loved sleeping in them cause it was so comfortable, no pad needed. Side sleepers its a bit rougher.

Thanks! Still in the early researching stages of this. Leaning towards a tent but saw these and wanted to compare my options!

 

[zman]

Love spending the night in the hammock. If you are hunting in the steeps, its awesome. Bought a Clark hammock and love it.

 

[bpctcb]

Read the other/old threads as this recently was discussed. And go visit hammockforums.net.

I have floorless tents and hammocks. Both work, but each have their unique pros/cons.

BP

 

[NJDiverDan]

Agree with the above. I love my hammock for comfort and not needing to find a clear level spot to set up. However, sometimes it can be just as difficult to find the right trees.

I use both depending on where and how I am hunting. If I know I may be above the tree line, then the megatarp gets the nod. Also, if it is really cold, I can bring the stove for the megatarp. Early season, hunting the timber, I really like the hammock.

-dan

 

[twall13]

I'm a fan of the hammock system personally but you do need to make sure you have good insulation, especially beneath you. Everyone fears that a hammock will make you cold but I've slept in 15* temps in a hammock with no problem. It just comes down to having the proper insulation. If you aren't properly equipped, then yes you will be cold but the same is true in a tent. Probably the biggest difference is there is a pretty good learning curve to setting up and sleeping in a hammock whereas a tent is pretty straightforward. If it was me I wouldn't take a hammock on a hunt in those temperatures unless you've spent some time on previous, "practice" trips getting more accustomed to the setup.

I think a hammock is worth it because I get a better nights sleep in a hammock and don't have to worry about finding a level place to set up as my hammock levels itself between the trees. As others have mentioned, if you are in an area with few trees or above treeline it won't work so you need to have at least a fair understanding of the area you will be hunting but I personally find it easier to find a place to hang a hammock than a decent place to set up a tent. That may just be the area I hunt in but it's been my experience. As far as weight is concerned, a decent setup either way should be similar in weight, where a tent or floorless shelter gets the nod is if you are sharing it with a buddy since that doesn't work so well with a hammock. If I were experiencing temps much below 15* for a long trip like that I'd probably want a floorless shelter and a stove but any trip where I'm not bringing a stove I'd prefer the hammock if I can make it work with the terrain.

 

[daniel.doll.908]

I'm a fan of the hammock system personally but you do need to make sure you have good insulation, especially beneath you. Everyone fears that a hammock will make you cold but I've slept in 15* temps in a hammock with no problem. It just comes down to having the proper insulation. If you aren't properly equipped, then yes you will be cold but the same is true in a tent. Probably the biggest difference is there is a pretty good learning curve to setting up and sleeping in a hammock whereas a tent is pretty straightforward. If it was me I wouldn't take a hammock on a hunt in those temperatures unless you've spent some time on previous, "practice" trips getting more accustomed to the setup.

I think a hammock is worth it because I get a better nights sleep in a hammock and don't have to worry about finding a level place to set up as my hammock levels itself between the trees. As others have mentioned, if you are in an area with few trees or above treeline it won't work so you need to have at least a fair understanding of the area you will be hunting but I personally find it easier to find a place to hang a hammock than a decent place to set up a tent. That may just be the area I hunt in but it's been my experience. As far as weight is concerned, a decent setup either way should be similar in weight, where a tent or floorless shelter gets the nod is if you are sharing it with a buddy since that doesn't work so well with a hammock. If I were experiencing temps much below 15* for a long trip like that I'd probably want a floorless shelter and a stove but any trip where I'm not bringing a stove I'd prefer the hammock if I can make it work with the terrain.

Thanks for taking the time to post. My gut is telling me to buy a tent. It would just be a single man tent. The other guys going will all have their tents. Plus I don't think I want to share a tent with the British guy I'm going with! Don't want him to get any ideas

 

[KHNC]

With a hammock in September you are going to need top and bottom insulation there. OUR two main ways one is top quilt and botttom quilt the second is top quilt and a sleeping pad plus a tarp.

I agree , I tried to use a hammock once with an under blanket in CO. Froze to death. Tent for me from now on.

 

[Grunt-N-Gobble]

Thanks for taking the time to post. My gut is telling me to buy a tent. It would just be a single man tent. The other guys going will all have their tents. Plus I don't think I want to share a tent with the British guy I'm going with! Don't want him to get any ideas

I too was considering the hammock route, but then decided against it and bought a floorless shelter.

 

[KyleC78]

I have a fair bit of experiencing with hanging here on the east coast. What everyone else has said is true, you lose a ton of heat out the bottom of the hammock if your not set up correctly. In cold temps I would definitely look to a double layer hammock and at minimum put a closed cell pad between the 2 layers along with a piece of reflectix the same size above that (reflectix closer to your body). I've done that many times with a cheapo sleeping bag for the top and was comfortable down into the teens. U save weight and space and gain more in warmth if u go all in and get top and bottom quilts. There used to be thing called "podding" or at least that's what I knew it as where one would assemble the hammock with top and bottom quilt and then enclose that in an oversized sleeping bag made or modified to fit over the whole set up. That fell out of favor for a while but I hear it's making a resurgence. There's also something new where guys are enclosing themselves in a tarp like material while still having an actual tarp overhead. I don't know what that's called but claims are that it gives u about 10 degrees additional warmth by enclosing the system in that manner. Bottom line is with the right gear you can be just as comfortable and warm in a hammock as you can with a conventional sleeping system. Check out a guy called "shug" on YouTube. Handle might be "shugemery" but he's just as easy to find by searching. He's got some videos where and another guy did some serious cold weather trips in excess of -25 and were good to go in their hammocks. Some of his vids get a little quirky but they contain a wealth of hammocking info.

 

[AndyB]

Hi Daniel, I'm one of the Brits you will be hunting with, you just missed a good deal on an sl3 in the classifieds.
I have a Hennessy hammock and the country we will be in would be ideal for swinging one, but I wouldn't personally use it there for reasons mentioned above, freeze your @*ts off unless you pack under quilts which puts the weight up to that of a one man tent or more, lack of space etc. It would probably be easier to find a hanging place than a tent pitch at times but after our last visit there and all the storms and rain its a tent for me.



There wouldn't be room for you in Dave's tent and your not getting near the inside of mine, so don't worry,

 

[daniel.doll.908]

Hi Daniel, I'm one of the Brits you will be hunting with, you just missed a good deal on an sl3 in the classifieds.
I have a Hennessy hammock and the country we will be in would be ideal for swinging one, but I wouldn't personally use it there for reasons mentioned above, freeze your @*ts off unless you pack under quilts which puts the weight up to that of a one man tent or more, lack of space etc. It would probably be easier to find a hanging place than a tent pitch at times but after our last visit there and all the storms and rain its a tent for me.



There wouldn't be room for you in Dave's tent and your not getting near the inside of mine, so don't worry,

Hahaha can't wait to meet you! Dave speaks highly of you! I will get my own shelter, trust me. it's going to be a good time and I'm glad you guys are letting me join the group! Right now the Marmot Tungsten 1p has my eye. Good price and decent weight. Still got a lot of research to do!

 

[twall13]

I wouldn't personally use it there for reasons mentioned above, freeze your @*ts off unless you pack under quilts which puts the weight up to that of a one man tent or more, lack of space etc.

Everyone talks like an underquilt is incredibly heavy. I have a full length down underquilt rated to 20* that I've taken down to 15* comfortably and it weighs 24 Oz. I don't know how much your pad weighs but I don't need to take the pad if I've got the underquilt. If I went with a 3/4 length underquilt I could cut even more weight off that and just stuff some clothes or a sit pad under my legs for warmth. The difference is if you go that route, you have to be sold on the system because underquilts are not cheap. As far as weight goes, yes you can get a lighter ground sleeping system but not by much.

Also, in all my time in a hammock I've never gotten wet and I've spent some nights in some downright nasty rainstorms. As long as my tarp is pitched properly I stay dry. In a tent I've been laying in a puddle more times than I'd like to admit. You don't get that problem in a hammock since you are sleeping above the puddles... I'm not saying you have to use a hammock, I wouldn't use it unless you are comfortable with it. I'm just pointing out my experience since it goes against what most people seem to believe about hammocks.

 

[AndyB]

Me to Daniel, really looking forward to this trip!

As you know Dave is a top bloke but he is going through it at the minute, he lost his mom 3 days ago.

 

[AndyB]

Everyone talks like an underquilt is incredibly heavy. I have a full length down underquilt rated to 20* that I've taken down to 15* comfortably and it weighs 24 Oz. I don't know how much your pad weighs but I don't need to take the pad if I've got the underquilt. If I went with a 3/4 length underquilt I could cut even more weight off that and just stuff some clothes or a sit pad under my legs for warmth. The difference is if you go that route, you have to be sold on the system because underquilts are not cheap. As far as weight goes, yes you can get a lighter ground sleeping system but not by much.

Also, in all my time in a hammock I've never gotten wet and I've spent some nights in some downright nasty rainstorms. As long as my tarp is pitched properly I stay dry. In a tent I've been laying in a puddle more times than I'd like to admit. You don't get that problem in a hammock since you are sleeping above the puddles... I'm not saying you have to use a hammock, I wouldn't use it unless you are comfortable with it. I'm just pointing out my experience since it goes against what most people seem to believe about hammocks.

I am sure it can work just great with the right quilt, but I have no experience with them as I bought mine for hot climates, I would probably have given it a go if the Hennessy had a double layer so that I could just slide my pad between.

For ease of use my hammock cant be beat, slide the snake skins down over hammock and fly, untie, stuff it in its bag and away you go. It wasn't so much the surface water last time as the wind and lightning, just imagined myself being blown around during the night.

 

[twall13]

Ya the wind can do that. With a good tarp the water still won't get to you but it's a different feeling being suspended in the air during a real good storm. I personally like the "rocking" motion the wind gives me but it's not for everyone.