Doing Research

**MacCherokee** · 08-10-2012, 20:52

Staying off the ground
easier to find a suitable site

**Jcavenagh** · 08-10-2012, 20:58

1. Consistent sleeping surface night after night.
No rocks, roots, acorns. No slope to slide down during the night.
2. Better in the rain.
Staying dry underneath during rain. Also, more comfortable to sit in if it rains for a long time during the day.
3. Easier to get in and out of than a tent.
No crawling out onto the ground. No knees popping as I try to stand up. Also, not being muddy by the time you stand up.
4. Flexibility of set up.
My shelter is more airy and open than a tent. I have the ability to set up in porch mode even if it is raining. Also, the setup spot is generally easier to find.
5. Practicing LNT is easier.
Hanging with treehuggers makes LNT easier. I don't trample down groundcover on a virgin site. I don't have to have as much impact on an established site.

**SwinginIt** · 08-10-2012, 21:52

1. Comfort. Being cocooned in a cloud of down is way better than being poked and
prodded by rocks and roots.

2. Locations, locations, locations!!

3. Versatility of use. I can lounge in it, even when it's hot(cant do that in a t**t). I can
use it as a seat while I cook and eat.

4. The cottage vendors. These guys and gals are the poster children for good business
practices. Nowhere else is there a better example of customer
service and making sure the customer is happy. They make
going bankrupt from buying gear an enjoyable experience.

5. The cool factor. It's what all the cool kids are doing these days.

**titanium_hiker** · 08-10-2012, 22:50

I notice that comfort has got this won so far, but let me respond to which one is the most important, to me.

Comfort is great. But- a massive air mattress can help if you're on the ground.

Selecting a site? Well, what about above the tree line and in treeless plains?

Easier set up and take down? This one has potential, but anyone who remembers their first attempts at getting it right will remember that there is a learning curve. See also Cold Butt Syndrome (CBS) cold shoulders.

more safe in heavy rains and flash floods? Yes- you won't get washed away. Hopefully your tree doesn't pop out of the soggy ground though. more comfortable in heavy rain- definitely. Being able to stand up in the dry is very nice!

Now, this environmental stuff- I think is is one of the most important reasons. Hammock Forums was born from WhiteBlaze.net (the original WB), a forum about hiking, primarily on the Appalachian Trail (AT) with a focus on Ultralight (UL) and Leave No Trace (LNT) (It's probably also where our culture of acronyms comes from!) This Leave No Trace is a big thing if you're going to wilderness areas and also if you are going to high traveled places like the AT. I remember this being something that impressed a lot of folks who tried to encourage people not to clear sites excessively, level out or dig trenches to protect tents and the comfort of the sleepers. Being off the ground means that you can avoid over-using the best sites and can leave the ground pretty much as you found it without having to remember to put back that stick which was digging in your back.

There was and still probably is a movement of tarpers, who advocated that you could sleep 'in the open' and not need that protection of a tent wall. We've borrowed a few ideas from these people, even though their shelter system is probably much lighter, with the move to MASSIVE tarps in the last couple of years. (and the addition of the hammock, of course. See SGT Rock for some UL hammock set ups though- it can be done!)

However, this forum is about hammocks, not about hiking or backpacking. Even though the hikers probably led the charge, the main factor appears to be a nicer night of sleep. Comfort. No need to crawl on the ground. Up above the various ground walking creatures. So we have full time hammockers, back yard hammockers, hikers, campers, travelers, boaters (kayaks and canoes included), four wheel drive enthusiasts, DIY junkies, entrepreneurs, and the list goes on. Why do all these people hammock? Because it's awesome.

But in terms of importance in our history- LNT is definitely a big winner, followed by comfort.

TH

**Cannibal** · 08-10-2012, 22:59

Comfort is all that matters to me.
Everything else are just beneficial side-effects.

**ninjahamockman** · 08-10-2012, 23:01

with the treeless plains you can camp in a hammock you just have to bring poles with you some of the members here have tree less set ups. I need to get around to that but I am lazy.

**AtHomeDad** · 08-10-2012, 23:10

1 Couldn't find a chiropractor to camp with . . . No back pain anymore while camping
2 Don't have to find a level, debris free site
3 The uniqueness factor to most campers and scouters. Starts a lot of conversations.
4 Much lighter than my previous ground dwellings.
5 Much more versatile, can use large tarp, small tarp or not, bug screen or not, winter cover or not, this modular style allows me to take only what I'll need for that trip.

Looks like we should plan a hang in the mall of your campus.

**sargevining** · 08-10-2012, 23:35

1. Comfort.
a. Sleep surface is controllable, no rocks or roots.
b. Incline of surface is controllable and not contingent on terrain.
c. Temperature is easier to moderate in both cold and hot weather.

2. Simplicty.
a. Wider variety of camp sites are possible, no need for prepared sites or clearing of an area, reduces time and effort in finding a suitable site. No need to hike oin the dark trying to find a suitable site.
b. Shelter is simple and quick to erect with a very shallow learning curve.

3. Weight
a. Ground cloths or footprints not required, nor are poles, rods, or other devices to hold shape.
b. Sleeping pad not required.

4. Hammock is less restrictive than other one man shelters. The ability to place overhead cover as close to or as far away from the sleep surface as desired, or to omit it altogehter results in the perception, if not the actuality, of having more space. You can "sleep under the stars" in your sleep shelter.

5. Modularity and Adaptability. The qualities described above results in a shelter system that is adaptable to nearly any condition one might reasonably expect to encounter in almost any recreational camping/hiking environment. The modularity of separate overhead cover, insect protection, sleep surface, and insulation means that with proper choice of components, the system is an effective shelter in weather environments from Tropical to near Arctic, and in most terrain encountered by recreational hikers and adventure enthusiasts. With proper climbing equipment it can even be used in rocky environments above treeline and on the seashore. The only environments for which it is not well suited are deserts, sandy beaches, and the arctic. Modularity and adaptability translates into cost effectiveness. In the final calculus, one can obtain a serviceable shelter system that weighs less, is more comfortable, and provides more options for site location for under $100 than one can find in any tent/tarp system that costs twice as much.

As a bonus I'll add that hammocks are just plain more interesting than tents are. There's so much "new" here, and so many different options in materials and application that one can pursue the hammock itself as a hobby, not merely as an adjunct to hiking/camping/backpacking/hunting. You just don't find that with a tent. Tent has been done before.

I turn 60 in February. Hammocks have gotten me back into the woods. I thought I was doomed to car camping for the rest of my life. I no longer relished the prospect of schlepping a tent for 10 miles only to be rewarded with a fitful night's sleep on a hard, lumpy surface in a cramped tent that was too small for me (because the one that was big enough was too durned heavy). I actually return from camping trips rested now. That's what "recreation" is supposed to be all about, isn't it?

**Yakfoot** · 08-11-2012, 00:21

I don't want to be critical or anything but since you are writing a paper and will be explaining what you have done to acquire your data, you don't want to write that you conducted a pole. That will make your prof feel kind of snarley, snappy and get the red pen twitch because he or she knows that poles are used to hold up tents and not to get information.

I have some woods across from my driveway and I have had my hammock swung there in permanent duty location for over a year. I pick up my cook kit, walk about 75 yards and climb in. Then after a comfortable night's sleep, I unzip the bug net, lean over the side, unpack my kit and make some coffee. Then I carefully roll back over and enjoy my coffee in hammock while I watch the early morning activity in the woods around me. After a while I saunter back to the house.

Would I permanently pitch a tent in the woods so I could walk out there in the dark for the privilege of sleeping on the ground on a stinky damp tent bottom? No way! A hammock is the difference between sleeping in the woods and staying in the house. For me, its all about:

1. Comfort. Ahh, coffee and breakfast in bed in the morning. No hard ground. Great air flow in the summer, not all stuffy. Texas summers make things stuffy in a hurry. It stays dry, even in a pouring ground sopping rain. How many tent people go out of their way to sleep their tent when they know a storm is coming...yes, going out to my hammock to sleep in a storm is nothing less than the celebration of comfort...the celebration of being completely safe in comfort only a hand breadth from misery.

2. Ease and convenience. They are remarkable light to carry, take up little room, are quick to set up and give one the smug enjoyment of knowing they have an instant house on ropes wrapped up in a little package. Want to visit someone without causing any trouble? You just need two tie off points 12 to 20 feet apart in the yard, garage, shop and your good. I guess that has to do with options category. The tent person can say: "Oh it will be great I'll just sleep on the concrete floor of the shop between these trucks." Oh my, I guess comfort crept in again.

3. In an effort to get away from things that have to do with comfort, ease and general slack, I will include durability. I have had mine pitched in the woods day and night for well over a year. I think with a careful washing of the tarp and ropes it would pass for almost new. Hammocks don't get put on hard sharp things and get tromped on and high quality commercial hammocks are extremely well made. Structurally, a hammock is simple enough to make it easy to make it almost fool proof.

Well, three is all you get. I have to get out of here.