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  1. #21
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
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    38.0123, -122.4900
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    It is a mind set. Hammocks, tents whatever. Use the right tool for the job. Just cause I like wrenches doesn't mean I won't use a pair of pliers if I the task at hand calls for it.

    A hammock is a sleep system. It is not really shelter. I never really understand why it keeps getting compared to tents. What you are comparing is using a tent verses a tarp. Yes there are differences and you will loose some things and gain others. All depends on what your objectives are. Base camping above treeline one would not use a tarp. Typically backcountry adventures are well suited to tarp camping. I like using tarps because they are easy to set up and I can look about when I want. Gear storage can be an issue when you tarp camp but I've never had a problem. 3 seasons I lay my pack on the ground beneath me. Winter time I use a gear hammock.

    The issues of getting comfortable in a hammock really has to do with you and trying a bunch of different styles/types and experience. When I first started I could not sleep in a gathered end hammock. Since then I've trained my body to sleep in any kind. Takes time to get used to something new. Keep at it and good luck.

    S

  2. #22
    Senior Member ibgary's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Colorado
    Hammock
    Dangerbird, (custom) thanks Papa
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    10x10 DIY
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    DIY insultex.
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    Woopie, UCR
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    688
    For me it was one summer. The first trip of the summer was 5 nights. The 2nd & 4th nights I slept in the hammock to see what it was like.
    The next trip was another 5 night's and I used the hammock 4 of them.

    The last trip was 6 nights and I took the tent just in case. I it the 1st night because of deer flies, the 2nd & 6th because there were no trees. Now I have a Lawson Blue Ridge, which goes down as a bicy/tent and has a bug net. No more te.ts for me.

  3. #23
    Senior Member Les Rust's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Athens, TN
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    I quickly found sleeping in a hammock to be more comfortable than any other tent or shelter I've camped in. But having said that, I also find that the more I'm on HF and the more I get to hangs to see others' set-ups, the more I want to tweak what I'm doing. There is always another idea that begs experimentation. Some of them work for me, some of them don't. It takes time to refine one's kit. In the long run I'll take the hammock. but as others have already said HYOH.

  4. #24
    Senior Member old4hats's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Ball Ground, Ga.
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    2,383
    I am one of the lucky ones, I found my "sweet" spot by my second hang. To be sure, my first time was a real down experience, but I spent some time thinking it out in light of all the help given here, realized my mistake, made correction, and instant bliss. Seeing other setups, how other people lay in the hammock, ect. can only help. Best wishes for success.

  5. #25
    Senior Member HamMike's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Kettering, OH
    Hammock
    WL Lite Owl
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    Luke's LB HG hex
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    Quote Originally Posted by XSrcing View Post
    I just toss everything below me on a small piece of plastic. only thing that worries me is a raccoon seeing something of mine that is shiny.
    Ha I was just thinkin how I just throw it all on my tyvek foot ground cloth and wondered if somethin like that could happen. But that's what I do, pile it all under my hammock on a sheet of tyvek. If it rains to crazy I just reach out and pull all the corners together and ball it up.
    "He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man." Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

    Please check out the link below to show your love for hammocks!www.zazzle.com/hammocklife

  6. #26
    Member mrsmileyns's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    freehold, nj
    Hammock
    Hennessy Expedition Zip
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    MacCat Deluxe
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    89
    thanks again for all of the detailed replies

  7. #27
    Senior Member Throkda's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Grand Prairie, TX
    Hammock
    Dangerbird 72
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    HH Hex Tarp
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    For the comfort of sleeping in a hammock, it took very little time at all, maybe a couple of trips. It took a bit longer to get my speed of setup and teardown right (especially since we almost always leave after work, so we Usually arrive after dark). I tend to sleep very cold (my body dumps heat very efficiently, which makes it difficult to keep warm in winter, even in Texas), so it took me a couple of years and lots of money invested before I finally got an underquilt setup I'm happy with -- the earlier options get kept in case I ever need to layer them. Pretty much the last thing I'm looking to upgrade will be to get a tarp with some doors, for when I go out under rain with shifting winds.

    Gear storage? I'm not really a backpacker -- my wife and I mainly car camp at state parks, so if it's not something we're likely to need during the night, it goes back in the car.

    As for playing games in the tent? We try to have a spare tarp to string up over the picnic table, or else, we're usually in a triangle of trees with our tarps overlayed to have an open area in the middle -- sorta double-porch mode. Plenty of space to sit and hang out.
    "Can't we all just live in trees and hammocks?"
    -- Sam Gribley, My Side of the Mountain

  8. #28
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Colfax, Ca
    Hammock
    DIY gathered end hammock
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    729
    Quote Originally Posted by mrsmileyns View Post
    thanks for the replies - mechanically speaking...how do you deal with the lack of storage area that you lose when you hammock?
    To the original question, I hung in my hammock 2 or 3 nights at home to figure out the right amount of sag, angle of hang, etc. Then I went car camping where I hung overnight while I had a tent nearby in case it just wasn't working.

    So I'd say about 5 or 6 times to sort of "get it". Now my hammock just feels like home.

    For the storage question, my Tarp is 12'x10'. I have plenty of room to store my backpack next to me under the tarp. I just keep my clothes in my clothes bag in the pack next to me.

    I have a piece of Tyvek about 2'x3' that I use for my porch so I don't stand in the dirt. My hiking shoes and hiking socks go there. I change into my sleeping clothes and the daytime clothes either hang on my tarp line or go back into the pack.

    My down jacket is packed at the top of my pack so if I get cold at night I just reach down to my pack (which is within reach right next to my hammock) and grab it.

  9. #29
    Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    East Sussex, UK
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    96
    I'm still waiting for my first decent night... . The problem I have is that I only ever get a single night out at a time - it's easy to see how to improve things after an uncomfortable night but then I have to go home before I've tried it again!

    I've just had my UQ modified so it should fit well now but no time to try it (or the new tent I've just bought either)

    Regarding storage, my hammock (TW Hornet) has an internal pocket but I either use a mesh gear hammock or sling a low ridgeline on the sides of the trees I'm hanging from so I can hang my pack on there out of the way but still under cover

  10. #30
    gunner76's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Murphy NC
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    Blackbird 1.7 double
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    Tarp = Tent Rain Fly

    Hammock = Tent

    Top Quilt = Sleeping bag

    Under Quilt = Pad

    You may not save any weight over some of the light weight tents out there but what you can gain is a more comfortable nights sleep. As I learned in the Marines, with a good nights sleep, you can put up with anything.

    Make sure you foot end is several inches higher than your head end.

    As other have said, go to group hang and have some other folks check out your set up. While you might have a great hammock, it might not be the right one for you. I own a bunch of different hammocks but I find my BB is the most comfortable one for me.
    I am still 18 but with 52 years of experience !

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