To hang or not to hang?

[gunn parker]

So lets say you were going on a four night, three solid days of hiking. Each night would be spent at a three sided timber hut with plenty of room to sleep.
Would you ditch the hammock and carry only a sleeping mat and enjoy a lightening of your pack?
Or would you carry and use the hammock and to heck with the weight?

I'll get strung up for asking but might be a good topic

[slowhike]

Hang for sure. Shelters are nice to hang out in, but when it's bed time, i want to be getting into my hammock... even if it's raining.

[Doctari]

My house has FOUR walls, central heat, etc. Yet I hang every night, wouldn't be any different on a 4 day hike. Or a 20 day hike, , , ,

[NCPatrick]

Give yourself the nightly option to hang or not. I'd bring the hammock.

My .02.

[neo]

So lets say you were going on a four night, three solid days of hiking. Each night would be spent at a three sided timber hut with plenty of room to sleep.
Would you ditch the hammock and carry only a sleeping mat and enjoy a lightening of your pack?
Or would you carry and use the hammock and to heck with the weight?

I'll get strung up for asking but might be a good topic

i dont sleep in or near trail sheltersneo

[BillyBob58]

You would get a very different mix of answers over on Whiteblaze, little doubt. But for the majority here, I bet, the actual pleasure of hanging is now a part of what to look forward to on hiking trips, as long as the hanging can possibly be arranged( for ex., assuming there are trees).

So for me, I would MUCH rather be in my own super comfy "bed" a reasonable distance away from my snoring buddies and also probably from some strangers. As opposed to on the shelter floor. The shelter would be great for cooking and socializing or meeting new friends (hopefully), but I would always opt for the hammock for sleeping.

And the weight savings issue is not completely clear cut for me, especially if temps are mild. Because if I am going to get a good nights sleep on a hard shelter floor, I am going to need a pretty thick self inflating pad, and not a 6 oz CCF pad. That is a lot of weight, especially if temps are warm enough that I don't need a pad- or a very minimal pad or UQ- with the hammock.

[russmay]

Their is something about the solitude of stealth camping/ hanging. You can choose your own surroundings, without the noise of the shelter. I like to chat and hear stories of the days adventure. But when It's time for bed or relaxing go for the hammock. If I wanted to sleep in a shelter I would just stay home. Besides everyone would think your equipment is cool. I have no doubts they would all be thinking the same thing. "Hay I might want to give that a try ". Haven't you been asked all those questions before about your hammock? It always seems that I am the envy of the party. Just my 2 cents
Russ

[Cannibal]

The only thing I've ever used a shelter floor for is accidental naps! I even fell (really hard) and hurt myself hanging in a shelter. What did I do? Took my hammock outside and set it right back up (well, had someone else set it up for me). No way this dude is ground sleeping if a hammock is an option!

[fin]

Keep yourself off the ground where all the crawly critters are, especially in the shelters. Lots of cracks and crevices for things to crawl out of and nip you during the night. One of the benefits of hanging, IMO.

[APG63V1]

I would most definately hang mine. Sleeping on the floor hurts too much, and everyone else in the shelter would rather i do that too. ZZZZZZZ!