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  1. #1
    Senior Member goanywhere's Avatar
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    Camping is more than just somewhere to sleep....?

    Hi all. As a noob to this hammock caper it occurs to me that camping in cold or wet conditions is more than just where you are going to sleep. One great advantage with tenting is that you have a refuge in the event of extreme weather, and in a good one you can live, cook, sleep and shelter for many days if need be.

    On the other hand most hammock camping setups I've seen revolve around where and how to sleep as a priority. How do you folks set up your camp to provide the other aspects of camping in extreme conditions?

  2. #2
    Senior Member MAD777's Avatar
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    Camping is more than just somewhere to sleep....?

    This is where "4-season" tarps come into play. They have doors ( closeable flaps on the ends). Admittedly, that's not as closed up as a tent. Then we add a breathable hammock sock to fully enclose the hammock. I know it all sounds more complicated than a tent, but personally, I'd rather be stuck in a hammock, that can also be a chair, than in a tent.
    Mike
    "Life is a Project!"

  3. #3
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    There are 2 or 3 styles of "camping". A vocal group here is ultra light weight hikers who seldom to more than a weekend and even less often a week or so. If they do a long hike like the AT it is a series of campaigns from drop box to drop box still using the lightest equipment and minimum load they can get by with. They have no real plan to sit out weather as they are most likely going to keep moving or stop in town.

    There is a less vocal but very present group of car campers who you will see organizing the drive in hangs where you will also find heavier kit and bigger weather protection so the group can socialize. They are still not long term camps.

    There is another group of hikers and paddlers who gear up more toward longer unsupported trips so their gear is heavier and their skills and attitude more into the woodcraft side so they could ride out a day or two of storms. The thread about carrying a second tarp is an example of that group. So are some of the winter camping threads. Also look for "hot tarp" threads.

    What you do not see much of is the woods worker who has to be a long term resident camper. Few folks today would do that with "canvas" camps. OTOH some of the car camping setups will come close. Big tarp to cook and gather under, wind break tarps for walls where needed, smaller tents or hammocks pitched adjacent to the main tarp so one can get too and from without getting rained on.

    What Kind of camps do you have in mind?
    YMMV

    HYOH

    Free advice worth what you paid for it. ;-)

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by nothermark View Post
    There are 2 or 3 styles of "camping". A vocal group here is ultra light weight hikers who seldom to more than a weekend and even less often a week or so. If they do a long hike like the AT it is a series of campaigns from drop box to drop box still using the lightest equipment and minimum load they can get by with. They have no real plan to sit out weather as they are most likely going to keep moving or stop in town.

    There is a less vocal but very present group of car campers who you will see organizing the drive in hangs where you will also find heavier kit and bigger weather protection so the group can socialize. They are still not long term camps.

    There is another group of hikers and paddlers who gear up more toward longer unsupported trips so their gear is heavier and their skills and attitude more into the woodcraft side so they could ride out a day or two of storms. The thread about carrying a second tarp is an example of that group. So are some of the winter camping threads. Also look for "hot tarp" threads.

    What you do not see much of is the woods worker who has to be a long term resident camper. Few folks today would do that with "canvas" camps. OTOH some of the car camping setups will come close. Big tarp to cook and gather under, wind break tarps for walls where needed, smaller tents or hammocks pitched adjacent to the main tarp so one can get too and from without getting rained on.

    What Kind of camps do you have in mind?
    I have not heard it described this way before but now a bunch of things I am reading makes more sense. It explains why there are multiple answers to the exact same question. Thanks!

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    You're probably just getting used to the equipment change and applying a little wrong thinking. You can't just set your tent up anywhere less you're out on the Plains. Has to be flat enough, has to have enough clearance. You can get buy with a smaller footprint with a tarp tent. Enjoy crawling into bed.

    Hammock you need a couple of suspension points. You can buy or build them though most weight more then you'll want to pack in. Then again so do many tents. Tarps can be as small as a napkin for minimal shelter to huge enough for two people for full enclosure. For cold weather camping you add an underquilt.

    Hammocking may be more tailored, but its no different then tenting SAVE if you in the woods, you will more then likely have more sites. Campground I was in requires tent setups to be in their tent areas. Hammocking I can just find two trees anywhere.

    Also, I woke up Sunday and didn't remember I was out in the woods for a moment, it was a rush. I sleep in a hammock full time. The feeling I had as my assumed bedroom switched to my tarp in the woods? You really should experience that.
    Had I been in a tent, I wouldn't have forgotten one instant. I'd probably still be sore.

    Join us in the air and worry more about the destination.

  6. #6
    Senior Member goanywhere's Avatar
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    Thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to experiment with a few different setups. I'm not into backpacking nowadays, but I do like to kayak camp, which allows me to carry a bit more gear, so an extra tarp might be enough to give me the ability to rig a fairly weatherproof area to cook under etc. For extreme conditions such as high winds or driving rain for days on end (which is rare, I admit), I will need to do some thinking, but a good strong tarp rigged to the ground would work in most of these conditions I guess. I use Aussie hoochie tarps which can clip together to make a double, and then one side could be pegged to the ground and the hammock still under the same cover for easy access.

    I will post my findings when I get all my gear together and get started .

  7. #7
    Banned
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    One great advantage with tenting is that you have a refuge in the event of extreme weather, and in a good one you can live, cook, sleep and shelter for many days if need be.


    The problem with a tent in a rainstorm is that its down there on the ground where all the water falling from the sky goes. The best place to put a tent generally is the best place for rainwater to go: flat or a slight incline. The longer you stay in a tent in that kind of weather, the more likley its going to be that your gear gets waterlogged.

    You can set your tarp up in the rain before setting up your hammock, or even opening your pack. All of your gear can be hung from the ridgeline. You can have up to a foot or so of water running under your hammock and never get anything wet.

    Try that in a tent.

  8. #8
    Senior Member cpverne's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sargevining View Post

    The problem with a tent in a rainstorm is that its down there on the ground where all the water falling from the sky goes. The best place to put a tent generally is the best place for rainwater to go: flat or a slight incline. The longer you stay in a tent in that kind of weather, the more likley its going to be that your gear gets waterlogged.
    That's the exact reason I started looking into hammock camping. During a campout I had the choice of setting my tent up on a hill (which meant I would be sliding to one side of the tent the whole night, and possibly getting wet from contacting the sides of the tent), or setting up on the flat spot. When it rained, all of the rain came down the hill and settled into my flat spot. Then, while packing up the last day in the rain, I had to get down on my hands and knees and slowly roll up the wet tent. There was no way it was going to fit back in it's bag, but thankfully the car was only 20 ft away. If I had been backpacking, it would have been rough as the tent was now wet inside as well as outside.

    Now with a hammock, I can take down and pack up the hammock all while standing under a tarp, keeping myself and my gear dry. The snakeskins on the tarp allow me to pack up my tarp and attach it to the outside of my backpack to move on to the next location without having to get everything else wet in the process.

  9. #9
    Senior Member
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    Love that video

    I'm about to do several multi-day tramps in southern New Zealand in winter, some of them at altitude. One, the Routeburn, is beautifully maintained but does cover some snowy terrain:



    And that guy was travelling earlier in the season than I will be. I'll admit to being a little nervous about whether the 20 degree UQ I bought will be enough, but if all my layers don't cover it I can always dive into one of the huts if it's snowin' or blowin' hard enough. My tarp doesn't have doors, but it's pretty big... have to have a look whether it could be rigged tight enough that the ends are almost closed. Maybe rig a rain jacket over one end in a pinch.

    I don't think I could ever qualify as an UL guy! I have to carry everything I need to live for the better part of three weeks travelling around, so that's going to mean taking things like my Kindle, a towel, basic shower/toilet gear, etc. Fairly big frame pack. Still, I'm cutting it down as much as possible, even if that means being slightly noxious to be around after the fifth day in the same base layer

  10. #10
    Senior Member FLRider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nothermark View Post
    There are 2 or 3 styles of "camping". A vocal group here is ultra light weight hikers who seldom to more than a weekend and even less often a week or so. If they do a long hike like the AT it is a series of campaigns from drop box to drop box still using the lightest equipment and minimum load they can get by with. They have no real plan to sit out weather as they are most likely going to keep moving or stop in town.

    There is a less vocal but very present group of car campers who you will see organizing the drive in hangs where you will also find heavier kit and bigger weather protection so the group can socialize. They are still not long term camps.

    There is another group of hikers and paddlers who gear up more toward longer unsupported trips so their gear is heavier and their skills and attitude more into the woodcraft side so they could ride out a day or two of storms. The thread about carrying a second tarp is an example of that group. So are some of the winter camping threads. Also look for "hot tarp" threads.

    What you do not see much of is the woods worker who has to be a long term resident camper. Few folks today would do that with "canvas" camps. OTOH some of the car camping setups will come close. Big tarp to cook and gather under, wind break tarps for walls where needed, smaller tents or hammocks pitched adjacent to the main tarp so one can get too and from without getting rained on.

    What Kind of camps do you have in mind?
    Quote Originally Posted by sargevining View Post
    The problem with a tent in a rainstorm is that its down there on the ground where all the water falling from the sky goes. The best place to put a tent generally is the best place for rainwater to go: flat or a slight incline. The longer you stay in a tent in that kind of weather, the more likley its going to be that your gear gets waterlogged.

    You can set your tarp up in the rain before setting up your hammock, or even opening your pack. All of your gear can be hung from the ridgeline. You can have up to a foot or so of water running under your hammock and never get anything wet.

    Try that in a tent.
    As usual, both nothermark and sargevining hit the nail on the head.

    Tailor your gear to your planned activities, and it'll work better. For me, as my emphasis has shifted from camping in front-country sites from my bicycle on short days as the primary mode to moving as far and as fast as I can on foot from one back country site to another, that's meant cutting out every bit of weight that doesn't directly support movement and comfort while sleeping. So, my tarp is a tiny little asym diamond, and my poncho doubles as a weather shield for the hammock at night.

    Also, if you're getting wet from underneath in your hammock, you have bigger problems than just getting wet......
    "Just prepare what you can and enjoy the rest."
    --Floridahanger

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