Hammock vs Tent, or Just how addicted to hammocks are you?

I ask for a reason. I was realizing tonight I've been getting back outdoors more, in a large part to wanting to camp out with my hammock.

I don't recall being this excited to use my tent. When I used to go adventuring, I'd go for the goal. Often that goal was a certain mountain peak. The tent was just a way to try, and I emphasize try, to keep any rain off me in the night.

In comparison to that, I plan my current trips around places where I can hang a hammock. I go late, hike in a little ways, hang, sleep, wakeup, and leave.

Sometimes, when I can't wait for the next break in my work schedule, I just hang my hammock in the backyard.

I think that last sentence sums it up. I never was so excited about my tent, that I would set it up in the yard, just to sleep in it. Does anyone? I know this might be an unfair question on a hammock forum, but I'm sure many people here came from a ground dwelling past.


I'd be willing to bet, that there are more people out there besides myself, and Shug (he's always filming from his hammock in the back yard.) that will set up a hammock just out their back door for a night sleeping outside.


Am I (almost) alone in this, or are there other people who are equally addicted to getting in some hang time?

You can choose more than one option.

mine was the front yard though :)

I love sleeping in the yard in my hammock. Yes, the neighbors think I am nuts. My husband doesn't share my love for it either, but he supports me in it. :-)

I'm doing the "52 night challenge" mainly as an excuse to get more hang time. I do get to fine tune my equipment and try different combos of tarps and set ups I couldn't do on a camping trip.

Tried sleeping outside in the hammock at first but there is a nightclub about 150 yd east that doesn't shut down until 2:00AM. Then there is an ambulance service about a 1/2 mile north and we're in an area with a large number of other senior citizens. So I just sleep in my fulltimer indoors. Don't even own a tent anymore.

My nieghbours keep to themselves,
so I don't even know if they know
that I sleep outside or not.

hanging in the backyard reading hammock forums. now that's sad :-) my wife is inside laughing at me lol

I never once set up the tent just to sleep in it, but I love to hang the hammock

sleep in my bed at home (got trees in yard)
hang and tent in the woods.
can't see anything i should check ?

I slept out in the yard last night and the night before. It was lovely apart from when the sprinklers came on. :p The only time I did that with a tent was when my son was small and wanted a backyard campout.

I started out car camping then moved onto a lean-to with a tarp and a wool blanket (which I still do from time to time) then one day I made a paracord net hammock and loved it compared to anything. I then googled "camping hammock" to find out it has been around forever and is a BIG ADDICTION while it is more expensive than any other way to sleep ( only because of quilts ) it is the most comfortable :). Although I did manage to have two full hammock kits (equipped with bug nets, with enough tarp,WB Superfly :) ) to cover them both, and enough insulation for me and my GF for 425 bucks. HOW???!!! Here is how, 2 DIY tablecloths ($25) Full whoopie kit from BIAS and 2 stuff sacks ($66) Superfly tarp ($155 camo) DIY UQ($125) and a MSS ($100 she uses black bag and UQ I use green and bivy bag) and two DIY bugnets ($50)

Jeremy

I used to set up my tent on my balcony.
Then I set up my hammock on my balcony.
Now I have my hammock in my bedroom.
Life is good!!

I sleep in my hammock in the yard and inside my house.

I am fortunate in that I have really great neighbors (and a fantastic, supportive partner). They see me camp out and either don't mind, think its cool enough to ask questions and test drive whatever hammock I have hung for five to ten minutes, or wonder what that crazy/eccentric cKayt is doin' now. Most of the latter just shake their heads while giggling.

Ya have ta test out your gear and any tweaks, right?
What better place than the yard?
:D

I hang all the time in the backyard to do field test but it's too hot here to do it all day

I have a commercial hammock stand out on our deck overlooking the mountains. Nap in it mostly because I'm a cuddler at night. Two sleeping in a hammock all night gets a little tricky and not as comfortable compared to naps.

This is just part of our view. The mountain peaks are out to the right. If weather is drizzling or just not that great, we keep the doors open but haul the hammock stand into the doorway.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...50971332_n.jpg

Ive set up my tent in the garden, only to dry/clean it after uni trips (They never choose camps with any hanging possibilities), never to sleep in it.

The hammock hangs in the garden quite often. Until i diy this new one which will be too long for the garden :(

VOLUNTARILY set up my tent and go sleep in it??? :eek:

In my tent, I used to wake up before dawn, sore & uncomfortable, wondering when I would see first light. Now I wake up in my hammock, all nice & comfy, wondering if I missed lunch! :confused:

hei,

Put my tent up in the garden only to clean it up.

This summer I have been forced to sleep in tent too much, friends picking up islands without trees...

I do have no visible neighbors at the back of my house, so I can do there moreless what I want to.

But next weekend I am going to hang again!

Br. Simo

I may not get approval from the neighbors but, Atleast my hammock supports me...

If that's the only reason your neighbors think you're nuts, you're doing it wrong. :grin:

Slept in the back yard a few times. Some of them have even been on purpose! I love my hammocks. Never going to ground again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kayak karl

sleep in my bed at home (got trees in yard)
hang and tent in the woods.
can't see anything i should check ?

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You can check more than one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Comet_Seeker

I have a commercial hammock stand out on our deck overlooking the mountains. Nap in it mostly because I'm a cuddler at night. Two sleeping in a hammock all night gets a little tricky and not as comfortable compared to naps.

This is just part of our view. The mountain peaks are out to the right. If weather is drizzling or just not that great, we keep the doors open but haul the hammock stand into the doorway.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...50971332_n.jpg

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Nice view! Sure beats mine.

I had a hammock before I had a tent, but when I started hiking with other I left the hammock home and we split the tent. I don't know how many tent I've bought and sold but the most I had at 1 time was 4-5. I could never find the right combination of easy setup, light weight and space.
Tarp and hammock, easy, roomy, light. I nap in the back yard 2-3 times a week. My guess is the neighbors are envious.

Addicted? Newp. Strong preference is more like it.

I am a camper, first, a hanger second. If a trip comes up where a tent is called for, no way I'm staying home. Tents are why god invented Advil.

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Originally Posted by oldgringo

Tents are why god invented Advil.

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:laugh: Now that's what I call perspective :laugh:

I am happy to get out in the woods any way I can--I am ecstatic when it's in my hammock :D

I have set up both hammocks and tents in the back yard. After watching me setup a throwing stand and listening to me throwing knives and hawks over the years...the neighbors don't ask many questions about what I do in my backyard anymore. :)

I much prefer to sleep in my hammock...but will camp in a tent if need be. You do what ya gotta do.

Now that I have a hammock hanging in my woods I won't be tenting any more.

I don't care what the neigbors think. I test my gear in the back yard and do afternoon hammock studies (take a nap).

I own 2 tents and its been at least 3 years since I used one.

Great thread, I think just the nature of most people who are members of a Hammock Forum are a bit, hmmm, obsessive? My hammock is hanging about 50% of the time in my carport, shady, fans, can hear the satellite radio, cold beer is close by...I must confess, I now sleep better in my hammock, I am having neck and back pain from my bed and I just seem to toss and turn all night. I would much prefer to sleep with my wife, she will not let me hang in the house, for now. I did manage to get a hammock in my sons room. I just bought my daughter a ENO SN, she wants it hung in her room. I'm shooting fora spot in the play room, eventually! AC and TV, then she will want to know why the ice chest is in the playroom.

I try to maximize the good things in life.

I'm so addicted to hammocks that I sleep in one every night that I possibly can.
I have a hammock stand in my room.
I took it to New Orleans last month when my friends rented a room.
I popped the stand on the side of the room, no problem. Good times.
I just got back from a trip to Ohio recently.
I packed a hammock, bug sock, and tarp into one backpack (in addition to 1 weeks worth of clothes).
Sleeping outside in Ohio without humidity was definitely better than sleeping in the "Deep South" with window units. :)
When I got back home, Hurricane Isaac flooded a relative's home,
So along comes the hammock to give me a comfortable place to rest my head as I help demolish the home.

Only things that compares to a hammock are:

1) Floating Bed --> http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=51490
2) Inflatable Mattresses, however... THEY BUST!! And I don't like to buy things that can't be "permanently" repaired. I guess you could line them, or make sure to buy one that's "TRIPLE" lined and line it again, even. :)

I enjoy sleeping in my backyard. My house is at the end of a dead end street and not only do I own the lot behind me, but I also own the one next to me. Two-thirds of my acreage is wooded so I have plenty of choices of places to hang my hammocks. To make it even better, my land is bordered by two creeks.

It's nice not having to drive somewhere to hang.

I do love my hammock for camping but I can understand those who like tents too. I have had some awesome tents. The problem with them us mostly weight. The really light ones I have had were either way to small or slippery to the extreme using silnylon. I like a tarp very much and before doing the hammock thing I was camping under a tarp in a bivy.

My son and I love camping and both of us enjoy hammock camping in the backyard a lot ! We don't care what the neighbors think!

I live in 40 acres of woods,,next to 3000 more behind me..nearest neighbor,(and I only have 2) is 1/2 mile from my house..so I can hang anywhere I want,,do anything I want,,and nobody to mess with..peace and solitude..but I hang in front of the house alot as its the least buggy and more open. :)

I live in an apartment.. haven't slept in my hammock since June :mad:

But I have no tent!

I used to setup my tents in the yard when I was a kid, because I was excited.
I used to setup my hammocks in the yard when I first got started, because I was excited.

I setup my hammocks in the yard now, because....I can! :D

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Originally Posted by BajaHanger

I love sleeping in the yard in my hammock. Yes, the neighbors think I am nuts. My husband doesn't share my love for it either, but he supports me in it. :-)

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+1 on this here too....all of what you said.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Acer

I live in 40 acres of woods,,next to 3000 more behind me..nearest neighbor,(and I only have 2) is 1/2 mile from my house..so I can hang anywhere I want,,do anything I want,,and nobody to mess with..peace and solitude..but I hang in front of the house alot as its the least buggy and more open. :)

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NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now thats what i call living :)

The family thinks I am nuts but have done 5-7 nites at a time in the backyard and waiting for the go ahead from the doctor now..actually forgot that i was fiddling with the rig and tarp the other day and after waking up with a sore back thought heck might as well grab some coffee i looked out my kitchen window to RAIN! now my sw and uq are drying in the shed and luckily i had my old sleeping bag and thro pillows on top...ahhhh tonight just might be the night:D

The wife actually wanted the hammock hung in the backyard for the weekend. With the tarp, to keep the sun off her.

It was never taken down, I have a few hours before I'm supposed to be at work...

I think I'll take the kindle to a little place I know between a couple trees.

Both hammocks are strung up in the back yard. Presently one of them is quite full of my wife.

She's out there in her mummy bag, beanie hat, and a fuzzy fleece blanket.

The woman actually looked happy when I last checked on her.

For those who can't decide...

http://cl.jroo.me/z3/G/o/0/d/a.baa-Hammock-Tent.jpg

My wife is out there again. She skipped last night, because she doesn't have a tarp, and it was raining.

Now I'll have to buy her a tarp...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FlyingMonkey

For those who can't decide...

http://cl.jroo.me/z3/G/o/0/d/a.baa-Hammock-Tent.jpg

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Sweet! Is that a DIY?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wildernessquest1

Sweet! Is that a DIY?

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No idea, it was a google image search find.

But, google is our friend, so let's see...

Here it is.

http://treeztreetents.com

I hang outside in my back yard every couple weeks, just to test things out and make sure I'm not losing my touch setting it up quickly. There's a small, but nice wooded area in my yard where I can hide from the neighbors and most of them have fences anyway so it's nice and private.

I'll admit, I set up my MSR Hubba just the other day since I'm bored and just messing around with gear, itching to get back outside! Hammocking is WAY better, but I'll probably still use it now and then. After all my hammock trips, it did feel nice to sit up inside the tent on a solid surface and spread out on the mat.

I'm with you all the way. I can't get enough of my super comfy hammocks. A few years back I got a super cheap hammock stand from Wal-Mart (texsport, I believe) and now sleep indoors as well as out with a hammock. I still have my REI half-dome but I keep it as a loaner in case I go camping with someone who doesn't have any gear. Still, if I have an xtra hammock they will usually go for that instead! I, too, do not remember feeling this much excitement, bording on passion, for tents. There have been many a day where all I do is drive out to the woods for the sole purpose of getting a good nights rest in my hammock with the sound of wildlife entertaining me until I drift off to sleep.

I have spent much of the summer (when not camping) sleeping in one of my hammocks in the backyard. I've set up a tent in the yard before to "camp" with one of the kids, but never just for my own enjoyment.

I've gotten so accustom to the hammock this summer, I'm not sure how I'll work things out for the winter. My wife has already vetoed adding a hammock in the bedroom, despite my best persuasive arguments, and the rest of the rooms are occupied by kids. Maybe a subzero DIY down quilt system is in my future.

+1 on hanging in the front yard. Backyard is a 1/4 acre of English ivy, the previous owner didn't want to have a lawn, i guess. Neighbors didn't think anything until I broke out the tarp projects. I got some funny looks then. Keeping the big tent, for now, for car camping with an air mattress and the dog.