How popular is it?

**Mr. Jowee** · 02-05-2015, 20:03

It's hard for me to judge the popularity of hammock camping. As far as I can tell, primitive camping in general is not very popular in Louisiana, much less backpacking. On any given weekend, you're likely to be the only person not in an RV in our state campgrounds. I'm the only person I personally know that has slept in a hammock, though there is an annual meet up. Maybe the popularity of wilderness camping is related to the weather; most of the year it's just too hot and stuffy in a tent. Add that to the fact that you have to sleep on the ground, and who would want to go? Oddly enough, hammocks keep the occupant cooler and their open air nature make them more comfortable in a high humidity environment.

So what's it like out there? Are hammocks more popular in areas that are hot and humid, such as Florida and Alabama, compared to more temperate climates? What percentage of people would you guys estimate are in hammocks rather than tents, bivys, and tarps?

**sunsetkayaker** · 02-05-2015, 20:20

I think the lack of primitive camping in general is because it is not cheap any more. There are not many areas that are have only sites without amenities. It is usually the same price whether you have a motor home or a tent/hammock.

**peterhase** · 02-06-2015, 12:04

It's almost impossible to accurately measure how many campers are spending their nights in a hammock. I wouldn't say the percentage is high though. In Australia, tent camping is the primary way to go and most people are unaware that hammock camping is an option. In Central Europe, it seems that sleeping strung between two trees is virtually non-existent. With that said, the stores in Australia that stock camping hammocks are selling more at an exponential rate, so the growth is there. As for primitive camping in general, I would assume that most people are content seeing the world through their 5 inch displays and feel intimidated by camping beyond a full-featured, clean-cut campsite.

**mrh_on** · 02-06-2015, 12:12

Judging by the lack of places to purchase gear in Canada (I've been researching gear and trying to avoid the duty at the border with the US), I'd say it's not that popular yet up here. I've always slept on the ground when camping out but got to try a hang last fall in a borrowed hammock and oh man...I never want to go sleep on the ground again. It's so great I am shocked it hasn't taken off like mad yet.

**brokentree** · 02-06-2015, 12:12

Perhaps one of the vendors here can post some data regarding where they are shipping products. Might be interesting to see.

There is a post on here somewhere regarding locations of members, but you have to volunteer to be on the map.

**peterhase** · 02-06-2015, 12:13

Another thing to add, if you ever want to get a rough idea of how popular something is, Google Trends will show you what people are searching for online.

A very basic example would be to compare searches between "tent camping" and "hammock camping" – https://www.google.com/trends/explor...ing&cmpt=q&tz=

Google Trends will show you that searches relating to "tent camping" have been declining for some time, while searches related to "hammock camping" have been slowly increasing. The top countries from which the searches originate are generally warmer ones. Of course, this is just an example and the actual search terms should be a little better defined if you want a more accurate result. Probably a little off topic but fun none the less

**OneClick** · 02-06-2015, 12:15

I don't think you can really measure it by weather or state by state. Some states seem to just he hardcore when it comes to outdoors - MI, MN, etc are out playing no matter the weather. Even hammocking, which may sound crazy to some who think 30° is cold.

And I hate when people say things like "hammocking just seems more popular now since YOU started". NO! They couldn't be more wrong. Heck just the other day I was at Meijer (like a Wal-Mart store) and they had an entire endcap of Hammocks and some accessories. AT MEIJER. I got shot down in another thread I started like this awhile back; I don't care, I know I'm right.

In the first 10+ years of camping and backpacking, I have seen ZERO hammocks. Now over the past 4 years I can honestly say 9/10 groups I run into on the trail has at least one person in a hammock.

It's catching on bigtime, just about everywhere. Sorry statisticians, I cannot back this up with numbers. I don't need to.