Tent vs Hammock Debate

[Boo-Yah]

Newbie, needing to know pros and cons of hammock camping instead of tent. Planning partial AT hike in future, going to prepare by doing weekend hikes. I'm a big fella, 6'4" 250lbs, if that matters

Appreciate your thoughts, especially all those who have done both quite a bit

[SilvrSurfr]

I didn't know there was a debate. If you like sleeping on the cold, hard ground, go for it!

[Bubba]

The opinions on a hammock forum are going to be a little biased.
There are pros and cons but the common denominator is a better, more comfortable nights sleep for the majority of people who switch from ground dwelling.

[sargevining]

1. You can cook under your tarp in the rain. Do that in your tent and you will die (OK---maybe, but, yah, probably).

2. You can camp anywhere. Roots, rocks, underbrush, steep inclines---you laugh at them, then go to sleep.

3. You can set up your tarp first and then unload your bedding----and everything else---underneath it.

4. When you get home, the only thing that's muddy is the bottom of your shoes (See #3 on how that works).

5. Chicks dig hammocks. Honest. They do.

[sargevining]

Paw Paw has some input on the debate, too.

[The Tree Frog]

6'4" 250 doesn't matter either. We have folks over 400 lbs sleeping in hammocks.

[joe_guilbeau]

Most folks on this board will certainly recommend the hammock option.

For instance, you can buy the material to make a hammock and build it yourself, and pretty cheaply. A polyester taffeta 2.6 oz per square yard 11-foot long hammock that is 90-inches wide will easily support 300-lbs. At 90-inches wide you will get a nice diagonal lay, so you will lay quite flat. The polyester hammock will stretch far less than other materials that hammocks are made from.

Best news is that they can be had cheap, think between $15-$30 dollars depending upon vendor and sales. Try that with a tent, of course you will need a tarp, and that can be had easily for less that $75 dollars, so realistically for under $100 you can camp with the exact same sleeping bag, pad and you just need a couple of trees 15 feet apart or so. You can get a bug-net also or make it.

There are plenty of options for $350 dollars that will really astound you in terms of value for the money spent. These days, that wont buy much of a tent.

The best reason is the quality of sleep you will get each night, just about all of us were tent campers. I have done my fair share from the mid-60's and am making my own hammocks now. I buy the mosquito nets, and tarps.

The comfort is far better than that of any tent, but you are up in the air and so like anything else, it will get just a bit colder than a pad on the ground inside of a tent. Think of a bridge in winter.

Since the hammock set up is lighter than a tent, more comfortable than a tent, less costly than a tent, you will find a way to get a warmer sleeping bag.

[Hunter55]

Boo yah, you just need to spend and afternoon.........every day.........for a month reading this forum. The answer will come to you.

[Rolloff]

I always attribute my will and ability to climb up and down that next steep ridge, directly to the fact that I didn't have to get down on my knees to, set camp, sleep on the ground only to wake up crawling on my hands and knees to start the day. If that isn't responsible, after waking up, I didn't have to get back down on my hands and knees to break camp either.

That's a lot of up and down any way you stack it. I'd rather spend my ups and downs, climbing ridges, on two feet.

[OCDave]

Boo-Yah,

Are you a newbie to backpacking/camping entirely or just to hammocks? Do you currently have tent-centric equipment that you have been using or are you starting from scratch?