Are we becoming tent campers?

**DuctTape** · 12-18-2009, 17:18

I already do. My "hammock" is really a suspended tent. It is a more accurate description than hammock when most people picture the backyard rope and spreader bar hammocks. Suspended tent with a separate rainfly is a better description.

**Rat** · 12-18-2009, 18:16

Originally Posted by Knotty

Got those from Hammocks.com over the summer. They had this unbelievable sale. $20 including shipping. Normally something like $120.

The problem with my tarp tent is the GG 12x12 doesn't have center attachment points on the square, so I used Grip Clips but the thin material keeps slipping thru even over the edge seam.

You need to do the balloon mod on your Grip Clips to keep them from slipping, it works great!

Balloon Mod

**sir_n0thing** · 12-18-2009, 19:38

Originally Posted by Rug

Tent. Pro: good shelter Con: poor sleeping conditions
Hammock: Pro: good sleeping conditions Con: Poor shelter

Seems like a natural bit of evolution to me.

I agree.

**MedicineMan** · 12-18-2009, 20:12

I guess I was one of the first due to Prof. Griz's benevolence to enjoy a 'formed' (e.g. designed spec. for) Beak. I'll not hammock camp again without one or better yet two. So many revolutions, revelations in our sport within a sport(s).
So yeah I did feel tent-like after putting on each beak, even after putting on just the one (I did a multi-day hike with one beak well before I had two of them), but tent-like only like in a very distant way...maybe how a Space Shuttle pilot reflects back to when our kind first picked up a stick and swung it into a club (after touching the 1x3x9 obelisk right!).
I don't think the evolution is over, not by a long yard and I can't wait until the next innovation from wherever it may come!

**pegleg56** · 12-18-2009, 20:52

I think we are confusing tarps and hammocks. Tarps are shelters, and hammocks are sleep systems. Tarps are not exclusive to hammocking. As many have pointed out, they were using tarps prior to using hammocks. The difference between a tarp and a tent (both being shelters) is that a tarp can be pitched many different ways. It can be a simple roof, a lean-to or pitched as a tent. A tent, due to it's predetermined design, can usually only be a tent.

The advantage that most pleases me is that I can choose to have the tarp in a more open configuration when the weather permits so as to enjoy a more natural feeling of connecting with the outdoors. Which is why I am there in the first place. Or I can choose to "batten down the hatches" when necessary and be snug and cozy.

Now as for hammocking or sleeping on the ground ...... sorry, no contest. The only way you'll find me horizontal on the ground is if I stumble and fall down.

**Knotty** · 12-18-2009, 22:07

Originally Posted by Hogn8r

You need to do the balloon mod on your Grip Clips to keep them from slipping, it works great!

Balloon Mod

Excellent! Thanks for the solution.

**JayS** · 12-18-2009, 23:59

Knotty,
Your GG 12x12 looks good. I have a Kelty Noah 12x12 that I use the same way... well, actually, my daughter uses. I think you need to test your tarp on the trail. How's your knee?
Jay

**Knotty** · 12-19-2009, 00:08

JayS - Swelling's going down. In case you didn't here it turns out I have Lyme. Probably the main reason for the swelling, not the meniscus tear. Tolerating the antibiotics very well.

Schedules' pretty full for the next few weeks but if you're heading out, let me know.

**lonetracker** · 12-20-2009, 11:29

are we hanging because we like camping or camping because we like hanging?i love being out there,the hammock is part of the comfort equation,sometimes a tarp tent is also a big part of it.i dont sleep well with snow hitting me in the face.
as far as hammock simplisity.i used to think it was simple till i found this site.i guess till i absorb all these new ideas and techniques,and maybe upgrade some of my techniques and gear,i will think of hammocking as a very complicated simple(or would it be simply complicated) way to stay comfy in da woods.uq's and oq's,straps,this knot and that knot,tensioner, rigelines,differant tarps,oh my,its to much.hangin in there,
bill

**canoebie** · 12-20-2009, 11:44

Originally Posted by lonetracker

are we hanging because we like camping or camping because we like hanging?i love being out there,the hammock is part of the comfort equation,sometimes a tarp tent is also a big part of it.i dont sleep well with snow hitting me in the face.
as far as hammock simplisity.i used to think it was simple till i found this site.i guess till i absorb all these new ideas and techniques,and maybe upgrade some of my techniques and gear,i will think of hammocking as a very complicated simple(or would it be simply complicated) way to stay comfy in da woods.uq's and oq's,straps,this knot and that knot,tensioner, rigelines,differant tarps,oh my,its to much.hangin in there,
bill

We can make it complex, sort of like fishing. When I was about 14 we went out west for 2 months as a family, pulled a small travel trailer and I wanted to catch trout. I studied, bought a lot of "fancy tackle" and was ready to score. We stopped at a rest area in Wyoming, can't remember where, however I started to fish with my "fancy" stuff. My then six year old sister came down to the stream with a cane pole, clothes pin for a bobber, and some nightcrawlers. She pulled out a 20 inch rainbow immediately. Sometimes simple just works.

I think we can make this incredibly sophisticated and complex. More and more I am struck with the observation that we just need to be out of doors no matter how we want to do it. Some of us will want real simple, others love the challenges and inquisitiveness inherent in more sophisticated approaches. Just as my little sister taught me, sometimes the most important thing is just to fish.