Alright what are the chances of a stick hitting you, or your tree getting struck by lightning, less or better than tent camping?
Alright what are the chances of a stick hitting you, or your tree getting struck by lightning, less or better than tent camping?
I'd say exactly the same. Unless you are talking about tenting in an open space, then it would be hard to say.
It's probably easier to chose a tent location that has less above it then a hammock spot. Hammocks need trees.
Also a tree is the most likely thing for lightning to hit, so IMHO the tent wins.
None the less, I'll still hang.
Knotty
"Don't speak unless it improves the silence." -proverb
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I usually set a tent up under the shade of a tree. So for me its probably equal. Still, the chance are very small
Chances are pretty good that if you're in a tent and lightning hits a nearby tree, you're still going to be a hurtin' turkey.
I remember reading thread on here about how lightning follows the path of least resistance to the ground. It put me at ease about lightning strikes. To sum up the electricity isn't going to make a 90 deg. turn an run across the lines to your hammock. It makes sense.
But I would advise everyone to ALWAYS LOOK UP before you hang to make sure there aren't dead branches. I once hung one side to a dead tree unknowingly. (It was right up against a living tree, so when I looked up and saw green, I didn't see that one tree was dead.) Anyway a chunk of dead tree fell of the top and struck my friend who was in the hammock. God protected him, but it could have been a very bad situation. It cut our trip short and cost me a hammock. But it could have been serious injury.
You should look up to check for dead branches with a tent as well. Neither shelter does very well against falling objects. I don't think a hammock is at all more dangerous when it comes to lightning, if that is the motivation for the thread. Be careful regardless of your shelter of choice.
~Bryan
Last edited by miisterwright; 05-14-2009 at 17:55.
15" from the strike point is what I remember reading some place. And that is only the distance that keeps you alive...but as adkpiper said your still gonna be a little smokey. And I aint talkin bout the sausages. That was also with dry ground. Which is in itself an odd statment, because, with Lightning there is usually rain ...No?
And yes I know about sheet lightning kinda just makin a funny.
Problem is lightning doesn't like to play by the rules. As a sailboat owner I've studied the subject at great length. Scared is being in the middle of the bay in a lightning storm with your 35' aluminum mast being the tallest thing around. My friends boat got hit and the path of damage defied logic.
While the bulk of the strike will follow the easiest path, there will often be many additional routes taken as well. If the tree you're tied to gets hit, all bets are off.
Knotty
"Don't speak unless it improves the silence." -proverb
DIY Gathered End Hammock
DIY Stretch-Side Hammock
Stretch-Side "Knotty Mod"
DIY Bugnet
I guess you're right, Knotty. I wouldn't want to find out first hand one way or the other
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