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Anyone here a hammock hiker/camper?

4K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  EricBTTA 
#1 ·
In Indiana I don't have a lot of options nearby for places to go hiking or camping that don't require you to sleep about 10 feet from your parked vehicle so I never really got all that great at backpacking and what I would consider to be real camping. Until 2016 I'd never really done much hiking or camping, but I found a nice place that's basically perfect for a beginner this year and I've been loving it.

Since I'm new to doing much hiking or backpacking most of my gear is not on the lightweight side of things. I've been working with what I've got and planning to upgrade anything if it's needed down the road. Here lately I've been really enjoying my ENO doublenest hammock. For one thing I love sleeping in a hammock, and I also really love not sleeping on the ground so for me it's a win win. Where I get nervous is that I don't want to get all the way out somewhere and be cold and miserable for the night because I made a bad decision on the packing list.

On my two little hammock expeditions so far I'd say I've been pretty lucky in that it didn't rain on either trip, so I didn't have to setup a rain fly or tarp of any kind. It was also cold enough that I didn't need to worry about mosquito's or anything else like that. While I feel pretty comfortable with what I've got going so far, I know I've got a lot of room for improvement.

What do you guys & gals use to stay warm when hammock camping in below freezing weather?

What do you guys and gals use to keep the bugs off at night in the summer?
 
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#2 · (Edited)
In upstate NY, I use my Eureka Timberlite for hiking, larger tents within a mile of the car. My last trip, it rained, sleeted and snowed on top of a mountain. Have a selection of bags I use, depending on the weather and how far I'm going. The Army extreme cold weatherbag doesn't go far from the car. I leave room for a few cold ones, Swedish Vea stove, small coffee pot water purifier and couple quarts of water.



My Army jungle hammock actually weighs as much or more than the Eureka but it's pretty handy in nice weather. Hang my pack in a tree but need to rig a rope on the inside of the roof to hang things from. While sleeping, my Sig P220 45 and flashlight keep rolling underneath me. Probably be a good idea to have a tarp or plastic ready in case it rains. My brother just moved to Indiana and bought a nice place. Sent me pics of his first deer out there, six pointer.

 
#3 · (Edited)
Hanging, or hammock camping, is something I tried to get into but my son REALLY got into, as in he has made several hammocks of very very high quality. Usually there's a top line strung between the rings on your suspension system. That's for hanging the rain fly, or for hanging a quilt ... under a rain fly if its cool and wet. Or hang an undercover to trap heat under you, or use a larger sleeping bag and slide it around you, your bag, your hammock, with the suspension coming out through the toe area. My son tried a rain fly, with an undercover, and a sleepingbag sock over himself, his bag, and the hammock, and a pad, in temperatures below freezing, and wound up sleeping in running shorts only, it got so hot.


Check out this site: http://tothewoods.net/HammockCamping.html
 
#7 ·
I did some research over the winter and found a fairly new company, Bear Butt, that started in 2015 and sells high quality double hammocks and accessories at half the cost of the Eagles Nest brand. They only weigh one pound and come with attachment ropes and steel carabiners. Ordered a hammock and rain fly to start and tried them while camping in the Adirondack Mts. this past weekend. Got down below freezing but the hammock was so roomy and comfortable, felt like I slept on a cloud all night. Instead of an under-quilt, I just used an Army sleeping pad. Ordered the optional hammock straps and bug screen which will be arriving tomorrow, just in time for black fly season.



 
#8 ·
Thanks for the tip about Bear Butt, I've been considering getting into hammock camping and that looks like a cheap enough option to take the plunge.

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#9 ·
When I was a kid back in the 1950s I bought a ww2 military surplus jungle hammock. That was my main camping cover until adulthood. In the Florida swamps it worked very well. In winter I'd take a quilt and but underneath myself to keep from getting cold.

Fast forward to 2015. My grandson asked for a hammock for Christmas. We bought him a lightweight one. He sleeps in it all the time. Mostly indoors.
 
#10 ·
I've used a hammock since 1976. In my opinion, it's the best way to sleep in the woods. I tie a poncho above me on the same tree as my bed. No need to put "spreaders" on it. Slept dry, even in Panamanian deluges. In advanced hammocking, you can relieve your bladder without getting out of bed. Two cautions are in order, don't put your ruck/boots below your waist and the other, don't put your appendage between the netting, go over it. With practice, you can get rolled up in your poncho liner or even crawl in and zip a sleeping bag around yourself in cold weather. Mosquitoes? Use your thermal cell.
 
#11 ·
I can't stand sleeping on the hard ground, even on an inflatable mattress. The hammock takes care of that problem nicely (backpacking). It doesn't save weight though. The extra stuff for warmth when using a hammock makes up for not having a tent and ground tarp.

Doesn't save weight, just saves your body. It really is comfortable!
 
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