hammock vs tent: time and labor

[cjayflo]

100% tent set up is faster. My buddy that I hike with most of the time is a tenter. We pull up and decide where to camp at. I hang my hammock and sit down for a spell or maybe lay back. He does all of this and that clearing and staking things down and is set up in no time while we chat. I occasionally will nod off for a few while he sets up. After a bit I figure its time for me to put the tarp up and find my quilts and maybe adjust the hammock.
He was done a good half hour before me!

The one time that I lorded hammocking over him is when he had to move his tent under my tarp to break it down in a steady rain. I had all my DRY stuff packed away ready to go and I had a nice rectangle of dry ground to work on. My dry camp chair was under my tarp, his was wet.

[Wanderlost]

100% tent set up is faster. ...I hang my hammock and sit down for a spell or maybe lay back. He does all of this and that clearing and staking things down and is set up in no time while we chat. I occasionally will nod off for a few while he sets up. ...He was done a good half hour before me!

Wait....we were supposed to include the warm-up nap in that time estimation?! Nope, I will never beat a tent setup then.

[lori]

Well, I have very light tents, and several hammocks. I don't have issues setting any of them up. My tents use trekking poles and set up in less than a minute. My hammock sets up in less than a minute because I have Dutch clips on the straps, long whoopies, a ridgeline on the hammock, and only set up the tarp if there's any chance of rain. Either way, everyone else is still fiddling with their shelter long after I am napping in the hammock, or in the tent blowing up the Exped.

If it's going to rain - advantage hammock. I don't get anything wet because the tarp goes up first. Traditional backpackers often show up with tarps to set up over their tents while they are setting them up, or because they know their tent will leak!

I'm only a fiddler if I want to be. Sometimes, it's a fishing trip - then it's wham bam, gone to toss the lure in, have fun fighting with that crazy spider tent pole with three hubs that smacks you in the head or pokes your buddy ten feet away.... My tent requires only two trekking poles and four stakes, and while it isn't freestanding it works EVERYWHERE I go. Above treeline, the tent loses in the fiddle factor dept - I have to collect 50+ lbs of rocks for each corner - which I would do if it were freestanding, because the other name for a freestanding tent is "box kite" - you chase a buddy's Big Agnes for a mile across the granite once, and you learn to nail that sucker down with all the rocks you can carry.

[mayhemkb]

My take, echoing a lot of opinions expressed. Hammocks are typically heavier, bulkier, and a bit slower on set up. Tents/tarps can be lighter, quicker and less bulky. BUT Hammocks are cleaner, drier, and give a better nights sleep than a Tent/Tarp set up.

So, if you are trying to decide on a per trip basis think about the object of the trip. If your primary goal is camping, comfort and the experience in camp Hammocks are the way to go. If your goal is to cover as many miles per day as possible and sleep is the only time you put in at your site, then a tent/tarp may be the way to go. Most people go hard enough in those situations that they hit the ground and zonk out right away and comfort is the fact you are resting and sleeping.

The deciding factor is going to be decided by you and what you find acceptable.

[sargevining]

I have slept on the ground in many different scenarios; from just a blanket all the way up to the full family tent that would hold 4 queen sized air beds and I had all but given up camping due to the discomfort of sleeping on the ground. I would look for excuses to NOT go camping. Now I'm willing to walk 12-15 miles in a day just to get to that perfect hanging spot!

Sorry, personal experience.

Well, even though its verboten, this is my personal experience as well. Sometime about 15 years ago, I had determined that I'd not go backpacking anymore---and the reason was walking all day schlepping a pack, only to end up getting a crappy nights sleep. I was getting to the age when getting a good nights sleep was critical to my well being, and to the well being of others who might want to interact with me before noon.

God sent me hammocks and I'm back in the woods. And I get a bonus cuz now I'm at the age where I can appreciate a good nap. You're NEVER going to get a good nap in a tent.

Just to play devil's advocate on this now that I've had a bit to read some of these posts...a friend and I were doing a small hike and camp out one Saturday in May. The bugs were insane. We literally had clouds of them around us. It wasn't too bad as we were walking, but once we stopped to setup it became a race to get into the bug-free zone. At that time I was still tenting it and I remember getting my tent out and looking over to see my buddy already hanging in his hammock and out of the bugs. I had a good bug spray on so they weren't too harsh on me while I spent another 5-10 minutes setting up. So that's about the only time I've ever raced to get set up. It does happen...sometimes...but once setup it was relax time again

I'll play devils advocate too, but a qualified one.

If you are long distance backpacking, and doing it within a limited time frame, 15 minutes can mean at least a half mile, and perhaps more. But I'd venture to guess that those constraints are applicable to maybe 2-3% of us once we consider what we're really doing in the woods.

[Dirt Dobber]

As for me. I consider myself a backpacker. My pack is going to weigh a little more than many of yours. But I'm out here for comfortable fun. Therefore hammock.

If I were a hiker trying to cover many many miles I'm going tarp tent, blue Wally World foam pad and sleeping bag.

If I'm a camper I'll be in a car with ice chest, Coleman stoves and food for armies. At that point I'll be in a hammock with probably a large e-z up over me with the sides removable so I can stand up and walk around like my bedroom and zip up fully for rain.

Setup times.
Backpacker with hammock 8-10 minuets
Hiker with tarp tent
1.5-2 minuets
Camper
hours

These times are considering a starting point of all gear out of my pack laying on the ground to being ready to flip off shoes and lay down.

[brazilianguy]

I'll throw this one out here. Since you want a video showing everything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGOS0-XvQgk

It's all one package, probably fastest set-up you'll get. No fiddling with UQ, bugnet, or TQ. A well designed tent will take less time to put-up, same goes for a hammock.

[joe_guilbeau]

The answer is: "...It Depends..."

[keith]

I am usually done my hammock setup and chillin before the tent guys (not tarp tent) are even close to finished. Set up correctly there is no reason why it takes more than 2 minutes to setup a hammock.

[Kamper Kurt]

I must just be super slow at everything. Whether on the ground or in a hammock, I spend about 10 minutes getting my tarp just right.

On the ground I have to stake the first corner and insert a trekking pole. Walk around to the other side to set up the second trekking pole and stake it down also. Then walk around and re-adjust the first corner. Then I have to stake out the other two sides. Then one last pass around to fine tune all the lines. Then I lay my stuff out underneath.

With my hammock it is similar, but a little easier because I have fixed trees instead of trekking poles that tend to fall over before the tarp is taught. So I roughly get the tarp where it should be, hang the hammock and then do a second go around to fine tune the tarp after my hammock is ready.

When I do use a tent, I probably take about 10 minutes as well. Maybe my tent is not fancy enough. So in the end it is about the same for me.

I make up for my slow set up time by hiking faster .