Hammock vs Tent Price / Weight Comparison
On this post, I thought I would do a purely "by the numbers" comparison of tents vs hammocks. I will leave all the subjective ideas such as comfort and convenience to the reader. Hopefully, with these numbers, you will be able to ask "is this price or weight difference worth ... _______?"
I know such comparisons have been done before, but they always seem to be comparing apples and oranges. I kept thinking, "they should be comparing that tent to this hammock setup..." So, I thought maybe I would give this a try.
As usual, the hammock setups are the extremely tricky part. As everyone on this forum knows, there are a ton of options for hammock setups and I freely admit there was some personal preference that went into some of these selections. For example, I exclusively stuck with 11ft hammocks knowing that you can easily go lighter with 8ft or 9ft hammocks. However, I believe that for most people (not all) to get a good night sleep, a 10.5ft to 11ft hammock is necessary. Also, you will see that I used a lot of gear from Dutchware (DW) and Hammock Gear (HG). This is because I believe they have some of the best price to weight ratios, as well as good quality.
Other vendors I know of, but did not include because of cost or weight: Warbonnet, Dream Hammocks, Jacks R Better, Arrowhead Equipment, Enlightened Equipment, etc.
I am both a hammocker and a tent backpacker. Usually, I hammock when solo or with my friends and I use a tent when backpacking with my wife. Here is how I usually think about the comparison in terms of cost / weight:
Tent = Hammock + Suspension + Tarp
Sleeping pad = Underquilt
I have broken it down into three categories: Spared No Expense (money is no object), Mid Level (under $400), and Budget (under $200). For each category I have given an example of a potential gear list. Many of these components could be swapped for other brands of equivalent price to weight ratio.
Assumptions:
- The same top quilt used in a tent will be used in the hammock. Therefore, when comparing the two, weight and cost cancel out.
- Designed for protection from both the elements and bugs. Sorry ground tarp people, this is not for you.
- 3 Season use
- 10.5 ft to 11ft hammock necessary for decent night sleep
- Hex tarps necessary for solid 3 season use
- Tents have full rain flys
Tent (Spared No Expense $$$$):
Zpacks Plexamid: 14.8oz, $550
10 shepherd hook titanium stakes - 2.33 oz - $25
Thermarest neoair xlite Regular: 12.3 oz, $170
Top quilt: same as hammock, weight cost cancel out
Weight of Tent + Stakes: 17.13 oz (1.07 lbs)
Weight of Tent + Sleeping Pad + Stakes: 29.5 oz (1.85 lbs)
Cost of Tent + stakes: $575
Cost of Tent + stakes + Sleeping Pad: $745
Hammock (Spared No Expense $$$$):
DW 11ft Netless Hexon 1.0 w/ Knotty Mod - 7.4 oz, $65
DW Bottom entry Bugnet (Fronkey) - 6 oz, $57
UHMWPE Huggers 5ft w/ Dutch clip - 1.6oz, $32
Whoopie Slings 7/64 amsteel pair - 1 oz, $16
Whoopie hooks pair - .25 oz, $16
Hammock Gear Dyneema tarp with doors 11 ft. - 7.3 oz , $315
Continous Ridgline with wasp for tarp from DW - 1.1 oz, $32
6 shepherd hook titanium stakes - 1.4 oz - $15
Tieouts for tarp, six - .5 oz, $20
HG Premium Phoenix 3/4 under quilt, 20 degree - 15.4 oz $200
Top quilt: same as tent, weight cost cancel out
Weight of Tarp + Hammock: 26.6 oz (1.66 lbs)
Weight of Tarp + Hammock + UQ: 42 oz. (2.63 lbs)
Cost of Tarp + Hammock: $568
Cost of Tarp + Hammock + UQ: $768
Tent (mid level - under $400):
Nemo Hornet 2P: 37oz, $275
REI Co-op Flash Sleeping pad: 15 oz, $100
Top quilt: same as hammock, weight cost cancel out
Weight of Tent : 37 oz (2.31 lbs)
Weight of Tent + Sleeping Pad: 52 oz (3.25 lbs)
Cost of Tent : $275
Cost of Tent + Sleeping Pad: $375
Hammock (mid level - under $400):
DW 11ft Netless Hexon 1.0 w/ ridgline - 7.1 oz, $50
DW Bottom entry Bugnet (Fronkey) - 6 oz, $57
DW June Bug Buckle pair - 1.3 oz, $12
DW Carabiner pair - 1.5 oz, $10
DW Polyester Straps pair 12ft - 5.2oz, $10
Hammock Gear Quest 2 11 ft. - 13.4 oz , $80
Continous Ridgline with wasp for tarp from DW - 1.1 oz, $32
6 shepherd hook titanium stakes - 1.4 oz - $15
HG Tieouts for tarp, six - .5 oz, $20
HG Economy Phoenix 3/4 under quilt, 20 degree - 17.6 oz $110
Top quilt: same as tent, weight cost cancel out
Weight of Tarp + Hammock: 37.5 oz (2.34 lbs)
Weight of Tarp + Hammock + UQ: 55.1 oz (3.44 lbs)
Cost of Tarp + Hammock: $286 +
Cost of Tarp + Hammock + UQ: $396
I am going to play fast and loose with the budget section. There are waaaayyyy to many options and personal preference trade offs.
Tent (budget - under $200):
REI Big Agnes Windy Point 1 Tent - 54oz, $140
Sleeping pad - use in both tent and hammock - therefore weight and cost cancel out
Hammock (Budget - under $200)
DW 11ft Netless Hexon 1.0 - 7.0 oz, $42
Amazon Tree straps with carabiners (there's alot of options) - 16 oz, $15
Outdoor Vitals 11ft bug sock - 8.2 oz, $40
Outdoor Vitals 6 sided 75D tarp - 22 oz, $50
75 feet of zing it for tarp tieouts - 1.5oz, $17
Sleeping pad instead of underquilt - same as tent - therefore weight and cost cancel out
Weight of Tarp + Hammock: 54.7 oz (3.42 lbs)
Cost of Tarp + Hammock: $164
A few conclusions:
1. Sorry hammockers, but at the extreme high end, tents will be lighter. Personally, it is a trade off I would be willing to make.
2. At the mid level, it becomes more ambiguous and you could probably tweak my lists and make a case either way.
3. At the budget level, it is wide open.
I hope this helps. If you see an area in any list that could be improved to make this comparison more fair, please post it below. I will try and update these lists with any items that greatly improve the cost/weight ratio without dramatically effecting performance. I look forward to the discussion.
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Originally Posted by OCDave
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