I use a snakeskin for my tarp and a lazy slug for my hammock. Just hang the hammock ends on the tree straps and slide away the slug. The hammock/bugnet/underquilt/topquilt/and pillow are ready for sleeping. Blowing up that matress would take longer than my hammock setup.
The essential part of me can not be discussed here. Ask me in person.
I've tried the lazy slug tube, but had a really hard time compressing it to fit in my pack, while individual components fit no problem. Which tube do you use? Do you use it in winter as well, with all the bulk of winter top/underquilts?
Re: Dixie. I haven't watched the entire video yet (thank you, endless organic chemistry homework), but from what I saw she did a good job talking about the various pluses and minuses between hammock and tent. Neither solution is perfect. They both have their benefits and drawbacks. And those benefits and drawbacks also change depending on the climate and terrain.
I just watched her video and I thought she did a very fair comparison of the two sleep systems. In The past I used a tent and really liked the ease of set up and that I could have my sprawl inside the tent. But body aches and pains, not sleeping well, made me change. So now I am doing the hammock thing and sleep much much better. I do think it takes longer to set up a hammock and tarp vs my duplex tent And I would have to see it to believe it that someone could set up their tarp, Hammock and stake everything out faster than I could do my duplex. But to me this isn’t a competition or a right versus wrong and I do not feel I have to get defensive because I have switched from tent to hammock. Just pick your poison and be glad that you can get out and do it.
I’m with you. It’s not a race for me. I go out there to relax and enjoy nature which a hammock helps with immensely. I actually enjoy setting up and tweaking my equipment.
I wouldn’t go back to a tent even if they weighed 5 oz and took 45 seconds to setup.
I think a lot of it does have to do with personal preferences (removing terrain factors, like desert, above treeline, etc.). For me, I just can't sleep comfortably on the ground, so a hammock is essential. Some people are fine on the ground, and might prefer a really fast, fuss-free setup, especially if they are doing 30 mile days on a thruhike. Then there are places where hammocks just aren't going to work, and places where they work better than a tent (e.g. thick forest, forested steep slope). Every comparison between a hammock and a tent is going to have to be qualified with information about what you value most in your sleep set-up, plus where and how you tend to hike.
If I could sleep comfortably on the ground, honestly I'd be tempted to ditch the hammock and use either a mid or tarp + nest setup. But my back says, no way!
I was considering the challenge too. And I’d do it like sunsetkayaker - both hammock with underquilt attached in a sleeve. Maybe a Wookie and also keep the TQ in the sleeve. And the tarp in skin. I’m going to make a few more comments on her video because of the way she “diss’d” the hammock when she had to set up in the dark. First - it was he fault for waiting so long. Second - does she think she would have faired any better trying to find a flat/safe place for her tent in the dark. Also, when mentioning speed, she was setting up her tent in a flat field. That’s not the kind of environment you usually find along a forest trail.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
One thing a tent definitely has an advantage for is when multiple people want to sit around and play cards, eat together indoors, whatever.
Camping last summer I ran in to a family that had 4 hammocks and a tent. They hung out and stored their gear in the tent and slept and relaxed in the hammocks. The dog got to carry the tent!
Also, if you are car camping at a campground site, you may not have good options for trees. When I camp with friends/family, they are strictly car campers, so I've been trying to find a ground-configuration (some combo of cot and pad) that allows me to sleep relatively easily. Some campgrounds are fine for hammocking, some aren't, and it's really hard to tell from tiny, tiny pictures when you are booking ahead of time online (you also can't tell from those pictures whether the only available trees have poison ivy vines). Plus, a tent/mid gives you privacy for changing easily. Yes, I *can* change in my hammock, but it's a lot easier doing it semi-standing in my mid.
I went on a 10 day camping roadtrip with my parents a couple of years ago, and wanted to hammock camp at their RV site, so I brought along the Tato tarp stand. Let me tell you - you get *real* tired of setting up and taking down a hammock stand every night! Literally none of the campsites the entire trip had trees for hammocking. RV sites are the absolute worst for that.
Last edited by bansheekitty; 01-28-2021 at 14:36.
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