How can I speed it up? - Putting up my hammock and tarp and taking them down takes too long

[litetrek]

this was what I did. I believe I've got 12' on each ridgeline tie-out for the split ridgeline which is more than enough 99% of the time.

Yes, that's the fix and that's what I did too on the few times I tried a non-continuous ridgeline. I don't like doing that unless I have no choice because getting into the hammock slacks up all the side pull outs. When everyone you're hiking with uses a tent the campsite get picked based on what they need. Its seldom that I run across ideal or even good trees. Once you've eliminated those with widow makers or too far apart or too close together or too much underbrush in between you're left often with at least one gianormis tree.

[gunner76]

Practice lots of practice. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. There is no prize for being the first or last person to get you rig set up. Take your time and do it right the first time.

[cougarmeat]

> Once you've eliminated those with widow makers or too far apart or too close together or too much underbrush in between you're left often with at least one gianormis tree

That’s why tensaoutdoors has a Solo pole

[iceman857]

Surprised that nobody in here has mentioned the Anaconda yet. I get the impression it was designed with faster setup/teardown in mind, but I don't personally own one. Dutchware Anaconda - Hammock Sleeve & Compression Sack (dutchwaregear.com)

[TominMN]

Surprised that nobody in here has mentioned the Anaconda yet. I get the impression it was designed with faster setup/teardown in mind, but I don't personally own one. ...

It and similar pieces of gear have indeed been mentioned.

[iceman857]

It and similar pieces of gear have indeed been mentioned.

My bad, I scanned through posts and didn't see it. Thanks for pointing out my mistake.

[oldgringo]

Not meaning to nag, but practice, practice, practice!

[litetrek]

Not meaning to nag, but practice, practice, practice!

YES. I get it. Setup and pack up gets faster if you do it every day. Snakeskins might help a little but I don't see them saving that much time. I only get to go backpacking a couple times each year so that contributes a lot to lack of speed. Line management seems to take most of my pack up time and finding suitable trees/site takes up most of my setup time.

[cougarmeat]

Snakeskins show their worth when you are trying to set up in high wind. There can be a world of difference in setting up in "adverse conditions" compared to setting up on a warm sunny day.

For example, if it is raining and you put your tarp up first, you can deal with the rest of your gear while your tenting friends are still out in the wet - and usually have to put their tent up before they get their rainfly on.

After reading your post, I do understand your desire for a faster setup time, but not what is holding you back. Perhaps you can time various aspects of your setup - selecting trees, putting up the tarp, putting up the hammock - and let us know which aspect is costing the most time.

For me, when camping with tent people, finding the trees can take a bit of time because I sort of want to stay with the group. And formal "campsites" are usually developed by removing trees. One popular YouTube poster said she preferred her tent because it was easier/quicker than a hammock. But there were so many adjustments she could have made to speed up her hammock deployment and her "tent setup" was always on flat/level ground - a "site" - rather than in the natural forest (where she'd have to find and clear level ground).

So - let's pretend you are starting with two good trees 13 - 15 feet apart. Before I used skins and a single tarp ridgeline, it was easier to put up the hammock first, and then center the tarp on the hammock. Now, with snakeskins and a single line. I just hook the ridgeline on one tree, bring it (with tarp attached in snakeskin) to the other tree, pull tight, and tie off - a minute - two minutes at the most. Don't worry about the position of the tarp yet - keep it in its skin. Now the hammock - you do have a ridgeline on the hammock - right? Because with that you don't have to worry so much about getting the right angle for the sag. For years I've used a daisy chain suspension because I'd just clip it to the tree and carabiner into the best loop. The only concession I've made - mostly because the chains of that day had a 5-6 inch increment between "links" - was to carry an Amsteel loop I could fold and use to make a half step between links. These days, the available chains (DutchWare) are lighter and the links closer together. That said, I'm slowly moving to webbing just for a change.

If you've set up a few times, you can probably eyeball where you want to attach to the tree. If not, start using your body as a ruler/tape measure. Learn, using your body (head/shoulders, etc.) as a reference point, at what height on the tree you want to attach. Just get the hammock up with the ridgeline snug as tight as works best for you. Once up - stand back, and look at it. Maybe sit in it once to check the height above ground and take out any slippage in the suspension. Maybe you'll need to make one more adjustment. Now that your hammock is up, just slide your tarp so it is centered, pull the skins off, and stake it out.

Depending upon how you roll, you could keep your UQ attached to the hammock while it is in your pack (or get a SuperiorGear hammock that has the UQ permanently attached). But even separate, pulling it out of its stuff sack and clipping the two ends on the hammock shouldn't take that much time. If there is a Head End to the UQ, use a colored mini-biner to attach it so you don't have to fuss with figuring out which end is which. Same with the hammock if it has a "head end". I use a red ring (head to the red) but any "This is the head end" attachment (rain break cord) will work.

For putting the gear away - if you pack your TQ/UQ in their own stuff sacks, consider putting them both in one larger sack or at least getting larger individual sacks for them. The stuff sacks provided by the manufacturer are notoriously small and it takes a bit of effort (= time) to get that quilt back in it - all the time feeling sorry for having to forcefully compress that down. Just use a larger sack or none. or one that has compression straps to tighten AFTER the quilt is inside.

So again - are you trying to go from 5 minutes to 2.5 minutes, or 20 minutes to 10 minutes? What are we dealing with - what is the target time?

Just remember, your tenting friends, and probably you, have years of experience that allow you to just walk into a site and "see" the tent layout you are aiming for. I bet you don't realize all the decisions you are making sort of automatically. Those same types of decisions might be causing you to pause in your hammock setup. But they will become automatic too.

Once I walked into a park with some friends. There was a young lady getting a tan and attracted my friends' attention. Behind her, 15 feet away, were two trees about 12 feet apart. Once you notice the trees first, you will have "arrived".

How much time are we talking about - 15 minutes, 30 minutes?

[mattnin]

litetrek, just another data point for you. I just got back from a trip today and timed my exit, it was exactly 20 min 11 sec and that is from laying under the quilt trying to warm my toes to backpack ready lets go. I did use a lot of tips in this thread, I think having the guy lines attached directly to the tarp saved me about five minutes alone... I did move with a purpose because I was timing myself, and I did get some things ready beforehand. I already had breakfast, filtered all the water I would need for breakfast and the hike out the night before when I packed that away already, and put away my fishing gear and other tools the night before too. So I did have some things already done, but I was literally laying in hammock just 20:11 before my pack was ready to go, and that was after a night and morning of rain and everything still wet. I have a split ridgline tarp with skins, hammock with bishop bag, separate stuff sack for UQ and TQ, and none of my stuff sacks are so small that it takes me forever just to try to get something to pack in, I like my stuff sacks just slightly on the larger side. Hope this helps.