Is hammock camping as popular as it was 5-10 years ago?

[Hang Williams]

And most of them haven't come here and most of THOSE probably never will. And some of that is okay...

Imagine what the lead times would be if EVERYONE knew about the cottage vendors!!

[BlazeyJ]

I’m with Shug in believing that although usage is going up, forum participation is going down. I’m 28 and sometimes feel like I’m one of the younger ones here, however discovering this site in my late teenage years is what inspired me to get into hammock camping. A lot of the inputs and knowledge that came from this site has been put into YouTube videos, Reddit posts, instagram reels, etc. Regardless I see more and more hammocks on the AT and in the Smokies’ campgrounds each year.

The beautiful thing, to me, is that I have inspired multiple friends to convert to hammock camping. Then they rely on me for knowledge/recommendations on gear and tips for setting up. They aren’t patient enough nor obsessed enough to sift through this site. To me, this site represents the elders passing down the torch to the apprentices of the next generation.

I’ve had some great conversations and seen some great hangs from people who haven’t even heard of hammockforums yet somehow still found the cottage vendors. Almost every time I camp with someone knew they ask “where did you get all that stuff?” Which leads to a long conversation about the history of people building companies in their garages, and the incredible small business market of camping gear.

I saw a parallel change/decrease of usage of some car & Appalachian trail forums that I am subscribed to over the past 5 years.


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[sidneyhornblower]

What are you seeing on the trail? More, less, or same number of hammocks compared to tents?

Funny that you should ask, since I just returned from a ten-day section hike of the AT in Georgia and North Carolina. I camped alone most of the time to avoid the bubble, but when I camped with others what I saw was that tents still out number hammocks probably ten to one or better. For instance, on night two I was at Muskrat Creek Shelter and I believe I was the only hammock guy there in a group of probably 20-25 people. At Black Gap there was one other hammock besides mine and about eight to ten tents, some with two people in the tent. At Cooper Gap there was me and one other guy in hammocks and only one tent, so it varies from place to place. On Tray Mountain I saw two other guys in hammocks and about twelve or fifteen tents, so about a three to one ratio there.

It's almost dead certain that AT thru-hikers are not representative of hikers in general, so the fact that most are in tents may not mean that much. It may also be true that, like me, most hammock people are not camping with the crowds at established campsites on the AT, so I can't see or count them. One thing I did notice is that almost everyone is at least aware of hammocks as a means of sleeping, even if they don't use them as such. Several people I talked to mentioned that they owned hammocks, but for lounging at camp, not as a sole source of shelter during a long distance hike.

[psyculman]

Antiquated or not Shug, I am very thankful for all the information I have leaned through this forum (and of course your videos) . It’s amazing the diversity of the information there is on here not just on hammocking but also the DIY information. Not to mention how the various cottage vendors reply to the questions asked in these forums as well.

Same here. And not just DIY ideas, but I have bought all my best gear from HF members. Possibly most DIY innovations are exhausted only for a while. Dutch, RBTR and WB are doing well though. I would like to see more trip reports. Sure do miss Wintertreking.com

[WV]

It used to be that Ed Speer's site was the only place on the internet that hammock campers shared information and ideas. Then HF supplanted it (perhaps because it was easier to post pictures here?) The only other good source of information was Just Jeff's TotheWoods. Now there are many groups, forums, cottage vendor sites, youtube channels, podcasts, books, what-have-you. The newbies (and the oldies) are just spread out.

[iceman857]

To me, this site represents the elders passing down the torch to the apprentices of the next generation.

I also have had a similar thought. I continue to learn new things from OG hangers like Slowhike on Hammock Forums. The technology platform is most certainly not as user friendly as the social media platforms, but there's still lots to learn and share here in my opinion.

[TominMN]

I also have had a similar thought. I continue to learn new things from OG hangers like Slowhike on Hammock Forums. The technology platform is most certainly not as user friendly as the social media platforms, but there's still lots to learn and share here in my opinion.

Some of us OGs want nothing to do with "social media."...

[psyculman]

Some of us OGs want nothing to do with "social media."...

NOPE, not going to happen.

[Ithica]

I see more people using hammocks for day use but not that many for overnights. I prefer dispersed camping so don't often camp formal campgrounds. I too have noticed that HF participation has dropped off. I frequent Bushcraft USA forums and have not seen any drop in their participation. Hammock topics on Bushcraft USA generate a lot of comments.

I personally do not care for Reddit or Facebook hobby forums. Reddit attracts too many kooks. Facebook is too shallow and hard to search.

I would like to see some editing of Forum Topics: Vendors. Why doesn't Tensa have their own Vendor Topic? There is mainly one Tensa topic with over 1,770 entries. It makes it hard to find specific information.

[TominMN]

...
Why doesn't Tensa have their own Vendor Topic? There is mainly one Tensa topic with over 1,770 entries. It makes it hard to find specific information.