Hammock Camping

[PhilO]

Following on from the tent threads, does anybody have experience of using a hammock for backwoods camping?

[goatpebble]

I have slept under a tarp, but not actually hammocked!

Not sure it's worth the hassle. If you have a carefully thought out lightweight tent, then you have a more flexible resource.

[Jezza]

In the jungle in South-east Asia a few times. Best to have a tarp or flysheet to string up above the hammock to keep the rain off. 

[andym]

Only once, in french guiana, in the jungle.  We had the luxury of a carbet shelter though to keep rain off (and when it rains, IT RAINS!).

[Basil]

Hammock camping works well with a car.

Hitch hiking around France in my yoot, I hooked up for a few days with a bloke in a 2CV.  (As we were both going to the same place - nowhere in particular - it seemed to make sense)
He would drive into a wood, park ten feet from a tree and tie his hammock between tree and car.  Simple but effective.  Ypu only need one tree.

(I slept under the car) 
(Which rocked worryingly when he slapped one off) 

[microphonie]

I'm not adventurous enough to try it but still quite fancy the idea of a  Hennesey Hammock

[andrew_s]

I've thought about it, but decided not on the following grounds:-

1) I normally sleep on my front/side. I don't see how that would work in a hammock, so I'd have to get used to sleeping on my back. I'd expect that would take about a week at the start of each tour.
2) The chances of setting up a hammock in most European campsites are fairly minimal, so no making use of campsite facilities at intervals for washing you or your clothes. Likewise, it pretty much commits you to wild camping, and mostly at relatively low level.
3) A hammock and rainfly isn't any lighter than a lightweight tent, and may be heavier (going by the Hennessy Hammock figures).
4) I'd imagine a fair bit of scouting around would be needed to find somewhere relatively discreet, with 2 trees an appropriate distance apart without a load of undergrowth getting in the way, and that was accessible enough to take your bike to.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I've done it quite a bit.

I made my own hammock, out of skirt lining material and thin cord, with webbing to tie to trees. It crumples up to a package about double the size of my montane velo. Cost me about £6 for all the materials.

I use a Buffalo sleeping bag, and put up with being damp in light rain. Never got round to making a rainfly.

The main problem to overcome is insulation underneath you - a lot of heat radiates that direction. I used some laminate flooring underlay, about 3mm thick. my hammock is a double layer of material, so I just slipped the underlay inbetween the layers.

Hammock camping is wonderful if travelling light and rough, because you can camp rough in places no-one else would use. The Lake district and Yorkshire dales have lots of little woods on steep hillsides away from everything. These places are great for hammock camping. Nothing like being in a hammock with the ground near your elbow on one side and a 5 ft drop  on the other!

As long as there are trees about, hammock camping is the ultimate lightweight camping.

[Tiger]

Stuart from Bikefix uses a Hennessy - and he reckons it is brill.
I used hammocks a lot in S America - up the jungle - they are really good if you have back trouble - the secret being in sleeping diagonally not longways.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Yeah, really great if you have back trouble.
The homemade ones 'wrap' up either side of your body. They need to be much longer than you'd think - 10ft is about right, and a standard 'yard' width. The trees really need to be at least 13ft apart. Then you lie in a slight diagonal across them. The skirt lining stretches and cocoons you. I bought green, to blend in with the trees. Looks nice outdoors.

[clarion]

An urban take on hammock camping:



I didn't want to get closer, as I didn't want to wake up the occupant.  But, given how close he was to the roads, I think he must be a sound sleeper.

[Vince]

Boy Wunja will be trying out a Hennesy Scout tonight.
I'll report back.

[LEE]

I'm not adventurous enough to try it but still quite fancy the idea of a  Hennesey Hammock

I've had one of these on my wishlist for some time.

Hammock camping appeals to me more than a tent for Wild Camping, although, there's no reason why you couldn't carry both, for ultimate flexibility.  A basic Hammock is very small and light.  Sometimes it would be easier to string up a Hammock than find a suitable bit of flat, dry, ground.

I must get around to trying it one day.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I'd prefer this to a hennessy

http://www.ddhammocks.com/product/dd-travel-hammock

Plus this

http://www.ddhammocks.com/product/ddtarp_olive_green_3x3

£84 for tarp and hammock - the hammock has poles + waterproof layer so it can be used as a tent/bivvi under the tarp.

Total weight, including poles, 1.75Kg.  That's really not bad at all.

[roffa]

I regularly camp using a Hennesy asymmetric hammock. The thing to remember: if you lie diagonally in it, your back will be straight. With the asymmetric cut of the Hennesy you can even lie on your side. The main thing is to keep a warm back, and this took some experimenting. Also, getting out and then back  in, when nature calls, is a big hassle, so plan accordingly. Most people who think that a hammock will bend their back have never used one properly. It's easy once you know how.

Advantages: you can camp virtually anywhere as long as there are trees. I've camped for 4 days on a wilderness retreat in Sweden in beastly weather and was warm and dry at the end of it. The main advantage, to my mind: you're off the ground. Once in France, I camped in a forest where there were wild boars. One dug around "my" trees and uprooted the peg of one of the stabiliser elastics. Djoioioioioioing! In the middle of the night. That was fun.

[Vince]

Advantages: you can camp virtually anywhere as long as there are trees that are the correct diameter and distance apart.

FTFY

Probably easier if you are on your own, but with a group of four scouts we toured an entire wooded site trying to find somewhere they could kip in the same proximity.

[davelodwig]

Both myself and the missus have hammocks, I have a basic DD Hammock and she has a Hennesy Hammock (cos she's posh). We love hammocking and have a selection of tarps and such. We've also just got a double hammock from travel to the moon so we can be comfy together rather than squeezing into a regular hammock for a cuddle.

I find it's much more comfortable for my back, and prefer it to tent camping.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Advantages: you can camp virtually anywhere as long as there are trees that are the correct diameter and distance apart.

FTFY

Probably easier if you are on your own, but with a group of four scouts we toured an entire wooded site trying to find somewhere they could kip in the same proximity.

Eh? What are you talking about? 

Use webbing (not rope) to go around the tree. Packs small and can cope with a multitude of tree diameters.

[Vince]

The Hennesy hammocks have a short webbing strap, which limits the size of trunk that can be used.

[mrcharly-YHT]

You can always add a bit extra, you know.  There is a special knot for tying webbing.

[roffa]

The Hennesy hammocks have a short webbing strap, which limits the size of trunk that can be used.

I've never had any problems with that and I've camped in their hammocks for years. It's all down to the friction knot they have you use. Also define: short. Their treehugger straps go once around the tree and then you do the friction not.

I guess a lot also comes down to tree selection.

[roffa]

Advantages: you can camp virtually anywhere as long as there are trees that are the correct diameter and distance apart.

FTFY

Probably easier if you are on your own, but with a group of four scouts we toured an entire wooded site trying to find somewhere they could kip in the same proximity.

I prefer being correctly quoted

Depends on the wooded site I suppose.