Lately, in the JYD Death Chat, amongst other places, there's been a lot of talk about hammock camping. I figured this topic was of enough general interest that it would be worth discussing here in the outdoors forum, so more folks would see it.


I'm a HUGE proponent of camping hammocks - they are far more comfortable than sleeping on the ground, and as long as you're in an area with trees, they greatly expand your choices when it comes to site selection. With a hammock, you don't have to worry about searching around for some flat ground devoid of rocks, roots, and brush - just find two trees, and hang that sucker up! I've slept in my hammock on the side of a slope, over rocks, and with a stream running underneath me. Try to do that in a tent!


There IS, however, somewhat of a learning curve to be had with hammocks - learning to hang them up quickly, how to pitch a tarp, and how to keep warm can take a little bit of time. That time will be rewarded tenfold when you wake up in the morning refreshed and ready for a long day's hiking, instead of aching and worn out.




So ask me your burning questions about hammocks, and I'll see what I can do to answer them!

In the picture above, my fiance and I were set up at a popular rock climbing destination, camped alongside two other guys in hammocks who we didn't know. Take a guess which hammocks are ours. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />


The night was pretty cool, around 40 degrees or so. We both slept very comfortably, and the two guys to the left froze their butts off. Why? Because we were prepared. The wind was blowing in from the direction I'm facing while taking this picture, so if you look closely at the tarp configurations, I've got my tarp (middle of the picture) pitched low on the windward side to help block the air, and high on the other side (using hiking poles to hold the tarp up) to provide an awning for easy access and a place to hang out if it rains.

My fiance has her tarp pitched low to the hammock, with the foot-side tieouts crossing each other so the tarp is pulled closed on the foot end, again to block the wind. She's using a single hiking pole to hold one corner of the tarp up, again for easy access while keeping it close to the hammock and helping trap body heat.

We were both sleeping on Exped Downmat sleeping pads - I can not under emphasize how important that is! Most beginner hammockers don't do anything special for insulation underneath them, and they end up freezing. When you lay in a sleeping bag inside your hammock, you crush all the insulation underneath you, and with the hammock suspended in the air, you're basically completely exposed to the cold. You need to get some insulation under there!




The two guys to the left slept in a friend's tent the next night - they didn't have bottom insulation, and didn't have tarps to block the wind. We, on the other hand, got a great night of sleep, and were well rested for the climbing competition (even ended up winning some prizes!).


Lesson: learn to manage the weather to make your hammocking as enjoyable as possible.

Swweeet! So, what would be a good hammock that won't squeeze my shoulders together too much? Also, some hammocks seem to "pitch" much flatter. Is the flatness a comfort issue? If so, what will pitch flat?

Also, what would you suggest for under insulation, and how is it rigged?

Do you have pictures to illustrate?

Pretty much the flattest hammock you can buy is the Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock, by Jacks-R-Better ( http://jacksrbetter.com/ ). However, the way it gets that flat lay is to use a straight hammock with spreader bars and a weird bridge-like suspension. Some people complain that the configuration feels too narrow and squeezes on their shoulders, which sounds like the exact opposite of what you want. If shoulder squeeze isn't an issue, the BMBH is an outstanding choice.




The other way to reliably get flat in a hammock is to get a really wide hammock, and lie diagonally. The further to the diagonal you can get, the more comfortable you will be. For hammocks with bug nets, the best bet is to get hammocks that have an asymmetrical design, so that you're not wasting space when you lay on the angle. Basically, the hammocks are designed specifically with laying on the angle in mind, so you have more room for your shoulders.

The two most popular asym hammocks that are commercially available are the Hennessey Hammock ( http://hennessyhammock.com/ ) and Warbonnet Blackbird ( http://warbonnetoutdoors.net/ )

Of those two, the HH is made in China, has a funky bottom entry, and is easily available at REI. The REI bit is good, as you can take advantage of their generous return policy if you don't like it. The WBBB is hand-made in the USA, so it's a bit more expensive, but it's WAY MORE SPACIOUS inside, and custom-built to order, so if you're a bigger dude you can get thicker fabric, or two layers of fabric to place a sleeping pad between them.

Pretty much the most spacious commercial asym hammock you can get is the warbonnet blackbird (that's the hammock I use!). I find the lay to be very comfortable and flat, with very little "banana" shape to my back. The trick is to make sure you really lay on the diagonal.



The most important thing to worry about is to NOT try to lay flat by yanking the hammock crazy tight. That will almost always give the opposite effect of what you want. The trick to laying flat is to have the hammock nice and LOOSE, and lay on an angle. Once you've tried it, it will make perfect sense.

I've only slept in it a few nights, and I'm still experimenting with "warmth", but the hammock I'm using is the Travel Hammock from DD Hammocks.

Here's the video review that sold me on it.

I got their tarp as well and it works great.

Now, I just need to figure out how to insulate my bottom! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" />

Have you tried layering a few wool blankets under you in the hammock? Works pretty good for me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I did bring one I used over the top of me, but I think it may have been better underneath.

Good suggestion. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

A few wool blankets isn't the most packable for backpacking... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />


I'll quote what I said in the JYD chat, with a few pictures added.


The most important thing to keeping warm in a hammock is insulation underneath you. There are two main ways to do that - pads and underquilts.

The main advantage of pads is that they are cheap. A $5 blue foam pad from walmart can probably take you into the 30s, maybe 20s depending on how warm you sleep. The disadvantage is they are a pain in the butt to get oriented, and potentially less comfortable than a bare hammock. They can also act as a vapor barrier, and cause condensation, which is definitely bad when it gets really cold. How much they make you sweat varies greatly from person to person. Furthermore, if your pad isn't wide enough, you'll still get cold on your shoulders and hips, where the hammock is pressing up against your body and compressing all the insulation in your sleeping bag. This is fairly easy to fix with some scraps of foam jammed in beside you, or rolled up clothing or stuff sacks or whatever you can wedge in there for insulation.

Instead of the cheap foam pads, inflatable pads can be pretty effective, too. Thermarests aren't bad, although they usually aren't very wide, so it might be more necessary to get something set up for side insulation for your hips. The best pads for a hammock, in my opinion, are down-filled manually inflating pads. I use an Exped Downmat 7 Deluxe, which is wider and longer than a standard inflatable pad, providing a little bit more protection to the sides. Slightly deflating an inflatable pad can help it conform better to the sides of the hammock.

If you don't want to deal with pads, and don't expect to have to sleep on the ground, a much more comfortable option is underquilts. An underquilt is basically half of a sleeping bag that's been rigged with some sort of suspension system that lets you attach it to the bottom of your hammock, on the outside. Since it's outside the hammock, your weight doesn't compress the insulation, and it retains its full loft, potentially keeping you warmer than even laying on the ground with a normal sleeping bag.

You can buy commercially produced underquilts from Speer, Jacks-R-Better, Warbonnet Outdoors, Kick [censored] Quilts, and I'm sure there are some more I'm forgetting. If you've got access to a sewing machine, you can hack one together yourself out of an old sleeping bag.

speer:


jacks r better:


warbonnet:


Underquilts can potentially be a hassle to get set up correctly, and some versions have a bit of a learning curve. The trick is to get the UQ tight enough that there are no air gaps between your body and the quilt, but not so tight that it compresses the insulation. Many companies offer a "differentially baffled" underquilt model which completely removes this problem, as you can crank the UQ as tight as you want and the insulation won't compress.




For my personal system, I usually use an inflatable pad plus a normal down sleeping bag for top insulation. With a 20 degree REI down bag, and my Exped Downmat, I've slept comfortably at 25 degrees wearing boxers and a t-shirt. If it goes colder than that, I start to wear merino wool or capilene baselayers, which can easily take me another 15 degrees colder. Any colder than that, and I'd have to start thinking about a heavier bag for top insulation, and possibly supplementing my bottom insulation as well.

Found this tutorial on how to make your own under-quilt.

I guess you could cut a sleeping bag in half as well, but this may be cheaper.

Still researching.

Hammock forums is where I learned most of what I know about hammocks. (Well, that and figuring stuff out in the field when it wasn't working <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" />). Great group of folks. In fact, it was someone from Hammock Forums who first turned me onto Busse family blades. Lots of good info to be had there.


The idea to make one from an old sleeping bag assumes you've got an old unused sleeping bag. Another way to get a cheap source of a bag for a starting point for an underquilt is the REI Scratch And Dent sales. I've picked up down bags with things like broken zippers or a small rip for less than 50 bucks.

Here in FLA...we use a poncho liner and mosquito netting.