# Any Hammock Campers? Need your advice...



## Homestead Gal (Nov 25, 2008)

Ok, my hubby and I did a practice wilderness weekend and discovered that sleeping on the ground is PAINFUL. Our old bones don't like it one bit. Even with a good sleeping bag and a quilt under us, we both barely slept. No way, we can do that every night and still keep up a camp and travel. 

We want to try using hammocks instead of tents. We found two that really got our attention. The first is the Clark Jungle Hammock and the second is a Hennessey Hammock. They both have some great features. If anyone here has experience camping using a hammock or owns one of the above hammocks, please let me know what you like/don't like about them. Thanks!


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*Hammocks*



Homestead Gal said:


> Ok, my hubby and I did a practice wilderness weekend and discovered that sleeping on the ground is PAINFUL. Our old bones don't like it one bit. Even with a good sleeping bag and a quilt under us, we both barely slept. No way, we can do that every night and still keep up a camp and travel.
> 
> We want to try using hammocks instead of tents. We found two that really got our attention. The first is the Clark Jungle Hammock and the second is a Hennessey Hammock. They both have some great features. If anyone here has experience camping using a hammock or owns one of the above hammocks, please let me know what you like/don't like about them. Thanks!


I have an ultralight nylon hammock that i take camping because I can no longer sleep on the ground, (spinal stenosis) .

This is not the jungle hammock version of a hammock . Yours would be better but it will absolutely fit into a pocked of my jacket and when you add 30 feet of paracord and a space blanked, you have a very comfortable sleeping setup with little weight.

It takes a little practice getting into and out of this type of hammock!


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## d_saum (Jan 17, 2012)

I'm actually very interested in this as well! I've seen a bunch of videos on YouTube and some people look pretty darn comfortable in those things. My only issue would be that I can't really sleep on my back (I snore something fierce and wake myself up constantly!)


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

d_saum said:


> I'm actually very interested in this as well! I've seen a bunch of videos on YouTube and some people look pretty darn comfortable in those things. My only issue would be that I can't really sleep on my back (I snore something fierce and wake myself up constantly!)


maybe this model?


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## musketjim (Dec 7, 2011)

Neat design who makes it?


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## Fridge (Apr 28, 2012)

Check out Jacks R Better and there Bridge Hammocks.. I have 7 different Hammock makes and the bridge is very comfortable. http://www.jacksrbetter.com/


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## sewserious (Mar 16, 2010)

Hammocks are great but what about when there are no trees or no trees big enough to support the weight? I see them as being practical only in a fairly heavily wooded area or the jungle.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

sewserious said:


> Hammocks are great but what about when there are no trees or no trees big enough to support the weight? I see them as being practical only in a fairly heavily wooded area or the jungle.


they can still be used as sleeping bags in a pinch


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

They would be smart in a situ where many had to be in one room at night to sleep.. if you know where the studs are in the wall, just mount big sturdy hooks and during the day.. hammocks down, at night hammocks up. makes rooms double duty. you could possibly have many people per room. and the room being able to be used for something else in the daytime. 
I have a room upstairs that is basically a glorified closet as it is too small for a bed other than a child's crib/child's bed. we had a twin in there and there was only enuf room to just walk next to one side to make it. but with the right kind of hooks I'd bet you could get two hammocks in there.

Or in our basement. I'd bet a couple hammocks would be good for if we have to retreat for strong storms.. It would keep us off the cold stone/cement floor and still be comfy. 
Just a thought.


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## prepare_survive_thrive (May 7, 2012)

Homestead Gal said:


> Ok, my hubby and I did a practice wilderness weekend and discovered that sleeping on the ground is PAINFUL. Our old bones don't like it one bit. Even with a good sleeping bag and a quilt under us, we both barely slept. No way, we can do that every night and still keep up a camp and travel.
> 
> We want to try using hammocks instead of tents. We found two that really got our attention. The first is the Clark Jungle Hammock and the second is a Hennessey Hammock. They both have some great features. If anyone here has experience camping using a hammock or owns one of the above hammocks, please let me know what you like/don't like about them. Thanks!


I have a hennessy. Just takes practice setting it up but once you get it, it goes up quicker than any tent I've had. Also its an asym meaning you sleep flat so you can sleep on your side. I can't go to sleep on my back either.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*Hammocks are regular beds in some cultures*

I have a former student who spent part of a summer in Mexico with his mother's family. He slept in a hammock the whole time.

I know another family that were from Mexico, had 12 kids and a 1 bedroom home. Only the parents had a real bed until one of the children became ill with leukemia. Then a call went out to the school to find a bed for him.

I too do not sleep on the floor or on the ground any longer. When I was young, no problem, but now, no thanks.


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## JackDanielGarrett (Sep 27, 2010)

I have hammock camped since I was about 17, off and on. Now we have a teardrop camper, BUT still have my hammock. Major Camping and Survival has a jungle hammock with bug net for about 50 bux. I sting up a headline, drape a canvas over it and stake it down. 
And you can sleep on your side and one of the best sleeps you will have.
Jack


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

JackDanielGarrett said:


> I have hammock camped since I was about 17, off and on. Now we have a teardrop camper, BUT still have my hammock. Major Camping and Survival has a jungle hammock with bug net for about 50 bux. I sting up a headline, drape a canvas over it and stake it down.
> And you can sleep on your side and one of the best sleeps you will have.
> Jack


If you have an inflatable air mattress I think sleeping on the ground would be better than sleeping in a hammock. I look at the curve of a hammock and I can only imagine what that would do to my back. I sleep most of the night on my left side or my right side. I don't like sleeping on my back. I start hearing snoring noises that wake me up, not coming from me of course! It must be one of our cats who sometimes sleeps between my wife and me


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

I always sleep in a hammock when camping. There is never a lack of trees to set up in the southeast. I have an Eno hammock with corresponding rainfly. Comfy. I sleep better in my hammock than in my bed. No mosquito net but bugs dont seem to bother me much anyway. When camping next to a stream or river remember wind usually blows downstream. Thats how you get cold in a hammock. The wind comes from under you and chills you. My 4 season hammock set up includes eno hammock/ tarp, snug pack sleeping bag, military goretex sleeping bag cover, and in colder weather I add a poncho blanket. I have been very comfotable in some bad weather with this. The sleeping bag cover is not for rain it is my windbreaker. You could probably use space blankets for the same effect. Have fun! Oh, eno hammocks generally run bout $50 the tarp bout 25 and I use webbing as hammock rope.


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## JackDanielGarrett (Sep 27, 2010)

BillS said:


> If you have an inflatable air mattress I think sleeping on the ground would be better than sleeping in a hammock. I look at the curve of a hammock and I can only imagine what that would do to my back. I sleep most of the night on my left side or my right side. I don't like sleeping on my back. I start hearing snoring noises that wake me up, not coming from me of course! It must be one of our cats who sometimes sleeps between my wife and me


BillS, it is easy to think that the curve would affect your back, I messed up my back at 16 carrying shingles on a roof. So a hard mattress is what I use at home, the harder the better too. And I have tried an inflatable mattress and they just don't work for me, kinda like riding a bucking bronc...

You actually kinda sleep sideways in a hammock, or some do. It's like being held and supported, rather then hanging there. A good tarp and I went to yard sales and bought lace curtains to make my bug screen.

Youtube (shugemery) is loaded hammock vids and many sites on the internet. One show a fellow who canoed out to the lake and strung his 'tween two trees out on the water, with his canoe tied under him.

Jack


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## horseman1946 (Oct 19, 2011)

I have an eagles nest hammock and I love it. its light and easy to use. no complicated setup. best to have some kind of sleeping mat under u in the hammock to avoid cold butt syndrome. I hang a tarp over me for a weather barrier. u cant go wrong with an eno. check them out.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

??? why spend so much - get a gi net hammock and run a ridgeline over it. drape a tarp over, rope & stake the corners out & you have a tented hammock very cheap. the net hammock has a multitude of uses including use as a drag net to get fish and is much cheaper. Add sleeping bag ot bedroll to suit temperature and you're set.


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## TopTop (Nov 11, 2011)

BillM said:


> I have an ultralight nylon hammock


Brought back a memory. When my kids were small I had one of those in the back yard. Little nylon mesh thing with a steel ring on the ends & a poly rope tied off to the trees. I would be gone a week or two for work, come home & the hammock was cool & relaxing for an hour or so while I watched my kids play. I guess the sun had weakened the rope & the kids decided to "pile on" the old man. The splice came off the steel ring. The ring was still attached to the nylon which was stretched tighter than a bow string. Like a bullet, the steel ring beaned me dead center in the top of my head, a microsecond later I hit the ground with three little boys on top of me. I think there may have been a couple neighbor kids in there too, but things are still a little fuzzy. Eventually I was able to get back up & sit in a chair, about that time my beautiful wife showed up with a tall glass of tea & life was good. I don't think I have been in a hammock since.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

kappydell said:


> ??? why spend so much - get a gi net hammock and run a ridgeline over it. drape a tarp over, rope & stake the corners out & you have a tented hammock very cheap. the net hammock has a multitude of uses including use as a drag net to get fish and is much cheaper. Add sleeping bag ot bedroll to suit temperature and you're set.


I have a gi net hammock as well. I generally use my eno as the net hammock ends up being used as my cooler because I sink my beer in the river or stream Im fishing in.


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## Ration-AL (Apr 18, 2012)

i like hammocks for 3 season camping in most places, defiantly not a long term winter shelter though, surviving a winter in a tent where you can actually burn some things to get heat would be hard enough, in a hammock impossible in winter alpine conditions , keep in mind big difference for a weekend or two vs. 4-5 months.


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## Momturtle (Nov 2, 2009)

I've been hammock camping for many years in a Hennessy. I also cannot sleep on my back and the hammock is the most comfortable nights sleep for me. Since finding level ground is almost impossible here, and there are plenty of trees, the hammock is perfect for me. I sleep on my side, on a diagonal and it is flat but supporting my whole body. I love having the insect net and the rain fly is big enough that I can store my backpack and such under it out of the weather. My dog always sleeps under me to keep watch. I have camped in it down to about 36 degrees, need to put an emergency sleeping bag under my sleeping bag (which I use as a pad, can't even begin to zip it up), wear my long fleece pants and shirt, pull the rain fly down to block the wind and help hold in heat, two poncho liners for blankets and life was wonderful. In hammock camping, the wind will suck out the heat from under you as fast as sleeping on the ground, which makes it WONDERFUL for summer camping. Set it up in the shade, hopefully somewhere with a little breeze, and it is simply fabulous. I chose the Hennessy because it is the easiest for me to get into. It can be set up pretty high off the ground and it is still easy to get in without killing yourself. There are plenty of others that are also great for the younger more athletic crowd. My biggest criteria is the insect net. I would not want to try and camp without it.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Momturtle said:


> I've been hammock camping for many years in a Hennessy. I also cannot sleep on my back and the hammock is the most comfortable nights sleep for me. Since finding level ground is almost impossible here, and there are plenty of trees, the hammock is perfect for me. I sleep on my side, on a diagonal and it is flat but supporting my whole body. I love having the insect net and the rain fly is big enough that I can store my backpack and such under it out of the weather. My dog always sleeps under me to keep watch. I have camped in it down to about 36 degrees, need to put an emergency sleeping bag under my sleeping bag (which I use as a pad, can't even begin to zip it up), wear my long fleece pants and shirt, pull the rain fly down to block the wind and help hold in heat, two poncho liners for blankets and life was wonderful. In hammock camping, the wind will suck out the heat from under you as fast as sleeping on the ground, which makes it WONDERFUL for summer camping. Set it up in the shade, hopefully somewhere with a little breeze, and it is simply fabulous. I chose the Hennessy because it is the easiest for me to get into. It can be set up pretty high off the ground and it is still easy to get in without killing yourself. There are plenty of others that are also great for the younger more athletic crowd. My biggest criteria is the insect net. I would not want to try and camp without it.


Thanks for the name of your hammock. I just watched the company video and they look great. I may get one for me.. with my back problems it may help.


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## Homestead Gal (Nov 25, 2008)

The_Blob said:


> maybe this model?


We have looked at this model on the Clarks Hammock website. They are pricey but very well made. We really want whatever we buy to last us for a long while. Might have to live it someday.


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## Homestead Gal (Nov 25, 2008)

You have 7 hammocks to choose from? Wow...
What I am finding so far is that most hammocks have a weight limit. My hubby weighs over 250. Once you add some gear, the weight would probably go up another 15 lbs. Not seeing many options for big guys in hammocks. If you know of any please post!


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