Atophy

I've been entertaining getting a new tent for my future travel plans. from what I've been reading, hammock tents are pretty amazing. Light, easy to set and fast to take down as well as comfortable. An added bonus is if you're in bear country you can stick yourself up as high as you're comfortable with and can still get in, hopefully out of pinata range.

A couple questions though, for those experienced in hammock camping, how do they perform on the ground if the ground is the only option ? Will they set up and hold their shape ? I can actually bring a set of old shock corded tent poles along. I was planning on putting them to use in a custom trike hood which could double to hold the mesh up if need be.
Last, I've read that keeping warm is about the only problem with them for novice campers, how does one stay as toasty as possible in one ? I'll be camping early spring to late fall through the rocky mountains and southern regions across Canada, It could get chilly in some places.

Thoughts, advice, experience, suggestions on hammocks ?

Atophy

Sorry Aerohip, I'm still working on my post count and can't reply to your PM. If you want, PM your email, we can chat.... 15 to go !

Doug64

I'm not going to get into the hammock debate because I have never tried one. However, I have had experience with bears. I doubt that you could get a hammock high enough to be out of the reach of a bear. To get the hammock high enough you'd need a ladder to set it up and get into it, and not a small ladder either. A bear would just think of it a big burrito

And as you know, the plains can present some challenges for setting up a hammock.

This is just a few kilometers south of you near Pincher Creek. Not much to hang anything on.


This is a little closer to my home, but it presents the same challenges.


Hopefully, some real hammock users will give you a lot more help than I did. Have fun!

Atophy

Yeah, those are the reasons I'm asking about ground setup.
I do like the versatility though, you can set up in rough, wet or rocky terrain, and theres plenty of that in Canada. Also, for stealth camping, It doesn't leave a footprint.

bwgride

This place has all your answers for anything hammock:

https://www.hammockforums.net

Altbark

You can't string a hammock higher than you are willing to fall. How do you propose to get into the hammock if you did manage to get the thing way up in a couple of trees? Bears would be the least of your worries. Al

gregw

I really wanted to like hammocks for many of the reasons you stated. I tried one of the high-end models that is supposed to allow you to sleep more horizontal. I could not sleep in the thing, just way too confining. So I'm suggest you try one first.

stevepusser

Younger black bears can still climb trees with great ease, certainly with greater agility than I. I would not count on being out of their reach. As for setting one up higher than one wishes to fall, rock climbers do rig them up over abysses of thousands of feet--but I like mine to be just above the ground when occupied.

Atophy

I'm hoping the local MEC will have somewhere they can set one up for me to crawl into, but the big thing is if they can set on the ground if there is a need to. Theres lots of trees, but theres also lots and lots of places where they're too far apart, too close, too small or completely nonexistent.

Atophy

As a bear can stand on its hind quarters and reach over 7 feet I imagine a person would be hard pressed to install one out of reach of a bear. But at least you can put it high enough that if his nose is to the ground he won't bump you.... unless its a really big one

stevepusser

Somehow I'm getting a mental image of a bear standing on its hind legs, pulling your occupied hammock down to ground level, then releasing and slingshotting your flailing body out of sight over the trees, I probably watched too many toons as a child....

Atophy

Accompanied by Goofies 'WAAAAH HOOO hooo hoooooooo'

Machka 

Bears also climb trees. When people cache their food, the recommendation is to cache it high enough that the branches won't support the weight of a bear.

busted knuckles

I have and used a hennesy hammock. Love it. I have only used it for a 10 day trip. Always had trees to hang it from. I have read online that it could work on the ground, but never tried it. I normally sleep on my side or stomach at home, sleeping on my back was not an issue. I could even sleep on my side in the hammock. I did use a foam pad, for insulation and to keep mosquitos from biting me through the fabric. I liked that it was smaller and half the weight of my tent. It set up very fast. My only compaint was that there is no room for my panniers inside.

digibud

No...you can't get high enough to avoid bears with a hammock. I promise that. Hammocks are great for known areas. If you don't know what's ahead they really aren't so wonderful. A hammock held up with a pole or two will get you by as long as the weather is OK but if you find yourself in a windstorm it will be a real challenge and in the best case it will be flapping and noisy as all get out. A free standing tent is much more versatile. Voles, mice, squirrels, ravens and camp robber birds will be your biggest wildlife problem although I'll admit to having spent more than one night dealing with bears. Bring a good length of rope that does not stretch and trash compactor bags to get your gear up and out on a branch. Stretchy rope is a pain to deal with when getting gear out of the reach of bears.

indyfabz

Heh. Now I have a mental image of the coyote with a lit stick of dynamite and an Acme sling shot. I have a feeling it's not going to end well for the coyote.

Altbark

First, all black bears can climb. That's not the issue. Bears are normally a non-issue for folks who know how to bear proof. Hammocks are just an alternative to a tent. Nothing more.

Climbers use platforms for big wall climbing and not backpacking hammocks. Aside from the gear needed to suspend a hammock high into a set of trees, you need to have the training and skills to do it safely. How much of a rack would a touring cyclist be willing to carry on a tour to stay away from the dreaded black bear? Not all that much I imagine. Al

MassiveD

The premise that you would be safer in a hammock is really questionable. As others have said, you are not going to be able to get above bear range, just moving up a tree. But more to the point, you are not going to have bear problems anyway. The reason is that if you want to cross Canada on a reasonable budget, you are going to have to do a lot of free camping. Bears do not come to those places, they hang out in a few well publicised mega camps like Yosemite, and the Smokies. And of course in Canada the rockies. Just having a high population of bears does not mean they eat you. If you want to bait bears, it takes weeks of laying out a bait in the right place day after day, so they can find it, and even having bears hitting the donuts does not mean they would start chewing on humans. While it isn't hunting per se. Baiting bears takes a lot of work you have to choose a very specific place. And every day you pull up the tent and move on when camping, the chance of baiting a bear is not that great.

Also, if you are an American, you may not be aware how crappy the game distribution is up here. Nothing like the US. They can be bigger, but they are also sparser in distribution. I saw more deer and bear in either Oregon, or Florida, in one day than in Canada in over 50 years. I have seen a fair amount in Alberta and BC also... Just recently someone reported they had seen "the largest black bear they had ever seen" on our property in NB. I go there 3 months a year for the last 50 years, I have never seen a bear. I see their droppings all the time, but never see them.

Hammocks are great if you can sleep in them. There are a lot of guys who are really into them, and post videos, and hang out at forums. Then after you follow one of these guys who makes videos and tries out all kinds of hammocks, and can be seen napping in them etc... Turns out he has never slept through the night! Most of the into it guys use separate hammocks and specially contoured tarps. It is tough to buid a credible tent/hammock system with no overlaps. I am sure lots of people say they can do it, but the results would be like some home made sleep system that virtually nobody could stop laughing at. Tarp camping is a whole other thing, and not that popular with most people, yet that is pretty much at best, what you are going to get with some hybrid system. I am working hard on the whole tarp thing, but check past threads, very little in the way of users. I predict you will have bought a tent by the time you hit the next big town.

Having done long sections of the cross Canada thing, I have tried out the idea of a light tent and a hammock. I go ultralite, so an extra few pounds of hammock were no problem. I did it for the stealth potential because there are so many places that are not private, but are heavily overgrown with tree farm like stuff, and would be great for hammocks, but too tight for tents. Also there are manufactured slopes like cuts on rail trails that are steep, have well spaced mature trees, no place to pitch a tent. Alsot no body, or for that mater no bear, are going to bother you.

Best overall tent is an x frame tent. Bugs are your big problem.

https://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/...1.html#start=2

I have been using tents like this for 40 years. Good feel inside, not too bulky.

mdilthey

I have ~2,000 miles of touring with just a hammock, ~500 miles of touring with a tent, and ~200 miles of touring with a bivy.

Pros of a hammock:

1. Lighter
2. Faster Setup
3. Uneven ground and wet ground don't matter
4. VERY good for rejuvenating your legs.

Cons of a hammock:

1. You need trees. In the northeastern US and Canada, this is a non-issue. We were literally never without trees.
2. Not as good in high wind
3. No space to "hang out."

I like my hammock, but I ultimately like my tent a bit more because I can sit and read or work on a laptop. However, the hammock is easier to set up and sleep in in almost every regard, including ventilation and moisture management.

As for warmth, I just put a regular Thermarest air pad in and I'm warm all winter. using an all-season air pad, I've hammocked at -15ºF. Using a simple Z-rest and a sheet of tyvek to cut wind, I survived hammocking at -10ºF. I prefer air pads to underquilts.


As for setting it up on the ground... if you think you'll have a comfortable tent, you're wrong. Throw a tarp on the ground; that's what a hammock looks like.

My best advice is to make sure your hammock tarp is a separate piece. Then, with no trees, just use your bike frame (with a kickstand or flipped upside-down) to make a tarp shelter. Don't fuss around with trying to make the hammock part into some kind of bivy.

SparkyGA

Good luck camping in hammock from Alberta to Manitoba..... It's kinda treeless.

Bears can climb higher than you can. Basically if you can climb it, so can they.

Hammocks are comfy though

LaetaPuella

Do you by any chance have a picture or could describe how to set this up? I've been trying to figure out how to use my bike as a tarp-mount, but since I haven't bought my tarp yet, I can't just go experiment in the back yard!

shipwreck

I sleep in a hammock every night at home(bachelor, I can do what I want)
So despite what some say, it is totally possible to sleep through the night in one. Most of the biggest naysayers in the hammock debates are those who have never tried it, though to be fair there are those who have, and do not like them.

I usually take a hammock when I know the territory, that there will be lots of hanging spots. They are great for stealthing, and setting up in pavilions, I have even hung from a telephone pole and my bicycle. When I do have to do a ground setup, it is mostly because campgrounds sometimes don't like you stringing them up. When that happens, I run a ridge line from a picnic bench, lamp post, once a tether ball pole, whatever, to the ground. once used shock cord to hold up the net and tarp from a limb of the one tree around(watch for dead limbs, or widow makers, in a tent or hammock). Usually bring some light tent stakes for pitching a tarp on the ground, but have also tied off to logs, rocks, whatever. Improvisation is the key.

Not sure about how tent poles could be easily used, but it sounds interesting. I have a flag on a two piece pole when touring, and have used it to make an Aframe shelter once or twice.

However, if I was going through Canada, I would be thinking about a tent. Mostly because of bugs that will be harder to keep out, like ticks, but also because of the vast plains without lots of trees.
Actually, I usually take a small tent and a hammock, with a minimal tarp. On my last trip, I used both about evenly. I have gone through some big wind storms in a hammock, and you do get bounced around pretty good, so when it looks like a big storm is coming, the tent is used. My hammock is a Grand Trunk Skeeter beater, about one pound. 14 ounce tarp, four-ish pound two person tent. So, almost six pounds, but very versatile. Could go lighter on the tent with a one person, but its the tent I have, and Space is nicer when getting rained on for a day, or hanging out on a rest day, waiting out a cold, whatever.
For insulation in the hammock I generally use an old school thermarest, but have done ok with a 3/4 length ridge rest on merely chilly nights.


Not sure about the keeping away from bears with a hammock thing.

mdilthey

https://www.adventurecycling.org/defa...110223_024.JPG

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...keTent_003.jpg

https://cache.backpackinglight.com/ba...1936_18337.jpg

LaetaPuella

Thanks! I'd had a lot of trouble finding pics online- probably just hadn't come up with a good keyword search term.

Atophy

Right now I have a coleman sunrise III 3 man tent.. its roomy and sets up in a reasonable amount of time but it packs up huge and heavy from a touring perspective.