KC8QVO

I realize the original post (quoted here) is a month old. Good info through the rest of the thread also.

I have toured with both a hammock and a tent.

See my Ohio to Erie tour videos (and picture slide shows towards the ends) for examples:



The hammock is a Warbonnet Blackbird. I forget the weight of material, but it has 2 layers on the bottom. One big requirement I have come to greatly appreciate is (and I do consider it a requirement) is a good quality down underquilt. I use it all year and just change the top insulation.

On to the use cases:

Since this is a cycling thread the frame of reference should be cycling. Over the years I have found a hammock vastly more comfortable than ground dwelling while backpacking, car camping, etc. However, I found after cycling all day my body didn't take well to the hammock. I ride a traditional upright bike (surly disk trucker, namely). If I rode a 'bent that might be different. I have a hard time getting my body to "relax" in the position and "looseness" of the hammock. When I have the rigidity of the firm ground (with pads - I'll talk about that below) I am not as confined and my body is able to "relax" a lot easier.

If you haven't laid in the type of hammock that is in discussion in this thread (the fabric kind that wraps you like a burrito, not the heavy woven cotton rope hammocks with spreader bars you see hanging in yards and on the beach) it would be hard to describe the "looseness". By looseness I mean like when changing sleeping positions you don't have a solid non-movable surface below from which to push against and shift. The whole thing is fabric, it moves, and it is "loose". For me, as much as I have historically been very comfortable in my hammock, adding in back to back days of loaded miles changes the ballgame enormously and under those conditions I find a tent to be the more comfortable option.

All of that having been said -

I will never tour without BOTH. I will stealth camp and the hammock set up is superior for a quick in/out night. If stealth camping is the order of the night I will do dinner and start wrapping up the night down the trail. Then I'll prep everything to the essentials being easy to grab. Then I'll keep on the trail until I find a spot that is convenient, throw up the hammock, and get some shut eye leaving the gear as intact as possible - bags all on the bike etc. That way I can get up, roll up the hammock, and get back moving quick. It's harder to do that with the tent, though I have as I have found some places where I had no where to hang. Again - options.

Something I am trying to figure out is getting a small tent I can stand up in (oxymoron, I know). That is one luxury I would really like to have on tour - a way to get out of the wind and rain/snow with the ability to stand up and take a sponge bath. Its hard to do that on my knees and laying down in the tent I do have (Mountain Hardwear Hammerhead 2).

Something to consider with ground dwelling - whether rolling out a bivy, setting up under the stars, a simple tarp lean-to, what have you - is what you are sleeping on. I have used a Therm A Rest inflatable pad for years and years. After using the one pad for a couple backpacking trips back in the day I went to combining the inflatable with a closed cell blue foam pad (cheap one from Meijer or Walmart). The reason for the combination is I get more padding normally. However, and knock-on-wood it has never happened yet, if my inflatable gets damaged and leaks I still have the foam pad to give me some insulation and padding if the inflatable goes flat overnight.

Unless you have your route planned out exactly and you are able to plan each stop knowing what you are going to get in to then I say having the options of both a hammock and a tent is imperative. With both of them you can cover any scenario you find yourself in. Another bonus to a tent - a GOOD tent - is you will have superior protection over that of a hammock. The Hammerhead 2 tent is a cross between a 3 season and a 4 season tent. I have been very grateful for that flexibility - even if it is a "heavy" tent. The protection has been more than worth it. I just wish I could stand up in it!

headwind15

I started this thread because I was interested in exploring the feasibility of using a hammock on bike tours. I was wondering if tourists get skunked and if so how often or what % of success or failure. A little bit about me... 1) I am what you call frugal. I want a system that protects me from A) mosquitos (I am highly allergic). B) Rain. Since I do not stay in hotels (I mean really don't you feel stupid for rolling your bike up to a hotel, when you have all the gear to lay out somewhere else for free?) 2) I used to stay in campgrounds when they had sites that were "hike & bike" for .50c. Now they only have tent sights and are typically $20. to $24. which just seems like a lot compared to the old .50c rate. I just came back from wild camp touring in Colorado, and it seemed like it would open the door to camp in other places if (with a tent) I was not restricted to places with flat ground to put my tent on. The set up I have decided on at this point is (I know I am going off point here). ride into a town/ tour about/ check out the sights and eventually buy some provisions. Stock up on water. Fill my Pocket Shower with 4 water bottles worth of water, & put it into my (small) transport backpack. Because; showering every day keeps me from crossing the line between man and bum. Clothes washing can be done with the pocket shower as well. I ride out of town, find my sneak camping spot (can be on a hillside) measure out and find trees with suitable distance and put up my hammock & tarp, (if it' s going to rain). I then hang my pocket shower and get wet/ cleaned up, eat dinner and go to sleep. If I am somewhere without trees, I have a ground cover and a sleeping pad. I can just "cowboy camp". If it looks like rain and I want a roof over me, I plan to attach the tarp to my bike seat post and will have to go under it to sleep. Everyone is different. America is the wealthiest country. Most people here have / make so much money; lots of lawyers that make $1,000 hr. that they have lost the feeling for money. I am not one of those people. I know you credit card tourists/ you are out there that don't mind throwing down $200. to get a little sleep. Just not me. Also, I don't see any reason why, if I am without trees and want bug protection, that I can't set the hammock up on the ground.

c_m_shooter

I've been using a Hennessee Hammock for about 10 years. I like it, but one those ETROL mention earlier looks like it would be easier to use if I had to bivy on the ground. I like the idea of poles keeping it shaped. I have tied one end off to the motorcycle, but not to a bicycle when trees were scarce. One night in a state park in Ohio a couple weeks ago I added extra paracord to the foot end to reach an extra 10 feet to a tree, then used the picnic table to support it. Rope doesnt weigh much, carry some extra. The only other issue I have had with the Hennessee is the rainfly is kind of minimalist. One night in a storm a couple years ago the wind was swinging the thing back and fourth so much I was getting a little bit of water on my face every time it swung out from underneath the rainfly.