camping hammocks?

stumbled across camping hammocks on the weekend and got fascinated by them. anyone used them before? they seem like they’d be pretty useful for bike touring, quicker to set up then a tent and more scope for just pulling off the road and making a camp anywhere you can get a bike, even if there’s no flat ground. of course, i guess you’d get some strange looks as well.
here’s a pretty illustrative video of a higher end one
YouTube - ‪Clark NX-250, NX-150 Jungle Hammocks - Made in USA‬‏
and here’s a cheaper ebay one minus rain tarp Hammock Jungle Camping Nylon Net Hammock Army 2.5m | eBay

that’s pretty cheap. i’d probably go for a higher end one though, it wouldn’t be fun if it snapped halfway through the night, and you’d want rain protection.
hell of a lot smaller than my swag though

Hennessy Hammock

What Tom said. Plus insulating mat if camping in the cold, you lose a lot of heat out the bottom. (hurr hurr)

I’ve looked into buying one of these. I thought that given the lack of trees in certain areas of Australia (nulabor anyone?), I felt it kinda limited where I could go touring. I’m sure the eastern states would be fine but finding suitable trees (of size and distance apart) everywhere else might be difficult? If trees are plentiful then I don’t think you could do much better, they’re very light, pack down small and you off the ground.

the ebay linked company has a slightly thicker model that can be used as a swag style tent flat on the ground, the ends unbunch to make a rectangle tent which can be held up by shock-cording the roof to a bike or post.
i don’t think it’s suitable for every occasion, but considering how small they fold up for storage at home when not being used especially, and the low entry cost of the cheaper alternatives to the hennessy and clark brands, seems like a nice bow to have in the camping quiver.

Perfect for those who miss being inside a vagina.

Hank: Uh, hi, Homer. What can I do for you?
Homer: Sir, I need to know where I can get some business hammocks.
Hank: Hammocks? My goodness, what an idea. Why didn’t I think of that?
Hammocks! Homer, there’s four places. There’s the Hammock Hut,
that’s on third.
Homer: Uh-huh.
Hank: There’s Hammocks-R-Us, that’s on third too. You got
Put-Your-Butt-There?
Homer: Mm-Hmm.
Hank: That’s on third. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot… Matter of fact,
they’re all in the same complex; it’s the hammock complex on
third.
Homer: Oh, the hammock district.
Hank: That’s right.

y’know lyndon, i’m not sure what’s going on with you. you’re a new dad, so therefore all of your jokes should be suitably bad.

but recently, you’ve been coming out with absolute comedy gold. this is another great example.

gold star

^ Oh don’t worry, my dad jokes are some of my finest material…and Violet loves them!

I used them when i was trekking in Borneo. Actually really comfy. But I didn’t have a matt on the bottom and did loose a fair bit of heat, but given it was a rainforest this wasn’t such a disaster. There is usually room for your bits and bobs too. Pack can go underneath you, and is largely protected from rain.

i ended up buying one a while back, have slept in it 4 nights straight, and a few other times. very comfortable when positioned right, one of the best nights sleep camping i have had, you do need a foam mat or similar inside to cut out the cold on the bottom, and a hanging bag inside is useful so that all your things like phone, wallet and book and torch don’t end up at the very bottom and hard to reach. getting dressed inside one is a dilemma as well.

now i am looking at a 4 man tent as well, because i haven’t managed to convince any of my friends to buy hammocks. are there any good international sites to buy camping gear from? i like some things on REI but their shipping rates are quite pricey till they plateau at around $300,

try backcountry.com

I’ve been looking at these recently too… Need a Tentsile.



check out bikepacking.com for ideas about really light tents/shelters.

There are some that use the bike as one ‘pole’ of a really simple tarp tent, thought probably no good for aust most of the year cos no insect cover.

Also consider that a 4 person tent is gonna be big, harder to find spot just off the road to setup, maybe 2x 2 person tents?

re: the tentsile, i wouldn’t be comfortable that high up with those seams, there would be a lot of stress on them.

the hammock i got can also be set up as a small tent on the ground, with the ridgeline strung up to a bike i imagine, though it wouldn’t hold up to wind like that.
the 4 man tent need for is car camping, not cycling, so weight is not really a big issue. footprint size is a good point though,
backcountrydotcom looks ok, but they don’t give shipping quotes until you enter all your personal details.
REI still looks pretty good price wise. is there any british companies like wiggle for camping and hiking gear?

backwoods revival.

all you need to do is put in the country as australia at the checkout, you can leave every other box blank and it will still give you a shipping quote. i just did that for a marmot 4-person tent and it quoted shipping as $50, no idea how that compares to REI.

Home Page - Ultralight Outdoor Gear
UK. Very good prices.

Amazon is also pretty good. But you’ll need to search a bit because lots of brands are sold as US-only. But I recently purchased an MSR tent off Amazon for a very good price.

Also check out http://www.mainpeak.com.au/ for an Aussie online seller. They often have good sales and the pricing is competitive.

As for hammocks, go Hennessy. Or just suck up the sweat and use a bivy bag!

How do I get in this space pod?