hammock camping

[holleybob]

I'm  wanting to do a few over night floats this spring,summer and am starting my planning. I am 51 and have camped and floated since I was 2 years old but I  have never done an multi day float. Originally I had planned to pack a tent and sleeping mats for camping on gravel bars. Pretty standard stuff.  Last night I had someone mention hammock camping. 2 hours of You Tube and I'm  intrigued to say the least.  Now I have always been an anti conformist (4 dollar word for rebel) so the hammock appeals to my nature of doing things differently than everyone else. But I still try to be sensible. So here's  my questions. Has anyone ever camped with a hammock vs a tent? 

Also would anyone see an issue with hammock camping on a river vs a woodland landscape? Obviously you need 2 trees 10 to 12 feet apart to hang a hammock. Trees and gravel bars usually don't  go together.

Any advise is appreciated, 

Jeff

 

[Al Agnew]

That would be my biggest reservation about it.  Gravel bars are so far superior to camping in the woods on Ozark streams that it just doesn't make sense to not utilize their qualities for camping, but if you require two more or less perfect trees, all of a sudden you're going to really be searching for a usable spot.  I think you're trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

[Forsythian]

Great topic Jeff.  I've been intrigued with this style of float camping myself.

I do 2 or 3 multi-day canoe trips a year, always with a tent, and I see where a hammock could have advantages.  I can think of several fishing spots on the 11 point that I would love to put to bed in the evening and wake up to the next morning, but there aren't any good places nearby to pitch a tent.  It seems a hammock would be the way to go on these solo fishing excursions.  Otherwise, a tent on a soft gravel bar is hard to beat.

[tho1mas]

I used them in the Army. Very portable & easy to set up if the trees are available. Use a poncho over a rope to make a rain/dew cover (two sticks across each end to make a tent over it).

You kinda have to learn how to ride them because they will dump you out. Also do not use in cool weather because the air below you will frost your butt.

Try at home first. Good luck & have fun.

[holleybob]

2 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

That would be my biggest reservation about it.  Gravel bars are so far superior to camping in the woods on Ozark streams that it just doesn't make sense to not utilize their qualities for camping, but if you require two more or less perfect trees, all of a sudden you're going to really be searching for a usable spot.  I think you're trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Al, I've  been trying to fit that square peg into a round hole all of my life! It's  taken many years of being the most misunderstood guy in the room to finally realize that there are some advantages of thinking that way.  Everyone knows the saying "thinking outside the box". I was 40 years old before I  realized there was a box! Anyway your comments are certainly appreciated and they hold great value. There is usually a reason for the "norm".  

Maybe I'll pack both on my first go round and just see what happens.

Jeff

[holleybob]

1 hour ago, tho1mas said:

I used them in the Army. Very portable & easy to set up if the trees are available. Use a poncho over a rope to make a rain/dew cover (two sticks across each end to make a tent over it).

You kinda have to learn how to ride them because they will dump you out. Also do not use in cool weather because the air below you will frost your butt.

Try at home first. Good luck & have fun.

 

[holleybob]

17 minutes ago, holleybob said:

 

I actually and more concerned with warm weather and bugs than with cold weather. But I do believe I  would be restricted to cool, not cold weather.  I have a pop up camper that I have used in sub zero weather. The sleeping area on a pop up hovers over open ground and cold open air. My remedy was to wrap the bottom,open area with a tarp letting the tarp hang down to the ground. I then would take coals from the campfire place them into a metal 5 gallon bucket and place inside the area covered by the tarp (under the sleeping area). Worked great and I never even used my portable heater.

Jeff

 

[holleybob]

36 minutes ago, holleybob said:

I actually and more concerned with warm weather and bugs than with cold weather. But I do believe I  would be restricted to cool, not cold weather.  I have a pop up camper that I have used in sub zero weather. The sleeping area on a pop up hovers over open ground and cold open air. My remedy was to wrap the bottom,open area with a tarp letting the tarp hang down to the ground. I then would take coals from the campfire place them into a metal 5 gallon bucket and place inside the area covered by the tarp (under the sleeping area). Worked great and I never even used my portable heater.

I guess I should finish my thought. Sorry my tablet crashed on me. Anyway I'm wondering if the same process could be used in cooler weather using a coffer can or burying coals to sleep over. The downside would be the possibility of torching my shelter.

 

 

[Al Agnew]

Sounds like a good idea to take along the hammock as well as normal tent and pad.  That way if a nice spot to hang it presents itself you can give it a shot.

Another idea is to buy a hammock with its own frame.  I had one at one time that had a take-apart round steel frame, so you didn't need trees.  If the frame is easy to assemble and disassemble and you're in a boat that has the space for it, you'd be set.  It certainly wouldn't be a problem in a canoe.

As for the coals underneath the hammock, sounds like a good idea, except I'd be a bit afraid of accidentally dumping myself out of the hammock in the middle of the night and landing on the coals!

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