Best Backpacking Hammocks
Sleeping in a hammock instead of a tent is a genuinely good idea in the right place, and the right place is the thing to establish first.
Where a hammock beats a tent: warm humid forest, uneven or rocky ground, anywhere flat dry ground is scarce, and anywhere a tent is stifling. In those conditions it is more comfortable than any sleeping pad.
Where it does not work at all: above the treeline, in the desert, and anywhere the rules forbid it. Always know what your fallback is, which usually means carrying the ability to pitch the tarp on the ground.
The two things everyone gets wrong exactly once:
- Cold from underneath. A hammock compresses your sleeping bag precisely where you need loft, so below about 20C a bag alone does not work. You need an underquilt slung beneath the hammock, or a sleeping pad inside it. This surprises every first-timer.
- No tarp, no dry night. Bug netting stops insects and nothing stops rain. A separate tarp is mandatory kit outside a dry season.
Hanging it properly, which is what separates a flat night from a banana-shaped one: wide webbing straps rather than rope, a hang angle around 30 degrees from horizontal rather than pulled tight, and lie diagonally across the fabric rather than along it.
The practice change since this was written: tree-friendly straps are now expected rather than optional. Thin cord and rope cut into bark, and many parks require wide webbing or ban hammocks entirely. Check the rules where you are going.
Total system weight, honestly: hammock, tarp, straps and underquilt is comparable to a light tent. Choose it for comfort and ground conditions, not to save weight.
Part of the guide to tents and shelter.