Hammock vs Ground Camping - The Results are Surprising

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There's no doubt Hammock camping is growing in popularity. Especially in recent years. With more and more people ditching traditional ground setups and climbing to higher ground in hammocks, we have to ask ourselves:

Which system is actually superior? Can this be clearly measured? That’s exactly what we’ve set out to discover in this week’s video. We will explore pros, cons, price, weights, and more!

“Hammock vs Ground Camping. The Results are Surprising.”

Pros and Cons to a Hammock Sleep System

Pros
- Superior Comfort (In my opinion.)
- Consistency
- Faster setup & Take-down
- Easier setup & Take-down in bad weather
- No condensation
- Better suited for day napping
- More space because you can pitch your tarp high, low, etc.

Cons
- Need a place to hang
- Less Shelter - Bad weather can be worse
- Need a beanie/face mask

Pros and Cons to a Ground Sleep System

Pros
- Tents are better suited for bad weather
- You can spread out on long Nights (winter months)
- Retain a little more warmth inside a tent body

Cons
- Longer setup / take-down times
- Finding the right spot / getting stakes in can be tricky
- You must avoid rocks and sloped ground
- Tents are harder to keep clean because they're in the dirt
- Condensation can build up within a tent.

As always thanks for watching. Which system do you prefer? Feel like we missed something? Let us know in the comments!

Great Outdoor Vitals Gear:

Backpacks:

Shelters:

Sleeping Bags:

TopQuilts:

Underquilts:

Sleeping Pads:

Hammocks:

Pillows/Balaclavas/Booties:

Jackets and Hoodies:

Pants/Shorts:

Dragonwool:

Merch:

Membership:

[danwalbolt]

Biggest advantage of hammock camping for me is one I rarely see mentioned--it's not having to get on hands and knees to get in and out of a tent!

[bushputz]

One advantage you didn't cover is site selection.
I went on a hiking trip with my nephew and his wife. We would hike for most of the day and then set up camp. One day, it started to get pretty late and we hadn't yet found a good site. They finally set up their tent on the most level patch of ground they could find. They spent a good amount of time trying to level and prep the ground underneath their tent, but they still said they felt like they were going to slide down the side of the mountain all night, and had buried rocks and roots poking into their backs.
On the other hand, I just found a couple of trees about 15 feet apart, set up my tarp and hammock, and went to sleep. The ground underneath me was littered with rocks and sloped away so much that when I accidentally dropped a water bottle, it rolled about 10 feet downhill.

[MrPatchPlays]

I appreciate the fact that you clarified "our products" several times, very transparent of you m8

[AmericanInfluance]

I think it’s important to note that tent campers often bring a tarp to put under the tent to make a barrier from the dirt and mud. Although it still gets dirty.

[joshuaboyd]

He forgot to mention temperature issues. Hammocks are vastly more comfortable during warmer months. You can always get into a sleeping bag or add an under/top quilt if you are cold, but I can not begin to describe to you how much easier it is to sleep on a sticky summer night when you have the breeze blowing under you on a hammock . Tents, to me, just act like a big greenhouse and I always wake up covered in sweat on summer mornings as soon as the sun comes up.

This doesn't apply to everyone, but the ridgeline on a hammock rain fly is the perfect place to place a tiny solar panel if you are the type of person that likes to keep your devices charged on the trail. Never know when you are gonna need to make a call, and having a device that is topped off gives you piece of mind should anything happen.

Hammock camping is where it's at for me.

[natem.]

When I hammock camp I don't use an underquilt, I just stick my thermarest in the hammock under my sleeping back and it works great

[ivanalban]

Newbie here! I'm 60 and a photographer. I am excited about adopting backpacking into my photography adventures. Your videos are thorough and a wealth of information, especially for a novice like myself. I'm looking forward to exploring more of your store. Thank you!

[mikelatta]

I've been camping in a hammock for over 30 years. There really isn't any saving in weight or real estate in your pack. I'm warmer in a hammock and I never sleep on a rock, root, or chigger infested weeds. It's not for everyone. But it is for me.

[jegr]

This guy has got a legitimate wizard beard

[missredumbrella]

Sleep in my hammock every night now...for the past year. Had a back operation a few years back and a flat bed kills me....so here I am just swinging 😊😊😊

[shanecarter]

I definitely agree that there is a sense of “home” or “security” in a tent.
I sometimes get the heebeejeebees in the Woods and a tent makes me feel more secure. I know it’s a false sense of security but it works for me.
Also I like to have my crap spread out all around me in the tent and you just can’t do that in a hammock

[NuclearFacility]

Very interesting. In the summers I’ve always just thrown my 0 degree bag in a $10 hammock I found on amazon. Weighs near nothing and out here in the West nights are usually pretty warm and the hammock keeps me from sleeping too warm. In the colder seasons I usually opt for a canvas bedroll with a good quality pad. Makes camping compact and easy to throw on a horse or motorcycle. The bedroll is heavy but sure makes sleeping warm when it’s cold out. For my personal circumstances those are my ideal lighter weight minimalistic camping preferences.

[BillDeWeese]

Great video. I think you covered a lot of bases and offered a fair comparison. I've been a long term tent camper who has been hammock camping whenever possible for the last year or so. I have seen a lot of youth and adults over the years talk up the cost and weight benefits of hammock camping only to see that they have a fairly difficult time enjoying the experience, especially in adverse conditions, as they have saved both money and weight by leaving critical components behind.

I have found that once you add everything in (and camping here in FL or the Southeast also demands s bug net), you are close to equivalent in both weight and cost. So I think that is the more objective part and your video bears out what I have experienced as well.

Onto the more subjective part and that is comfort. Over years of camping, I've spent on a great tent, excellent inflatable thermal ground pad, inflatable pillow and even a nice liner for the ground pad. Honestly, I can't imagine what I could spend more on. Despite that, I wind up waking up about every hour when sleeping in a tent. I'm a side sleeper and move around quite a bit and that leads to wake ups. Probably two hours is the longest sleep segment. Not a huge problem for a weekend, but after five days in Ten Thousand Islands a year ago, that poorer quality sleep adds up after the third night.

Whether skinnied down for mild weather camping or full under/overquilted 40 degree camping back in January of this year, I routinely sleep for upwards of four hours without waking, especially after I got the Ridgeline dialed in. So, again it's subjective, but for me (with cost/weight being equal) that quality of sleep is significantly better.

Also, I don't like to bear the weight of carrying a chair, but for long term backcountry backpack trips, the hammock does double as a rest for the back and legs on the trail throughout the hike.

Unfortunately here in FL a lot great places (State Parks, etc) prohibit in hammocks tied to trees, and when camping in large groups you can run out of ideal tree setups pretty quickly, so the tent is certainly more foolproof.

[mzmPACman]

Totally agree, I have both and use both. Very well-reasoned. I too prefer hammocks whenever possible, but for treeless areas and severe weather, tents/tarps are better.

[glendas.mckinney]

If you watch Amazon and REI Garage, the tarp and hammock can easily be half that price. But throw in a sleeve for even quicker setup or takedown!

[jamesongiamo]

I think this is a great beginning resource for someone to understand the cost of getting into backpacking. I appreciate you taking the time to do this and your transparency saying you are products. I also appreciate you doing the research to figure out these weights and describe it in the amount of time that you did. I think they getting into backpacking has a lot of barriers for people and I appreciate people that try to remove these

[syarizansulaiman]

Luckily I'm live at Asian is tropical weather, so no need topquild & underquild just add mosquito net.
Tent in my places is like sleeping in oven

[aroundoz]

That was valuable especially the pros and cons. However, it's challenging to compare the prices of each system since there are way too many variables. You really need to include the tent body too unless you are fortunate enough to live in a bug free environment and that would really increase the tent overall cost. Also, in summer months, a hammock is much less expensive and lighter since you don't need insulation other than a bag.

[joemikeska]

Very good video between the two systems. I’m actually quite the opposite as you. After my first sub freezing trip in a hammock this past winter, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to a tent in those temperatures. A good quilt system in a hammock is exponentially more comfortable and warmer than on the ground.
Otherwise, very nice video.

[DonaldBurdek]

I'd beg to differ on the cost... My hammock setup all in for EVERYTHING for my initial setup was around $80 total. Granted, some of what I started with was repurposed from other gear I already had and I can get down to about 30°.