My Heart to Hammocks 

It's been an interesting year since I've switched from traditional tents, to the more modern, lightweight,  and overall more comfortable hammock. Since the switch, I've been able to pack more and camp longer, pack light and go further, or spur of the moment, quick set up camp for a one night excursion. The versatility of the hammock allows one night trips to be a possibility, as set up time takes a fraction compared to that of traditional tents. Along with the plethora of uses in a camping environment, the hammock proves to be enjoyable in urban environments. Skeptical at first, I'm glad I tossed out my tent and bought a few hammock,  here's my take.

My Grand Trunk 'Super life-weight' two person hammock weighs in at a mere 20 ounces. That's 3.75 pounds lighter than my two person Marmot tent. That does't seem like much, but when packing for a backpacking trip, 3.75 pounds can make an enormous difference. When thinking about making long distance, week long backpacking trips, efficiently packing is one of the most important things you can do. Keeping in mind food, clothing, bedding, cook wear, and much more, the weight of your pack adds up quick, and that 3.75 pounds will either let me eat more, or tread lighter. The extra weight saved from the hammock has definitely made it my staple for backpacking in the warm summer months.

Along with the versatility from being as lightweight as it is, the hammocks set-up time is also much less my tent, making one nighters a more possible, and frequent occurrence! With a good enough idea of how I'm going to set up, it takes me approximately two minutes to set up my hammock, where as it takes me around 15 minutes to set up my two person, and 20+ to set up my five person. It's not to say 15 minutes is too extraordinarily long for my short attention span to sit through, but the hassle of battling through setting up a tent has stopped me from many one night trips. With my hammock, that is no longer a problem.

The hammock is not without its critics. Attacks from animals, rain, temperature, wind, and many others, the hammock was commonly thought to be a joke for a means of camping, until recently! The most important thing to keep in mind when thin

king about the shortcomings of hammocks is common sense. If the weather forecast provides rain for a stretch of days, bring a tent, or at least bring a tarp to create a canopy. If you're in an area where bears are known to be, place the hammock higher in the air. And if it's 10 degrees, you shouldn't be camping unless you have a sleeping bag equipped to handle those temperatures, and if you do, hammock camping is possible!

With the addition of hammocks being a positive aspect to my camping outfit, I think with the right common sense they would be to anyone.

I mean come on.. Don't I look comfy? (Very poor quality)