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I've never tried a hammock, but I have looked at a lot of pictures of them and read a lot of posts about how great they are.

Having spent time in a tent in heavy rain and light snow showers, I just can't see myself cooped up in a hammock all day or night. I like being able to set out my gear, get out some nibbles and a book and enjoy being warm and dry with plenty of room to sit up, change clothes and not worry about getting wet.


I thought that way too until I tried it. I've found that as far as that goes a hammock is even nicer than a tent. The reason is that the tarp protects not only the hammock but the space under the hammock.

Picture my homemade setup: an 8x10 tarp pitched about shoulder height in an A-frame configuration. The homemade hammock is tied to the same trees and without my weight it hangs only 18 inches or so below the peak of the tarp (with me inside it hangs lower such that when I sit up in the hammock my head just misses the tarp). So when I get out of the hammock I'm still under the tarp. The space under there is protected from rain and is about as large as a tent or a tarp pitched with trekking poles. The difference is that my sleeping bag is not in the way because it's up in the "attic", so to speak. So all that space is really mine to move around in. I can't stand up but I can't do that in a tent either or under a tarp pitched to trekking poles. I keep my pack under there (inside a garbage bag for extra protection) so I can get out and go through my gear and find what I need while still being dry.

There's no floor in this space so it's not like a tent in that way. I guess the way to think about it is that it's like having a tent with a vestibule that is 10 feet long and 4 feet high.

Now what I've said really only applies if it's just heavy precipitation with no wind. If there is wind then you are safe in the hammock because you are up close to the tarp but when you get out you are exposed to windblown rain. So it's not as protected as an enormous vestibule.

I'm far from being a hammock expert. But having enough protected space just hasn't been an issue for me.

Okay, here is one difference that occurs to me that is a downside to the hammock compared to the tent while hunkering down in a downpour. In a 2-person tent you can play cards or whatever. A hammock is a one-person shelter. My daughter and I pitch ours close together so we can talk but we can't see each other. That would ruin the "togetherness" if we really had to hide from storm that lasted all day.