Originally Posted By phat


So when you get into arguments of "weight neutrality" it starts to get silly because you often end up comparing two setups that for the same person may be completely different wrt their comfort. I need to carry a lot of weight of inflatable matteress to even come close to my comfort level in my hammock. Other people (such as my brother, the lucky dog who just passes out on nothing..) simply don't.



In the end, it all comes back around to tolerance levels and compromises. I know folks who sleep on the ground who never sleep - they climb in to get warm and rest, but roll around all night, uncomfortable, accepting that the price they pay for enjoying the outdoors is the discomfort. And one guy does it so he can be "ultralight" - he can't figure out why I hammock. I can't figure out why he likes not-sleeping on a 1/4" foam pad. But that's okay for both of us.

I am of a mind that I am safer on a long backpack if I can sleep - and since I only get an hour or so (in five minute increments) on the ground, and once slept for 10 hours without waking in the hammock, it's easy to guess where I'm going to compromise to be able to sleep in a hammock as much as I can. A few nights over a ten day outing on the ground isn't going to kill me - very little sleep might end badly with me making a fatal miscalculation on the trail. And I don't much care for the scenario where I don't sleep for days and crash and burn one night out of exhaustion.

I'm a light backpacker. Last trip I was at 20 lbs inclusive of food, and I overpacked for an overnight backpack. The three tent users I went with were at 50, 45, and 30, respectively. Comparing a tent setup and a hammock setup is just impossible - it's not really hard to be lighter than someone else regardless of what they use. I cut corners on kitchen and work on layering clothing rather than using bulky stuff so I can take the hammock and associated gear.
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