In a tent, I was cold, sore, and tired - did not sleep a wink at night, rolled around all night trying to be comfortable, ended up frustrated and contemplating a very heavy down mat and a very expensive non-mummy bag.

In a hammock, I sleep all night, unless there are random noises to wake me up. I don't need the bag. I don't need a flat spot. I don't sleep in a banana shape, roll around all night, or get cold.

Recently I picked up a NeoAir as I was going over the Sierra Crest and the chances were good that I would end up on the ground under my tarp somewhere. I did, and while it wasn't as bad as the 1.5" pad on the ground, and I did get some sleep, it's not as good as the hammock. I didn't need to use the hammock as a bivy as the bugs are mostly gone late season. Since there are some regions where it may be harder (not impossible, just harder than I care to fiddle with) to hang a hammock, I am contemplating a tarp tent in addition to it. However - for trips several nights long, where most nights I will be able to hang, you can bet I'll be out in the hammock. Any night spent off the ground is one where I'll get a full eight hours in comfort.

Hammocks do get a lot of sarcastic comments out here in Cali, but as long as I'm sleeping I don't care about skepticism from my hiking group about falling out or getting blown around in the wind. I'm the one sleeping comfortably, waking early, and sipping coffee as the sun rises and they're all moaning about getting up. I was perfectly stable and hardly swaying in the wind while a friend's tent was flapping and straining at the stakes - pitched the hammock head into the wind, staked the tarp to the ground with the end closed, no problem. Cooked on my alcohol stove under the tarp in the dead space while the wind howled. Another campout, a friend had to pack up the muddy, tracked-in-wet-leaves tent to take home to wash and dry - my gear never hit the wet ground. My pack hangs with me in a gear hammock, my clothes are in the hammock shelf (only the Blackbird has a shelf, there are hammocks with pockets) and my shoes sit in the middle of the 10x10 dry spot under my tarp. Everything packs under the tarp and stays dry, and the tarp comes down last to be tucked in a side pocket.

On a recent three day, a friend who will swear by tents because he doesn't like bugs got ants in his tent. I've never had ants or other bugs in the hammock. I treat the straps with permethrin.

Actually, once someone is interested in a hammock, 8 times out of 10, they sell the tent and never look back. You may never understand until you try it, but the difference between a camping hammock and sleeping on the ground is night and day. Some people don't care to bother figuring it out, for others it's the solution to enjoying backpacking without soreness and suffering, so is it any wonder they embrace it like a religion? I wouldn't be backpacking otherwise.