Lori, it seems to me as though the virtues you are assigning to a hammock are more properly those of the tarp you choose to take with it. And yes, tarp camping is great whether one hangs a hammock under it or just tosses down a pad and bag. My comments on hammocks in my earlier post were aimed more at those hammocks which with I have experience: hammocks that resemble suspended bivy sacks. That is what I had in mind when I was talking about sitting out a storm. I have tried burito-style hammocks in the past, including using it in the afore-mentioned three day storm; I didn't have much fun that time. And, being a side-sleeper, I have never been able to get as comfortable in a hammock as I can be on the ground.