The Essential Hammock Camping Checklist

Camping itself is a lot of fun, although when we typically think of camping there is always a tent involved. While tent camping is great, if you want to get even more immersed in your surroundings, try staying overnight in a hammock. It is a totally different world when you are sleeping in a hammock.

As a tent camper, just think about how you feel about people sleeping in a camper. Some of you may say “That’s not camping!”. Well there is a similar comparison between a tent and a hammock. If you love to be immersed in the outdoors, you need to try out hammock camping, and here I am going to show you all the specialized gear you are going to need.

1 | A Hammock

The most important aspect to hammock camping is, of course, a hammock. You can typically get a cheap nylon hammock for around $60. These hammocks will work great in nearly every situation. They make much more expensive hammocks, but really all you need is the basics when it comes to the hammock itself.

These nylon hammocks work fairly well. They are durable and are nearly stand alone units during the summer months. Although when the colder months come around, you are going to need much more than a nylon hammock to stay warm. The wind will go right through the nylon material and just sucks the heat right off of your back. Thankfully there is more gear on this list to solve this problem.

2 | Hammock Straps

To sleep in your hammock you need to be able to hang it up. You can expect to spend about $20 on a nice set of hammock straps. I highly recommend getting straps and not just using paracord or rope. 

If you do use paracord, you will likely wake up with your butt touching the ground. Paracord is a strong material, but it stretches quite a bit. While you sleep in the hammock over night, you are putting a constant load on that paracord and it is going to stretch every time. All and all, you will not regret buying actual hammock straps.

3 | Sleeping Bag

The first thing we are going to use to stay warm is a sleeping bag. This is a requirement in the fall or winter. You will not last very long in just your bare clothes in a nylon hammock during an October night. A sleeping bag will make your hammock super comfortable and will make you reluctant to ever get out of it

There are plenty of different kinds of sleeping bags, but the basic sleeping bag will do just fine. Although getting in a sleeping bag and getting in a hammock is an art that will take you a while to master… You can get in it before or after you get in the hammock, but it is fairly tough either way.

4 | Underquilt

An underquilt is what is really going to make all the difference. This is a roll that looks sort of like a hammock itself, but it hangs under your hammock. This is going to keep the wind off of your back and it will also keep you insulated. 

When you are hanging your under quilt, you want to make sure that you are hanging it a few inches below the actual hammock. That lets you have a few inches of air between the two, which acts like a natural insulator and will keep you warmer than if you just cinch it right up to the hammock.

These underquilts also act like a pod system. Meaning that they can actually come up and over your hammock, and even zip closed. This makes your whole set up a bit like a tent with extra steps. Personally, I only pull the underquilt up when it is super cold out.

5 | Rain Tarp

Unlike a tent, a hammock does not have a roof. So you need to have something to protect you from the elements. A tarp will keep you from getting rained on, and is a necessity in any weather. Even when rain is not in the forecast, the morning dew can get you wet and make your hammock much colder.

A rain tarp can also make you warmer. This one is not as obvious, but if you hang your tarp a bit lower it will actually help insulate you. If you hang it about two foot higher than where you want to be laying, your body heat will be reflected a little bit. This makes the air surrounding you much warmer than it would be if your tarp was five or so feet above you.

6 | Bug Net

Lastly, you need a bug net. I hate bugs, like really hate them. So if I am not in a tent that can keep them out, I need to have a bug net that will. There is nothing worse than getting your hammock all set up and being excited to sleep in it, just to have it be inhospitable come nightfall due to a million mosquitoes. Plus bug nets are not very expensive so it is better to have one and not need it than need it and not have it.

7 | The Camping Essentials

So this whole list is just about what you need to bring to specifically hammock camp. There are still plenty of things to bring to just camp in general. What are you going to eat? How will you make a fire? What will you drink? What is your entertainment going to be? You see where I am going with this. Thankfully we have a whole checklist that you can easily download here to make sure you have everything you are going to need to go camping, other than your hammock gear.

READ IT HERE

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