Hammock for over night hunt?

[TJH24]

Has anyone ever used a hammock for and overnight hunt? We will be in SW Montana later September and I was considering using a hammock for a one night overnight hunt. Pros? Cons? I haven't heard of too many guy's doing it. This would only be if the weather was decent.

[Lefty]

ooops

[Lefty]

I know many guys do like hammocks. A number of my scouts like sleeping in them in the summer. however each seems to be in the fetal position in the morning One huge disadvantage is your sleeping bag generally isnt enough to have below you for warmth. I haven't met any adult who has used a pad with a hammock and is satisfied.
for a short siesta Im fine byt for me a hammock gave me a sore ackhey back if more than an hour. a buddy of mines father has an expensive/ real nice hammock, suspended betrween two metal supports. Sleeps more like a cot,. he loves it
Try one at home before making the trip
I know their is a group of winter campers that use hammocks You might try to find their site

[powderhogg01]

I have used a hammock, I found that unless I took my sleeping pad it was not very good rest. with a solid sleeping pad in there it was great. It allowed me to have camp anywhere no matter what the terrain was.

[JimKirk]

i find them very comfortable. I bought a cheap closed cell foam pad and cut it in half and put that under my torso for insulation. without anything its chilly. underquilts are the ticket but pretty spendy. very convenient and sets up in a few minutes. you also need a tarp to put overhead if it rains. very-very comfy though.

[Njdiverdan]

I am making the switch to a hammock this year. With the right hammock you can lay pretty flat once you are on a diagonal. There is a post right now on rok slide about hammocks and I would recommend you check out the hammock forum.

With the right set up they are very comfortable. And you do not need a flat clear spot to set up.

[Lefty]

Powder, Dan and Jim
Kind of curious,.. about how old are you guys?

[G Posik]

My cousin uses a hammock for all elk season. He loves his and said he never has a sore back in the mornings. He has said there was a time or two he would like to of had more insulation under him. He is 55 yo.

[Njdiverdan]

43. But I have really bad knees. Crawling in and out of my ground shelter is no fun. Granted, this will be my first year hanging, but so far I really like the comfort.

[powderhogg01]

I will be 29 end of the month

[elk.addict]

If you're planning on doing a hammock, I hope you plan on using a good under quilt. It hit 11° on me last September... Was warm and toasty on my insulated pad. I would of froze in my hammock (I haven't tried the under quilt, but I hear they work very well in cold conditions)

[Navesgane]

If the weather is in your favor and weight and terrain is a factor, I would say go for it, especially if its only going to be for a night. I love sleeping in my hammock and although mine has a bug net that I can drape a tent fly over if the weather is iffy, I still prefer my 1 person tent if I know I will have a flat area to pitch it on. I would recommend a good insulated pad and bag. I find a foam pad is more friendly than an inflatable in the hammock. Inflatable pads that I have (thermarest) are just to rigid and dont form as well as a foam one.

[Clawsar]

I'm testing out hammocks this year as well. Spent a couple nights over Memorial Day weekend scouting and it gave me a realistic expectation. I used an inflatable pad to maintain warmth underneath. The pad does try to poop out from underneath you, but I was able to squirm around fine most of the time. First night I think we slept for about 11 hours. I've never slept so well on the ground and rarely that well in a bed. It got sub freezing and we were about 50 feet below the snow line. The benefit I see is that I can be on steep hills and I don't have to beat down every bush to find a spot for one tent. I'll let you know how it goes this year. I'm in Northwest Montana and I'm 28 go what it's worth

[Tigger]

In my very limited experience, they just dont seem comfortable enough for an entire night. I would practice at home!

[nwilt]

I am taking the plunge in hunting out of one this year as well. I find them very comfortable - especially since I am a back sleeper, but I have never tried using one in the fall/colder weather. We are backpacking into a wilderness area for a week or so in eastern Oregon over by Idaho, so I wanted something light but comfortable. I am making a synthetic underquilt for insulation, and from what I have been reading, it looks like they work well down into the teens/twenties depending on the type of insulation and thickness. Lower than that, and you would probably want a down quilt as long as you aren't too worried about it getting wet. A lot of people are happy with closed cell foam mats, which are quite inexpensive and not too heavy. I would be nervous with one below the 30's, but I don't have any info other then what I have read on it to substantiate that nervousness. My hammock/quilt/underquit all compresses down to the size of my old sleeping bag (although it wasn't an ultralight backpacking bag) so I am happy with it. Like Tigger said, if you do want to go for it, sleep a night or two at your home to get your suspension/setup worked out!

[Kleinpm]

I hammock camp several times a year - mainly islands on the Yellowstone River but also some back country stuff. I have a down under quilt and a synthetic under quilt, as well as a down top quilt. I made them all to keep the cost down using fairly inexpensive down from pillows.

I have never been cold with a hammock and under quilt rated to 40 degrees even though it has been in the low 30's several times. My wife is always toasty warm with the down quilt rated to 20 degrees.

With my hammock, tarp, down top and under quilt my total camp packs down very small and is very comfortable. However, to get it that way I have fiddled around a lot.

Good luck. I sleep like crap on the ground and like a baby in a hammock.

Patrick

[Indian Summer]

I'm a stomach sleep so that's out.