Whenever I would travel around the United States, I would often lug around a large heavy tent to set up wherever I wanted to camp for the night. This past year, however, I switched from bringing a tent to a hammock and, for many reasons, this change has made my camping experiences much more enjoyable overall. These are the three biggest reasons why hammock camping is much more preferable to tent camping when traveling.
Hammock Camping Is Far More Convenient to Pack and Transport
Tents are often the largest single item most people bring on camping trips and can range from 2-4 pounds. The large size additionally makes it difficult to hike with the tent transport to the desired camping site. In contrast, Grand Trunk hammocks can weigh as little as 12 ounces (.75 lbs) and collapse into the size of a small pouch that can be easily carried in even the smallest bag. This also helps with traveling internationally where any extra bag space is at a premium.
Hammocks can also serve as makeshift pillows and blankets, making them overall much more useful than tents. Hammocks can also be quickly set up and taken down, making the camping experience much more fun and convenient overall.
Hammocking Elevates You from the Ground
One of the biggest drawbacks from sleeping in a tent is that you have to sleep on the ground on top of rocks and around other insects or animals. Additionally, because many tent ground tarps are very thin, this leads to an often-uncomfortable and difficult sleeping environment.
However, switching from tent camping to hammock camping allows you to be elevated several feet above the ground away from any rocks or animals in the area. Also, being elevated provides much greater ventilation and an overall greater sleeping environment compared to conventional tent camping.
Related Reading: Health Benefits of Sleeping Outside
Hammocks Can Be Set up in More Places than Tents
Finding a perfectly flat or smooth surface on the ground is often very frustrating with a tent and not doing so leads to an uncomfortable night of sleep. Fortunately using a hammock bypasses this by allowing you to set up your ‘tent’ anywhere you see two trees within 12 feet from each other.
Hammock camping also allows you to get closer to and camp in much more scenic landscapes like mountains, lakes or rivers.
Overall, I found that by bringing a hammock with me I have enjoyed my experience much more and this has provided me much greater flexibility when I travel. Which is always nice!
Written By: Jason from Worldpins
