HelloShug here... Hey if you're familiar with my Channel at all you know that most of my stuff
probably 88.3 percent of it is hammock related if you're new to the channel and just clicked on
it because you saw a hammock or the word hammock um that's my explanation and I think I'm a little
bit guilty of always showing the great parts of a hammock you know the the pros this is going to be
a pro and con video but I'm going to focus on the cons because yes there are some cons to Hammocks
nothing is perfect in this world as my mother said not even I so today
we're going to go over the cons and the pros but mainly the cons so this video here is mainly about
camping hammocks it's about people that go backpacking and go out and sleep in their
hammocks one of the misconceptions when you get into hammocks and I was guilty of this too and
and still sometimes I am but then realization just pow hits me in the face oh you kind of think that
it's a speed competition that you're going to be faster setting up than your friends in a tent this
ain't true Slappy so you get to places and you have to sometimes find trees the tree spacing
may not be just right it might be the perfect 12 or 17 feet or 20 feet or whatever it is you
use depending on the length of your hammock there might be things growing in between you might see
the perfect trees you get over there in a big pile of trees is falling down between it it's going to
be tons of work to clear if clearable at all there might be tons of brush Vines Poison Ivy the trees
might be dead the trees might be really tiny so oftentimes a hammock person has to go out or as
I like to call them a hammocker you have to go out and kind of find a place you have to search around
you know you gotta check the perimeter look around and often you'll find the perfect place but if you
think you're going to set up quicker than your tent folks or usually get to a campsite there's
a semi-level spot they throw their tent down bing bang Bop they're up you're still looking around
for the perfect trees checking for widowmakers and widowmakers apply to tent campers too it's not
just a hammock thing so that's one of the things you are not going to set up don't make it a speed
competition take your time enjoy playing with your toy enjoy the setup there's some people that like
to set up the minute they get to Camp there's other people like me I like to drop my pack kind
of look around a little bit jet because sometimes after you set up your hammock you're walking
around securing the perimeter and you just see the perfect place and oftentimes I take my hammock
down and go there so there's that you know I think these days especially one of the cons and it's
also a good thing but it can be a con if you're new is uh just suspension choices now there's so
many more suspension options because there's a lot of people that have got in and evolved
these suspensions and then it's another thing that you know hammocks are kind of customizable
customizable is that a word you can customize your hammock no I like they're customizable so you know
you might buy a hammock that has one suspension like daisy chain and decide you want something
lighter something less stretchy something easier something a little more complex you don't want
any hardware you want to tie knots so these days oh man way too many options with suspensions and
really a lot of other hammock stuff so I kind of consider that a con because even for me it's too
much but when you're new it just adds to the complexity of all the choices you have yeah I
consider this a pro but it could be a con because if you get a hammock and you get dialed in you
become a hammock person or hammocker and that's your main ride now you'll do anything you can
to use your hammock when you go camping is you're going to sleep longer you're not going to want to
get out I remember in my tent days you know I get five hours of sleep it wasn't like I was dying to
get up but I was usually kind of rolling over and tossing and turning in the morning in your hammock
you kind of don't want to get out and for me my sleep has increased to 10 or 11 hours sometimes
12. particularly in the winter when it gets dark so early early and uh so some people that like to
get up and go uh they may find that a con that they're just sleeping longer hey man enjoy it
we need sleep when we can get it a lot of people when they're new they freak out about gear storage
you know I can't I can put everything in there and get my vestibule so with hammocks you know
you got a tarp you got your hammock I don't have my Ridgeline organizer up here but I do I have a
video which I'll link below on a lot of options out there these days of things that'll hook to
your hammock to store things in you know where you put your pack and how you hang your pack for
me I just put my stuff on the ground next to my hammock under my tarp a small piece of plastic
I've been carrying around for 20 something years I sat it on some people like to hang their pack off
a tree like my buddy Hickory some people like to hang it off their hammock suspension uh what do I
do with my shows what do I do with my clothes what do I do with my boots what I do with all my little
bits and Bobs you know do I use a ground cloth do I not these are the things you're going to face I
can't tell you whether you do or not everybody's different there's not an easy answer on it but
you will figure it out believe me you will figure it out but I just put my pack on the ground right
next to me in fact I have a couple of videos and I'll put them below that I did on how to
store your stuff or at least what I do with mine so don't let that worry it too much you know it
sometimes it depends on the size of your tarp if you go with a bigger tarp you'll have more room to
kind of get everything under there with you some people use a second hammock and put things in that
you're going to own more than one hammock if you get into hammocks when you get your first
one whether it's an Eno or whether someone loans you one and I say Eno because they're readily
available almost anywhere go to any Camp store REI Walmart they usually sell Eno hammocks or
some sort of a hammock that's kind of a big box company you'll buy one you'll try it out you'll
go oh I like this I might use this for camping and then you'll deal with your insulation and your top
quilt or using your sleeping bag as a top quilt or you know rolling into your sleeping bag and
if you get into it then you'll see other people you'll probably go online look at reviews you'll
probably go on a forum like hammock forums or some Facebook page or some kind of Reddit
and you'll start seeing all these other hammocks and you'll get into hammock with is there floppy
material length bug Nets do you want a bug net it encompasses the thing do you want a bug net like
this that zips to the edge that you can flip back do you want a half bug net uh do you not want to
bug net at all so all these things will come in so you will it's kind of what I'm doing with the
bass right now you're going to get a few to find what style you want do you want a bridge hammock
you want to gather that do you want a double layer you want a single layer you want a built-in under
quilt you want to add your own under quilt you want to go with a pad you're one of those people
go I don't need no insulation they're all sleep hot and all of us have probably laid in a hammock
at the beach those poly Island rope woven hammocks that kind of have the weaving that goes like that
kind of a diamond shape and they have the big spreader bars at the end and you lay in them
between some trees and after a while you know you are kind of laying like a banana because
even when I lay in one after a couple of hours I kind of have a little pressure
behind my legs you know they're they're not entirely comfortable for the day that's why
in camping hamlets we usually sleep on an angle in the hammock Mayan style and you get a pretty
flat leg and within that sometimes you get a little crease in the hammock the fabric kind of
does this crazy thing and will often kind of push on the on your calf or right behind
your knee and it can make your leg go asleep now I got a video below look down there on
some possibilities of dealing with that problem sometimes you got to just find the right hammock
so cap Ridge is a thing as is shoulder squeeze now shoulder squeeze imagine yourself
in a hammock you know it's like in a tent you get in there and you lay on your pad and lay
and I always think with a hammock you're kind of wearing it almost like a little sleep suit so when
you lay in there it's kind of coming up around you and when you're new you can get shoulder squeeze
I never had it I did start getting it once and I realized I had a really damaged rotator cuff
and had to have surgery in 2018 God wake up in the night my shoulder just become throbbing and that's
just my shoulder was just ripped apart from years of being a circus clown and juggler and taking
Falls and unicycle Falls so shoulder squeeze and calfridge are real things sometimes you just get
used to them sometimes you need a wider hammock some people go to a bridge hammock to combat
shoulder squeeze on the other hand I've read so many reports and talked to people with a bridge
hammock gives them shoulder squeeze so there's not a perfect situation you got a hammocks like
the ammoctor more which is a 90 degree hammock where the suspensions go off to the side and
you lay this way and they're very wide open but they have their own pros and cons you know as far
as sleeping they're usually pad dependent but you won't get shoulder squeezed so that can be a deal
oftentimes it's sort of where you're laying in the hammock the width of your hammock the length of
your hammock the materials of your hammock are the firm materials are they light it happens I I don't
have it this Superior gear hammock I have right now I get no uh calfridge in it at all shoulder
squeeze I really get coverage once in a blue moon with some but um a lot of people will take their
stuff sack and put it under their knees so that's kind of a con it does happen it exists it's real
I don't like it at all all so we're talking camping hammock here and a lot of us have
come from tents where you throw your tent up might be a single wall or you know you
put your tent up you got all your mosquito netting then you put your rain fly on with
with hammocks you're going to have to have a tarp now I was always a tarp guy some people aren't
tarp people so you're going to have to learn to deal with setting up a tarp the proper way
to pitch a tarp the tarp size do you want doors what length what material sill nylon nylon do you
want pu coated nylon do you want dyneema which used to be called Cuban fiber which is expensive
but light this is like a Sil poly tarp or sill nylon it's a superior gear I really like it the
width of your tarp just a million things with your tarp how you're going to guy it out what
sort of line you're going to use blah blah blah blah blah goes on and on so if you've never used
a tarp you're going to have to learn the art of tarping because yes it is an art so I love
my tarp I consider it a pro because I can wake up and look right out at the woods but if you're new
it's just another bit you're going to have to deal with and if you've never set up tarps before use
the tarp or we're not unfamiliar with tarps and I don't know why you would be but you are
but you're not going to be for long it can be a con because it just adds another element
which leads me uh to this modular thing with hamlets you know you get a hammock and I
always tell people get your hammock with whatever suspension it is and learn to hang that right and
be comfortable in it then we start thinking about tarps bug Nets insulation underneath you whether
you use a pad or an under quilt or some people use you know a lot of people use different things they
put a wool blanket inside or they use a reindeer hide or they're string in a military poncho on the
outside you will go through all kind of iterations of finding out how to insulate yourself underneath
now there are other people that say they need no insulation underneath but I have
gone to sleep in my hammock in like 82 degrees and you know one or two in the morning it's not
82 degrees anymore and you get that little breeze underneath then you start to feel a
little chill so it's good to be prepared with some insulation and that can be perplexing for people
very perplexing the art of under quilt and getting to know under quilts and figuring out under quilts
is usually a breaking point for people so that can be a con just all the little pieces suspensions
lengths the particular hammock the tarp and all the little add-ons they have those can be cons
and they can be Pros I always look at both sides but I want you to know the cons
so a lot of people get kind of bummed out because you know when they're tense they
go up to like Max Patch ball and camp in these Meadows and these big open spots with no trees
it is doable in a hammock but you're gonna have to carry a hammock stand or something like what
I have is the tens of tree poles and you can set your hammock and tarp up on the ground you know a
lot of people hike and they'll they're above tree line and they plan their trips and this
is like Colorado Trail and some of the California Trails so at night they're going to sleep down in
tree line that may not always work out so it's just something to consider is it a con kinda
it's a it's a calm with a K it's a kind of con I think what freaks people out the most about
hammocks if they want to try them and they're coming from an ultra light background now as
Backpackers we've gone through everything of being Scouts being heavy having 50 pound bags
going through our whole thing of getting our system lighter and then we decided we want to
do a hammock and we have a fear that it's going to add weight and it it can but let me say this
it depends on what kind of tent you had before what kind of hammock you're using now is it a
one layer is it the lightest fabric is it short are you going with a minimal tarp it depends on
what season of the year it is summer you don't need as much insulation if it's winter yes you
do then a hammock may be bulkier and more weight than you can get it really close but there's a
lot of variables but I always say this you might add a little bit of weight and fiddly
diddly messing around but I think the payoff is in time it's Comfort now it depends on your age
if you're 24 you don't really care about comfort you could just sleep on the ground lay in there
like a cowboy on one of them on movies you know with your head just kind of on your stuff sack
nothing underneath it I'm 64. I'm going to turn 65 soon I need a little bit of comfort
it changes once you get about 53 years old your body needs to restore itself at night and I find
hammocks restorative and that's a pro so I'm willing to take on a little bit more for comfort
and sitting in it and sitting in a rainstorm but yes let me say quite possibly for the most
part it might add a little weight if you're really crafty and depending on the season and depending
on where you live and what kind of backpack are you work coming in you you could match it
and then as we get into fall yeah you might be carrying a little bit more so
kind of a con so with a hammock and the same goes for tenting and just general backpacking
you're going to find your style you're going to be in search of your style of doing it
man it's so nice spring is coming we're getting the songbirds back
all secure in sector seven worry about it
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