Best Camping Hammocks

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Sleeping in a hammock is a system, and the hammock itself is only one part of it, so start by working out what a listing actually includes. An integrated bug net sewn into the body is worth far more than a net you add later, because a zip-on shell sags onto your face and a separate net has to be hung on its own line. Next look for an asymmetric cut with a structural ridgeline, since that combination is what lets you lie diagonally and get something close to flat instead of folding into a banana. Suspension is the usual omission: many hammocks ship with cord or nothing at all, and you still need tree straps wide enough to be legal in most parks, which means one inch or wider webbing rather than rope. Hang the ends at roughly thirty degrees from horizontal and most complaints about hammocks disappear. Fabric denier is the durability trade, with heavier woven nylon shrugging off gear and campfire grit while ultralight cloth saves weight you do not care about when the car is twenty feet away, and the stated capacity, usually somewhere between 300 and 400 pounds, must cover you plus a quilt and a dog. Below about 70 F you will need insulation underneath, because a sleeping bag compresses flat and stops working.